Opposition leader Peter Dutton has sought a “please explain” from the Nine-owned The Australian Financial Review after it published a cartoon of him in Friday’s edition that contained references to Nazi Germany.
The cartoon, by illustrator David Rowe, showed Dutton and prominent No campaigners Warren Mundine and senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price walking past banners containing images of Hitler. It came with the tag “The standards you walk past…”.
The cartoon follows growing criticism of the tone of the Voice debate that last week saw media veteran Ray Martin call No voters “dickheads and dinosaurs”.
Following the cartoon’s publication on Friday, Dutton wrote to the editor-in-chief of The AFR, Michael Stutchbury, to record his displeasure and stated that he had a strong record of fighting to protect against violent extremism both as a former policemen and politician.
Dutton’s letter read: “I have spoken to many members of the Jewish community who are hurt and offended by Mr Rowe’s cartoon.”
According to reports on The Australian, Price is considering suing The AFR over the image.
In July, The AFR was forced to apologise over a “racist and offensive” ad supporting a No vote to The Voice Referendum campaign that ran as a full page in its print edition. You can read B&T’s reporting of that HERE.
Commenting on the cartoon, Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told The Australian: “What does neo-Nazis voting No because they hate Indigenous people and think voice is a Jewish plot have to do with Dutton, Price and Mundine? Let alone millions of potential No voters. (They’ve been shown) as complicit or accepting of Nazis which is ridiculous.”
David Rowe defended the work, the cartoonist telling his employer’s news site: “I drew this cartoon to highlight the growing neo-Nazi presence in far-right elements of the No campaign and a lack of pushback from its most prominent leaders,” he said.
“Mr Mundine, Mr Dutton and senator Price are depicted walking past the No standards, their relative silence speaking volumes.”
