Dutton ducks a tax cut to pledge cheaper energy and discount fuel
But Dutton dismissed the tax cut “top-up” as a tax cut “cop out” and sought to make the election about a question of leadership between himself and Albanese.
“I will make the tough decisions – not shirk them,” he said in his budget reply speech in parliament on Thursday night.
“I will lead with conviction – not walk both sides of the street.”
Dutton promised to introduce four pieces of legislation on his first day in parliament if elected: an energy price reduction bill; a lower immigration and housing bill; a community safety bill; and a bill to guarantee funding for health, education and essential services.
The Opposition Leader used his budget reply speech to restate key policies, including a 25 per cent cut to permanent migration, letting people use superannuation to buy their first home, funding housing infrastructure, and coordinating with states on knife and bail laws.
In two other new measures, Dutton said he would pay businesses $12,000 to employ new apprentices in critical industries and give $50 million to charities including OzHarvest and Foodbank.
The speech pledged unspecified deeper cuts to migration as well as new policies on boosting housing supply and making mortgage lending easier.
In an attempt to counter negative perceptions of his attempts as health minister to create a GP co-payment, Dutton is promising to maintain funding for health, aged care, veterans support, NDIS and defence.
Military spending will be increased by a “significant” but unclear amount under a Coalition government, he said.
Promising to make Australia a manufacturing and mining “powerhouse”, Dutton claimed he would “rip up as much red and green tape as possible”.
Dutton mocked the tax cut for being only worth $286 annually when it starts in July next year, while it scales up to $536 in its second and later years.
“Labor will spend $17 billion of taxpayers’ money to give you back 70 cents a day – in 15 months’ time. And yet, a family with a typical mortgage is $50,000 worse off under Labor. Frankly, it’s insulting.
“We oppose these tax cuts and will repeal them – because they come at a great cost to the economy with little cost relief for Australians. Instead, we will provide immediate cost-of-living relief for Australians.”
Albanese attacked the Coalition over the cost of living in question time on Wednesday after shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said he would “absolutely” vote to repeal the tax cut.
“Labor is the party of lower taxes,” Albanese told parliament, to roars of derision from Coalition MPs. He added: “You know you’ve hit a nerve by how loudly they shout.”
The policy contest sets up a choice for voters between the Labor tax cut and the Coalition cut to fuel excise, with Dutton offering a bigger gain sooner for motorists.
The Coalition claims its cut in fuel excise would deliver $1,500 in savings over the year for a household with two cars being filled once a week. The Labor tax cut starts in July 2026 and is worth $268 in its first year and $536 in its second and later years. For a household with two workers and two cars, the Labor tax cut exceeds the value of the Coalition fuel excise cut at the end of the second year.
The $17.1 billion personal tax cut was made law on Wednesday after being approved by the Senate despite being opposed by the Coalition.
Three Coalition sources including senior MPs, unauthorised to speak to the media, said it was now unlikely the opposition would offer income tax cuts during the campaign.
They argued the petrol price cut was a more immediate and popular measure, citing feedback from focus groups and radio talkback as evidence of its appeal, particularly to outer suburban motorists for whom the savings are even higher than the national average.
