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As opposition leader Peter Dutton comes under fire for leaving his Brisbane electorate amid cyclone preparations to attend a fundraiser at the Sydney harbourside mansion of hospitality billionaire Justin Hemmes, his deputy has insisted he is committed to his electorate.

After urging local residents to take cyclone advice seriously and listen to authorities, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley defended Dutton in an interview with ABC News Breakfast.

“I note that Anthony Albanese has recently left [Queensland] to come back to Canberra. He was also in Sydney on that day. No one can doubt Peter Dutton’s commitment to his electorate. I was in a virtual meeting with him yesterday, which he took from his community,” she said.

Ley then turned on the attack, pointing to a Labor party budget fundraiser invitation that she says was circulated yesterday.

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“Is the prime minister and the Labor Party raising money off the back of a budget that they’re refusing to commit to, not having serious economic meetings, spending more time planning their budget fundraisers, than the budget itself?” Ley asked, referring to the March 25 budget which may or may not go ahead depending on when the election is called.

“I think that is quite extraordinary. I think that is worthy of further investigation.”

Pressed further on Dutton’s decision to attend the fundraiser after he had implored the prime minister to focus on “governing not campaigning”, Ley said that she wouldn’t get into “mud-slinging about what [one] politician said about the other politician and so on”.

Read more about Dutton’s fundraiser attendance here.