Bridget Archer leads criticism after Peter Dutton compares pro-Palestine protest to Port Arthur massacre

Peter Dutton has drawn widespread criticism, including from one of his own MPs, for comparing the 1996 mass murder of 35 people at Port Arthur to a pro-Palestine protest at the Sydney Opera House.

The Liberal leader then compared the 9 October pro-Palestine protests outside the Sydney Opera House last year to the Port Arthur massacre, which led to tougher gun laws in Australia, while blaming Labor politicians’ “moral equivalence” for rising antisemitism.

“If you look at the facts of what I said, I don’t think you could have the presumption in that question that you ask,” he said, suggesting the comments were about former prime minister John Howard’s strength as a leader instead of comparing the Port Arthur massacre to a protest.

The prime minister and the premier of New South Wales both took issue with the opposition leader’s example, with Chris Minns warning Dutton to “keep NSW police out of the federal political fight” while Anthony Albanese said he was “taken aback”.

Eighty-nine people have been arrested and charged with 191 offences as part of the operation, which also included a strike force to investigate reports of unlawful activity during protests across Sydney.

Dutton suggested on Wednesday that a “supine” police response to antisemitic incidents could reflect an effort to avoid “offending certain cultural sensitivities or stoking tension in particular communities”.