Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil and Liberal Senator Jane Hume are usually at loggerheads during Sunrise’s Hot Topics.
But on Wednesday, the pair managed to have a laugh amid news Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has joined TikTok — even sharing his first video on the housing crisis.
Despite once calling for the platform to be banned in Australia, Dutton joined in an attempt to attract the youth vote, already gaining more than 100 followers and 1000 views.
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On Wednesday, O’Neil and Hume both had somewhat of a laugh over the political move. Hume admitted she was yet to join the popular platform, but O’Neil said she had joined.
“No, I’m not yet. I’m practising my dance moves — I think I’ve got the rizz (charisma), is that right?” Hume laughed.
“(Seriously) I’m not going to bother. Make a fool of myself. (But it) depends on the tolerance level and the level of humiliation that my kids will tolerate.”
O’Neil made Hume promise the Coalition leader would not be breakdancing on the app.
“I’m post-cringe,” O’Neil said.
“Jane, really important for you, can you please make sure that Peter Dutton promises there will be no breakdancing of any kind. I can’t take that. One political video, maybe, is fine. We’ve got to draw the line somewhere.”
In his first video, Dutton said: “TikTok is supposed to be something fun, and I probably should say something that is or isn’t demure, but I really joined TikTok for one reason.
“It’s to tell you that we do not have to live in a country where you spend your whole life renting. Owning a home is not just financially a smart decision but also a truly foundational part of life.
“I get it, there are more exciting things on TikTok than listening to me talking about housing, but Labor’s inability to balance migration and build enough homes is killing the Australian dream for an entire generation.”
The political move is a surprise for Dutton, who called for the platform to be banned in March, describing it as “exploitative” and “not a safe platform”.
“If data is being scraped by the terabytes off these accounts and young people are being exposed to extortion at some point, or just their personal data being collected, it’s not a safe platform,” Dutton said at the time.