Peter Dutton vows to override nuclear power opposition from states [Video]

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has launched a strikingly personal attack on Anthony Albanese, deriding the prime minister as a fraud, an appeaser and a “child in a man’s body” as he vowed to override premiers opposed to the construction of nuclear-power plants in their states.

Dutton’s comments – delivered to an audience of Liberal Party politicians, administrators and party activists in Sydney on Saturday – represent a significant escalation in the opposition’s rhetoric and a potential preview of election campaign attack lines the Coalition will deploy in attempting to paint Albanese as a weak leader.

Dutton unveiled long-awaited details on Wednesday of his pledge to build nuclear reactors in Australia, stating that two nuclear plants would produce electricity by the middle of next decade and be built with public funding under a government-owned business model.