Dutton's DOGE
While the opposition leader is looking to ride the populist wave globally to downsize government, there are reasons why he is treading carefully.
Peter Dutton’s unofficial campaign launch over the weekend made one thing clear. The opposition leader will follow the same playbook that has recently swept right-wing populists into government overseas, with heavy rhetoric on cutting spending and reducing the size of government to solve the cost-of-living crisis.
From Argentinian President Javier Milei to Trump acolytes Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (who together are leading the proposed Department of Government Efficiency), the global populist right has gone all in on taking a sledgehammer to the size of government, amid stubborn inflation in many economies.
In Sunday’s rally speech in front of the Liberal faithful in Melbourne’s east, Dutton made similar noises, declaring one of his biggest priorities was to “cut government waste” as part of his pitch to “get Australia back on track”.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says things would have been worse under Dutton because he didn’t back cost-of-living measures like the government’s energy rebates, the Liberal leader is claiming such support amounted to “expensive Panadol policies” that pushed up inflation further. “We can only escape the clutches of the cost-of-living crisis by reining in inflationary spending,” Dutton said.
