Channel 10's Sandra Sully launches a war of words over photo of Peter Dutton's son Tom holding a bag of 'white powder'

Sandra Sully has weighed in on Peter Dutton's son's 'white powder' picture after critics accused her of scoring a 'cheap shot' on the Opposition Leader. 

The veteran Channel 10 newsreader shared a news article which showed Tom Dutton, 18, facing the camera and holding the clear bag on a balcony in Surfers Paradise.

'Birthday day treat. Hello how you goin,' the photo caption read.

Sully initially made no comment on the piece beyond quoting the article's headline to her 120,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter.

But one follower accused her of scoring a 'cheap shot' and lacking 'class'.

'NO cheap shot,' Sully responded. 

 'Just retweeting the story from it's source.'

That response did not satisfy everyone, however. 

'And you think that's going to help his son or hurt his son?', one follower replied. 

'You could have easily chosen to ignore that, but you didn't!'

Sully hit back, saying: 'What and pretend the story isn't in a major newspaper? #Fool.'

The photo of Mr Dutton's eldest son was first shared on Snapchat before it was screenshotted and leaked to the Herald Sun on Monday. 

The photo has since been deleted. 

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting the white substance was drugs.

The Opposition Leader's office has refused to comment on the matter, releasing a one-sentence statement that it is a 'private matter for the Dutton family'.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek previously defended Mr Dutton's son.

Ms Plibersek expressed empathy for the families of public figures after she was asked about the matter on Channel Nine's Today show on Tuesday morning. 

'I've got no comment at all. Peter Dutton's a public figure, but his son's not,' she said.

Host Karl Stefanovic continued to quiz her on the photo.

'Can you imagine the embarrassment from the poor kid?' he said.

'I mean, already his dad is the Opposition Leader... he's a former cop... and (Tom) ends up on the front page of the paper.

'Kids have to suffer with high profile parents, don't they?'

Ms Plibersek, who is a mum-of-three and formerly served as the Opposition Deputy Leader, conceded it wasn't 'an easy life' for the children of politicians.

'There's nothing more embarrassing than being out with your mum and being stopped at the shops for people wanting to have a chat,' she said.

'It's not an easy life. We go into public life and we choose it. Our families don't choose it, that's for sure.'

National Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie also appeared on the Today show on Tuesdau but hadn't yet spoken to Mr Dutton since the photo scandal.

She reiterated it was 'an issue for the Dutton family'.

Labor Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth also refrained from making political capital out of the incident, saying 'Families are conscripts to politics'.

Snapchat is popular among young people because posts usually disappear after they have been read. Recipients can screenshot posts, but the person who shared it will be notified.

Mr Dutton has two sons - Tom and Harry - with his wife Kirilly, as well as daughter Rebecca from a previous relationship.

He told the ABC's Kitchen Cabinet last year about how being a police officer before entering politics had influenced his parenting style, admitting that he was stricter than most. 

'Even in the way that you bring up your children... You know, not letting them out of your sight because you've seen some horrific cases where kids have been abducted or assaulted,' he told Annabel Crabb during an interview at his home.

As part of that vigilance, he would not let his children use public toilets when they were out.