With just more than a week to polling day The Bug’s political analysts continue to scrutinise our political parties and their leaders as they continue to lay out their vision for how they would deliver the dystopian hellscape that appears to be our nation’s future.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton faced allegations that he was “politicising Anzac Day” when launching his long-awaited defence policy.

At a news conference in Perth on Wednesday – less than 48 hours before the nation marks and honours those who have served in its defence – Mr Dutton unveiled plans to spend an extra $21 billion on defence to take spending as a proportion of GDP to 3 per cent.

Reporters at the news conference noted that Mr Dutton appeared to be mimicking Private John Simpson, the Australian soldier who famously used a donkey to transport injured troops at the original Anzac landings at Gallipoli in 1915 before he was killed just weeks later. (main picture). But Mr Dutton rejected the suggestion as “more fake news” from the “lame-stream media”.

“It is ridiculous to suggest that I would co-opt for political purposes any Australian military legend or imagery,” he said.

“I am here in Perth today – on the Western Front in this campaign, if you like – to outline my plan of attack, errrr… I mean policies to take on and defeat the Jerries, errr .. I mean the Labor Party.

“I am simply wearing the sort of casual gear I put on when I’m relaxing around the house and the donkey just happens to be here.”

In a bid to deflect attention from the persistent media questioning of Mr Dutton, WA Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash (below) intervened to claim that she was responsible for the donkey which was actually her voice coach.

After some murmuring among the media pack, reporters appeared to fully accept the explanation and moved on to other issues such as the lack of detail in the Coalition’s defence policy – how it would be funded and what it would fund.

Mr Dutton said: “I will be releasing our full costings before the (unintelligible) election.”

Later, a closer listening of the audio from the announcement showed Mr Dutton’s statement was actually: “I will be releasing our full costings before the 2028 election.”

When asked to comment on the Coalition’s defence policy, a spokesperson for the RSL, Bruce Ruxton Jr, said the organisation opposed any change to the Australian flag.

“In addition, and on a personal note, I firmly believe that a white Australia is still a possibility in my lifetime,” he said before adding: “Oh, and we don’t support having sheilas in the trenches, or poofs for that matter.”

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No new polls overnight – well, not what we could find considering the amount of money we’re paid to do this hardly motivates us – so the average of the six polls we are monitoring remains at around 53.16 to 46.84 2PP to Labor. With another long weekend looming, has time run out for the LNP?

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And as for the bookies, after a 48-hour hiatus, there has been some movement, if not at the station, then at the virtual bookie’s stand, with bet365 galloping free as we checked the odds at around 9.40pm last night (Wednesday), compared with 24 hours earlier!

Sportsbet: Labor $1.22 ($1.22); Coalition $4.30 ($4.30)
Ladbrokes: Labor $1.20 ($1.20); Coalition $4.50 ($4.50)
TAB: Labor $1.20 ($1.20); Coalition $4.50 ($4.50)
bet365: Labor $1.16 ($1.20) Coalition $5.00 ($4.50).
Neds: Labor $1.20 ($1.20); Coalition $4.50 ($4.50).

We are largely non-gamblers here at The Bug – strong liquor takes most of our discretionary spend – but we suspect the other agencies will move that way shortly, if the Opposition keeps campaigning the way they have the past 27 days.

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This is the first time in our unsurpassed daily campaign review that this award and the one that follows are on the same matter. But we think it needed to be done.

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LNP publicists at Sky LNPNews continue to dominate this gong and we almost blushed in embarrassment on Sharri Markson’s behalf as she tried to convince herself and her viewer that all the current polls are getting it wrong and Peter Dutton is “absolutely in the game”.

The poor desperate thing even claimed the Labor Party pays for and therefore influences Newspoll.

What did we say yesterday? Who doesn’t love the smell of desperation in the morning!

BREAKING OVERNIGHT: Former SASR and Afghanistan veteran Andrew Hastie remains in hospital overnight but is said to be out of danger after repeatedly shooting himself in the foot at an LNP presser with Peter Dutton in Perth. His staff have blamed a faulty safety catch.

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