A Liberal candidate has suffered a series of awkward blunders in a radio interview after Peter Dutton said her state would be crucial to him winning the election.
Tasmania hopeful Susie Bower laughed as she struggled to respond to a question about why she was running for the party, finally answering ‘I don’t know’.
The state is a key battleground in the upcoming federal election, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese choosing it as the place to announce his major pre-election promise for a bulk billing incentive.
Ms Bower, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat of Lyons in 2022, explained during an interview with ABC Northern Tasmania that, when speaking to residents, the key issue at the polls will be the cost of living.
As a result, she was pushed on the subject by presenter Evan Wallace.
‘You identified cost of living as the major issue facing people who call Lyons home, and you spruiked the fact that you’ve worked two jobs to make ends meet,’ he said.
‘But you’re running for a party that the last time it was in government, the majority of ‘s economic growth flowed to the top 10 per cent of income earners. Why?’
‘I don’t know… sorry,’ Ms Bower answered after an awkward pause.
Ms Bower was offered a second opportunity to respond to the question by presenter Evan Wallace: ‘No answer from you?’
‘No, sorry,’ she said.
Wallace had previously asked Bower whether this was her election to lose as the Liberals were ahead in national polls and she was 10 points up.
Ms Bower said it was a ‘tough question’, adding that she would leave it in the hands of Lyons voters.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has regularly appeared for press conferences with the candidate, calling her crucial to the community and in the party’s aim to unset Labor.
‘Ultimately Susie Bower is up against Anthony Albanese,’ he said in December.
‘If we win the seat of Lyons, we get rid of Anthony Albanese as the Prime Minister.’
Despite the back-to-back blunders, former Liberal operative Tony Barry told Daily Mail that the interview may not be too detrimental for Ms Bower.
‘The seat of Lyons has attracted colourful candidates in the past,’ he said.
Barry, who is director of political strategy firm RedBridge Group, cited the case of current Lyons MP Brian Mitchell who was previously accused of calling a journalist a ‘maggot’ in 2017. He apologised after the incident.
‘There is not a lot of evidence to suggest this week’s gaffe from Susie Bower will realistically cost her the seat,’ he continued.
‘In the 2022 federal election campaign, Anthony Albanese wasn’t able to recall the RBA cash rate which is now the number one political issue in , but it didn’t cost him the election.
‘But these type of campaign missteps can undermine candidate confidence, and they have the potential to lose days of important campaign messaging.’
YouGov polling, published on Thursday, found the margin in Lyons is 0.92 per cent for Labor’s Brian Mitchell, who is stepping down for former state opposition leader Rebecca White.
Ms Bower, who lost by a narrow 1,344 votes in 2022, is strong competition for Labor, according to the data.
Daily Mail has contacted Ms Bower’s office for comment.