Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s office says a picture of his teenage son holding a small bag containing a white powder is a “private matter”.

News Ltd papers were the first to report the image, which shows 18-year-old Tom Dutton in a Surfers Paradise apartment holding a clear plastic bag that appears to contain a small amount of a white powder.

The image was captioned “Birthday day treat” and “Hello how u goin”.

It was posted to social media and then quickly deleted – although not before someone took a screenshot.

The image has not been verified, and it is not known what was in the bag. The New Daily does not suggest it is drugs, nor any wrongdoing by the teenager.

Late on Monday, Dutton’s office responded to the since-deleted picture with a short statement to The Daily Telegraph, saying it was a non-political matter.

“This is a private matter for the Dutton family,” the statement read.

On Tuesday, there was support for the Opposition Leader from both sides of politics.

Asked for a comment on Nine’s Today show, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek refused.

“I’ve got no comment at all. Peter Dutton’s a public figure, but his son’s not,” 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.”

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth also refused to comment.

“I think families are conscripts to politics,” she said.

Elsewhere, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said she hadn’t spoken to Dutton since the story emerged, and that it was “an issue for the Dutton family”.

Dutton spent nine years as a Queensland police officer, including stints in the drug force, before entering politics.

He quit in 1999, and was elected to Parliament in 2001.

He previously spoke about his work in a social media post after becoming 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.”

Dutton and wife Kirilly also have another son, Harry.

He also has a daughter, Rebecca, from a previous relationship.