Say what you want about Opposition Leader Peter Dutton — you may not agree with his worldview, but he’s a man of steely and consistent convictions. If he finds a policy outcome unacceptable, he’s very clear: he’s not going to tolerate it. And if you don’t like his stated convictions and principles, well, he’s only got one response: he’s very happy to come up with some new ones, if you’d prefer?
Here’s a list of things our potential next PM just could not tolerate, until he found that maybe he could.
Working from home
Seemingly intent on offering a little diet DOGE, Dutton’s hitherto fairly meagre policy slate features a heavy emphasis on public servants. On March 3, shadow finance and public service minister Jane Hume introduced a policy stating all public service workers would have to return to the office if the Coalition won government. “Exceptions can and will be made,” she said. “But they will be made where they work for everyone.”
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1198192
In the face of criticism from the government that such a policy disproportionately disadvantages women, Dutton held firm.
“It doesn’t discriminate against people on the basis of gender. It is for public servants. It doesn’t have an impact, and we are not going to shy away from the fact that this is taxpayer money,” he said. “I want to ensure we have an efficient public service.”
“There will be a commonsense approach as there always has been, but I am not going to tolerate a position where taxpayers are working harder than ever to pay their own bills and they’re seeing public servants in Canberra refuse to go to work.”
Except…
At a press conference held yesterday, Dutton said not all public servants would be required to return to the office full-time.
“I think they should return to work back to pre-COVID levels, which was just over 20% of people who work from home, so we could help people get that balance in their lives but also deliver efficiency in the way in which they are expending the money that’s given them by Australian taxpayers,” he said.
Migration
In his budget reply last May, Dutton promised that if elected, a Coalition government would drastically slash migration over four years in a bid to make available more than 100,000 homes. Net migration would be cut from 185,000 to 140,000 for the first two years –“in recognition of the urgency of this crisis” — then increase to 150,000 in the third year and 160,000 in the fourth. The refugee and humanitarian program would be cut from 20,000 to 13,750.
Except…
By December, he’d decided the opposition actually wasn’t going to set a target for net migration before the 2025 election.
Still insisting that the Coalition was “not going to tolerate a situation where young Australians can’t find rental accommodation, or have no chance of ownership”, Dutton was pushed by Sky News’ political editor Andrew Clennell, and twice refused to re-commit to the target he’d previously set.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1197944
“We’ll have a look at the economic settings when we come to government,” was as unequivocal as he was willing to be this time.
Breaking up insurance companies
This one has to qualify as a kind of hyper-flip-flop, with the Coalition’s stance on this flailing and re-shaping in front of our eyes like one of those inflatable dancing tube figures outside a car dealership.
In mid-February, Dutton said proposed divestiture powers could potentially apply to insurance companies, as well as supermarkets and hardware stores. Then, this week, his deputy Sussan Ley said that the Liberals “do not propose divestiture with respect to insurance companies, and we’ve made that clear”. Also ruling it out was shadow treasurer Angus Taylor (“we’ve been clear”) and finance spokeswoman Jane Hume (“you can take my word for it”).
Except…
Not for the first time, Dutton did not share his colleagues’ clarity:
“I’m not going to tolerate a situation where big insurance companies are lining their pockets with big profits while families are going without insurance or not able to sell the business because the bank won’t give them finance if there is not an insurance policy in place,” Dutton said on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.
“We will divest if that is what is required to get competition into the marketplace.”
By Wednesday he had fallen somewhere in the middle, saying he would seek to “act very quickly” in government, if he received advice that “there is a concentration of market share that is distorting the insurance market, driving up premiums and meaning that people are being excluded from getting policies”.
Tax cuts
In February 2024, as he announced that the Coalition would not oppose Labor’s own backflip on its tax plans — game recognises game, I guess — Dutton did insist his party “will take to the next election a significant tax policy, which will reduce taxes for Australian taxpayers because we know that there is going to be a lot of support needed to help Australian families recover from this period of Labor”.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1197503
His shadow treasurer confirmed this meant their reform would be “in line with the principles of the stage three tax cuts” that lowered taxes for wealthier Australians.
Except…
By November that year, when asked about tax cuts for wealthier Australians, Dutton refused to commit.
“[Tax cuts] depend on where the numbers are as we go into the election and how much money is available and how we prioritise our spending and how we do it in a way which is targeting inflation, so that interest rates can come down,” he said.
A second Indigenous recognition referendum
During the debate on whether Australia should have a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament that dominated and dispirited Australian public life in 2023, Dutton — who campaigned relentlessly against Labor’s policy — promised to hold a second referendum on Indigenous recognition during his first term.
“I think it is right and respectful to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution and we will work with the Labor Party to find common ground,” he said.
Except…
Dutton was only restating a policy that his party had taken to every election since 2013 but never implemented. So it’s in keeping with long-held traditions that he abandoned the pledge within days of Labor’s proposal being soundly defeated.
Asked about his stated policy on October 16, Dutton said “look, all of our policy … is going to be reviewed in the process [Liberal Senator for South Australia] Kerrynne [Liddle] and [shadow minister for Indigenous Australians] Jacinta [Nampijinpa Price] will lead now.
“I think that’s important, but I think it’s clear that the Australian public is probably over the referendum process for some time.”
Of course, Dutton’s objection to the Voice was probably his greatest triumph in opposition, damaging Anthony Albanese and scuppering the ALP’s early momentum in a way that lasted for most of 2024. So perhaps he’ll flip-flop again in office, trying to find some way to both propose and oppose another referendum at the same time.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1197257
Banning Gazan refugees
Dutton, who has made a great deal out of Labor’s weakness on allowing Australia’s Jewish community to feel unsafe in the aftermath of the massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7, was forthright on whether Australia should accept refugees from the destruction of Gaza that followed. In August last year, he said: “I don’t think people should be coming in from that war zone at all at the moment. It’s not prudent to do so and I think it puts our national security at risk.”
Independent MP Zali Steggall told him to “stop being racist” in Parliament, while Education Minister Jason Clare called him “Pauline Hanson without the personality”.
Except…
Having denied he was racist, Dutton reportedly tried to ease concerns in the Coalition party room, saying the Coalition had taken “a principled stance” in challenging the visa approval process for applicants from Gaza and demanding greater security checks.
“We have called for a temporary pause on approving visas from Palestinian document holders in Gaza, just until the security situation stabilises and the government can assure Australians proper checks are being undertaken,” he apparently said.
Have something to say about this article? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.