Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s office has responded after a photo of his teen son Tom holding a clear ziplock bag containing a “white powder” emerged online.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday the 18-year-old was pictured at a Gold Coast apartment in the image posted to Snapchat with the caption “Birthday day treat. Hello how u goin”.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Opposition leader’s son pictured with small bag of white substance in Gold Coast apartment.
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The image was reportedly captured in a screenshot before it was deleted.
7NEWS.com.au is not suggesting the substance was drugs.
Dutton’s office said in a statement to the Telegraph the image was a non-political matter.
“This is a private matter for the Dutton family,” the statement read.
Peter Dutton and wife Kirilly have two sons, Tom and Harry, while Dutton also has a daughter, Rebecca, from a previous relationship.
Dutton worked as a police officer for nine years, including stints in the drug squad but quit the force in 1999, two years before he was elected to Parliament in 2001.
He previously spoke about his work in an Instagram post after he became Opposition Leader in 2022.
“I’ve had tough jobs — firstly as a policeman dealing with serious sexual assaults and murders, to home affairs minister where I deported drug traffickers and child sex offenders,” he said.
“Most people have only seen that side of me.
“I hope now, in moving from such tough portfolios, the Australian public can see the rest of my character, the side my family, friends, and colleagues see.
“The side my community sees, where they have elected me eight times.”