Peter Dutton says he is comfortable being prosperous, but not rich like Malcolm Turnbull

Some of the most intriguing political stories tend to emerge before elections.

In the latest example, the news is Liberal leader Peter Dutton has clocked up almost $1 million of property sales a year, on average, since he bought his first house as a teenage Queensland cop 35 years ago.

He learnt to play the share market too, and was not afraid of risk.

As the world’s economies teetered on the brink in 2008, in what would become known as the global financial crisis, Mr Dutton bought beaten-down blue-chips, including BHP, Qantas, ANZ, Westpac, NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Westfield, according to Wednesday’s front pages of the Sydney Morning Herald and Age.

One of the trades that has got the Government excited is a purchase of bank shares disclosed the day before the Australian Government guaranteed their funding during the global financial crisis 15 years ago.

Demanding answers

The article triggered demands from Labor’s employment minister, Murray Watt, for an explanation. Most pointedly, did Mr Dutton, then the Coalition’s health spokesman, exploit inside information?

Mr Dutton flat-out denied the allegation. “I think a lot of astute investors would have been buying bank shares at the time because they saw value in the shares,” he said.

Mud sticks, though, especially in the wild world of social media, and it is possible the “insider trading” narrative will circulate online until the election, which is due in the next three months.

The truth of the matter is almost impossible to determine. It may not have been wise, from a public relations perspective, for a senior Coalition MP to trade shares during a financial crisis. It was far from clear, though, at the time that the trades would be profitable or if he was acting on confidential information.

Bank bailout

What was known as the Guarantee Scheme for Large Deposits and Wholesale Funding was announced on October 12, 2008, a Sunday, by then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

With the banks’ access to cash secured (they operated on foreign loans, which were drying up), their shares surged the next day. Then they traded flat for a few weeks, before being sucked downwards again as investors’ worries about the economy intensified.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares traded at $40 before the scheme was announced. With the exception of the following few weeks, they took until July, 2009, to get back to $40.

By the end of the year they were at $54, a 35 per cent return for anyone who bought in just before the guarantee. Given the huge risks in the trade, it was not an abnormal pre-tax profit for anyone who took it.

It is not known, and may never be, how much Mr Dutton made or lost, but the insider-trading suggestion is an example of how serious allegations are thrown around during election campaigns based on media reports. (Mr Dutton claims the information came from the Government. The reporter, James Massola, wrote Wednesday he obtained the information himself.)

The opposition leader at the time, Tony Abbott, may have been briefed in advance on the bail out, as the Government asserts. But Mr Dutton did not hold an economic portfolio. There was no reason for him to be told about a rescue package assembled in short space of time in Treasurer Wayne Swan’s office.

Anyone following the crisis might have assumed a bailout was coming. Ireland introduce one a week earlier, and the financial media was full of warnings about the banks’ funding sources.

The end of the share portfolio

Mr Dutton long ago disposed of his shares, knowing portfolios can expose ministers and would-be prime ministers to conflict-of-interest accusations.

History shows he is poorer for the decision. Commonwealth Bank traded at $155.88 on Wednesday, making it a leading example of the best trading strategy by far over the past 20 years: buy and hold.

Mr Dutton’s wealth was built on the other great Australian trading strategy: property development. With his bricklayer father, Bruce, the Duttons built, bought and sold $30 million of property over 35 years, according to Mr Massola’s article.

They include an 11-shop strip plaza in Townsville bought by Mr Dutton’s wife, Kirilly Dutton, in 2016 for $760,000. Six years later it was sold for a 10 per cent profit, offering proof, if any was needed, that regional commercial real estate is no golden ticket.

Today, the Duttons’ wealth is unclear, but the family is obviously prosperous. The pride Mr Dutton expresses in his financial journey from working-class school leaver to successful businessman is an important part of his persona.

I’m no Turnbull, says Dutton

He is careful, though, not to look too wealthy. On Wednesday the Liberal leader distanced himself from two prime ministers who demonstrated that Australians - Labor and Liberal — will put very rich men in power.

“The comparison of me to Malcolm Turnbull’s wealth or to Kevin Rudd’s wealth is just completely and utterly fictional and fantasy,” Mr Dutton said.

While the comparison may be unfair numerically - the two prime ministers needed nine digits to count their wealth - Mr Dutton has more in common financially than with a couple of other ex-prime ministers, Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, who never found time to amass independent wealth - and were unlikely to be trading the share market from the frontbench.

On Wednesday Mr Dutton was in Western Sydney to celebrate another business success story. He visited a supermarket in the seat of Parramatta owned by Charlie Zammit, an 87-year-old who arrived from Europe after World War II.

Charlie, not Joe

Mr Zammit’s bustling Pendle Hill Meat Market was the perfect backdrop for Mr Dutton’s aspirational message. Which is why Mr Zammit, a fan of the Liberal leader, may have been confused when Mr Dutton referred to him as “Joe” six times during a press conference that was broadcast live.

“Joe came here from Malta as a 14-year-old; an incredible migrant story,” Mr Dutton said. “He worked seven days a week, starting out scrubbing floors in a butcher shop. He went on to do his trade, obviously, and now has this amazing business.”

Joe Gafa is an immigrant, but the rest of his story does not match, because he is the store’s manager, not its owner.

When Mr Dutton, who had walked away down a corridor, overheard The Nightly confirming Joe and Charlie’s identities, he returned and apologised.

Asked what he would like Mr Dutton to do in office, Mr Zammit threw up his hands. Which shows that while some voters may not be able to articulate what they expect from a Coalition government, they will back Mr Dutton no matter what, even if he gets their names wrong.