There is growing scrutiny over Alan Tudge’s disappearance from the campaign trail as the education minister shuns the media.
With just two weeks to go until election day, Tudge has not addressed the media once, has announced no education policy and has ignored repeated requests for interviews.
He has also declined to debate the opposition’s education spokesperson Tanya Plibersek.
Instead, the minister has been running a hyperlocal campaign, focused on community appearances and funding for projects in his electorate of Aston, in Melbourne’s east.
In December Tudge stepped aside from the education portfolio after allegations were made that he had had an abusive relationship with a former staffer, whom he was having an affair with. Tudge denies the allegations.
Stuart Robert is currently acting education minister, but officials confirmed in Senate estimates in April that Tudge will officially remain as the education minister despite claiming he would not return to the frontbench. He also remains in cabinet.
The only policies announced by Tudge during this election, however, involve upgrading key roads around Knox, in his electorate.
He has promised $300,000 to put lights in both the baseball park in Boronia and Guy Turner Reserve and he also pledged $1.5m for a Hindu community hub at The Basin temple.
According to his social media accounts, Tudge has spent the campaign visiting local sporting clubs and businesses but has avoided the scrutiny of media. His own website shows his last interview was on 12 October last year on Sky News.
The Liberal party campaign headquarters, Tudge’s electorate office, and his media representative, ignored requests from Guardian Australia for a five-minute phone interview with the MP. No written statement was provided.
Throughout the election, Tudge has posted videos of himself visiting places around Knox – all with a focus on local issues. CCTV cameras, the local Headspace and sporting clubs have featured in clips on his social media. The messaging is all local, with no mention of the education portfolio.
“We have achieved a lot together locally, including the biggest ever injection of funds for roads, rail, car parking and bridges,” he said announcing his re-election campaign.
“We have improved security, upgraded dozens of local sports grounds, record funding into every local school and hospital, and so much more.
“Nationally, we have kept the economy strong and the country secure. We have record low unemployment, record funding for schools, hospitals and medicines and massively boosted defence spending.”
He holds the electorate with a 10% margin, making it almost impossible for Labor to pick up the seat.
But the Labor candidate for Aston, Mary Doyle, said the mood was shifting in the electorate.
“As I’ve been talking to residents across Aston, the mood has been quite positive towards Labor and simultaneously increasingly negative towards the Liberals and particularly Alan Tudge,” Doyle said.
“Alan Tudge and Scott Morrison are alike – when the going gets tough they disappear.”
She accused Tudge of being absent from the community from last year.
“His ongoing absence since last year has been made even more apparent by Labor’s active team on the ground, talking to locals about what matters to them,” Doyle said.
“Labor has a plan to address their concerns by strengthening Medicare, making childcare cheaper, creating secure local jobs, and investing in local manufacturing.”
The New Liberals’ candidate Ryan Bruce, who is running on a platform of net zero by 2030 and a federal Icac, said he had not seen the sitting MP on the campaign trail.
“The notable thing is the absence of Tudge. I haven’t seen him, I haven’t found a single person who said they’ve seen him,” Bruce said.
Bruce concedes Tudge will probably hold on to the electorate, but questions whether the constituents deserve better.
“He is taking it for granted. I don’t think he’s been a great member for the seat.”
Avoiding tough questions does not mean his campaign has been smooth-sailing. Two weeks ago several of the MP’s signs were vandalised with the words “scum”, “Icac” and “Women” with an X covering his face.
Tudge responded with a statement posted to his Facebook, saying the damage was “the work of [his] opponents”.
“This is the work of my opponents and says more about them and what they represent than anything else,” he wrote.
“They should be on notice though: three have already been caught by police and will soon have criminal records. Thanks to those residents who recorded them.
“I won’t be deterred by these cowards. In fact, they only encourage me and my team to work harder.”
