Challenges Albanese to bipartisan taskforce on government spending
Angus Taylor challenged Anthony Albanese to join forces on a bipartisan task force to cut government spending as the opposition leader and his key allies hit the phones over the weekend to round out a revamped frontbench.
Taylor once again sought on Sunday to distance himself from the economic policies of former leader Peter Dutton, for whom he served as shadow treasurer, in a bid to repair the damage done to the Coalition after the 2025 election was wiped out.
Behind closed doors, power brokers including Taylor, deputy leader Jane Hume and Senator James Paterson were weighing up which Liberals were best placed to keep tabs on the government and communicate well with voters, while rewarding those who backed the new opposition leader in Friday’s spill.
The new front bench will also feature rehabilitated National Players, all of whom left the front bench at the end of January and will return in March.
Taylor’s supporters say he did not make any promises to secure his victory, but one MP, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “He may not have made any deals, but there are a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of people who want things.”
Goldstein MP Tim Wilson is cementing his place as the shadow treasurer candidate, and a multi-faceted contest is brewing for the opposition Senate leader and his running mate. Some lawmakers told this imprint that the duo of current senators Michaelia Cash and Anne Ruston could face a challenge.
Senators Paterson and Jonno Duniam, who were key players in Taylor’s rise, could take on senior roles, while Hume and even Senator Andrew Bragg could also put their hands up for positions determined by votes from Liberal senators.
As a trustee, Hume also gets to choose his own portfolio. He is unlikely to choose the shadow treasurership, a job traditionally held by a lower house MP. On Sunday, the former finance spokesman hinted he still wanted an economic role.
Other possible changes include the return to senior shadow cabinet positions of three Liberals – Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Sarah Henderson and Andrew Hastie – who were exiled under former leader Sussan Ley. Promotions are expected for Taylor’s allies such as Tony Pasin and Jess Collins.
Ley’s allies likely to be demoted to backbench or junior positions include opposition affairs chief Alex Hawke, immigration spokesman Paul Scarr, environment spokeswoman Angie Bell, shadow women’s minister Maria Kovacic and defense industry chief Melissa Price.
In his first move as leader, Taylor wrote to Albanese on Sunday and drew the battle line on potential capital gains tax changes, saying the “Coalition will not consider higher taxes on Australians”.
But he also proposed a bipartisan spending restraint task force that would “identify practical, responsible, and jointly supported measures” that both parties could support.
“Record government spending is contributing to higher inflation, upward pressure on interest rates and a growing public debt burden that will ultimately fall on future generations of Australians,” Taylor wrote to the prime minister.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jim Chalmers are unlikely to agree, as Labor stepped up its attacks on Taylor as a poor economic manager as soon as he became opposition leader.
Albanese criticized the Coalition’s latest line-up at a press conference on Sunday, saying: “Angus Taylor not only opposed but led the charge. [our tax cuts] but to say that if he had been elected treasurer at the election less than a year ago, he would have introduced legislation that would actually increase taxes for all 14 million Australians.”
Taylor, as the former shadow treasurer, and Hume, as the then finance spokesman, were the team under Dutton that opposed Labour’s surprise $5-a-week tax cut during the last election campaign, proposing the money be spent on defence.
The pair said it was a mistake at their first press conference on Friday and acknowledged reports that Dutton had dropped proposals for alternative tax cuts.
Asked about Dutton’s opposition to Labour’s tax cut, Taylor told Sky News on Sunday: “I have suggested a way forward with lowering personal income taxes and that is something I have already put on record.”
He continued: “Okay, we made a mistake in the election campaign. But let me tell you this, when inflation rises – and it does under desperate financiers – people pay more taxes as a fraction of their income.”
Hume maintained focus on tax cuts when interviewed on ABC insider “All Liberals instinctively know that the Liberal Party should and should always be a party that pays lower taxes, because we know that when taxes are low, Australians have a chance to get ahead,” he said on Sunday.
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Brittany Busch is the federal politics correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
James Massola is the chief political commentator. He was previously national affairs editor and Southeast Asia correspondent. He won the Quill and Kennedy awards and was a Walkley finalist. Connect securely to Signal @jamesmassola.01Connect with: X or email.
