Despite forceful WFH agenda, Dutton makes pledge to women voters

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised female voters there won’t be an American-style reversal of women’s rights if he becomes prime minister, despite the Coalition’s plans to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion roles and work-from-home arrangements in the public service.

“Yes, I can [make that promise]. And I think again, you should look at what politicians do as much or probably more than what they say,” Dutton said.

“I was very heavily influenced as a young police officer ... And one of the things that I’m most passionate about is bringing an end to domestic violence, and making sure that we can provide support to young girls and boys online.

“And I think I’ve demonstrated over my lifetime that I take the protection of women and children particularly seriously … it would be one of the most important tasks that I would apply myself to as prime minister.”

Dutton made the guarantee while speaking to The Pay Off, a newly launched podcast, while also rejecting claims he is seeking to replicate the politics of US President Donald Trump.

The Liberal leader also repeated his stance on reproductive rights in an apparent attempt to avoid the highly charged abortion debate that threatened to derail last year’s Queensland election.

“Abortion is an issue for the states, and that’s why you’ve seen different state governments have different approaches, but I don’t support any change to the current law. And I’ve been very clear about that and very honest about it,” Dutton said.

At the time of recording the podcast interview on February 27, Tropical Cyclone Alfred wasn’t yet on the radar. Dutton has subsequently faced criticism for leaving his electorate in the days before the cyclone’s arrival to attend a party fundraiser in Sydney hosted by billionaire hospitality owner Justin Hemmes.

Shadow finance minister Jane Hume has also since announced plans to require public servants to work from the office full-time, a move the productivity commissioner Danielle Wood warned would affect many women who have used work-at-home arrangements to boost their participation in the workforce.

While the Coalition has matched Labor’s $500 million women’s health package aimed at improving access to reproductive medication and menopause treatments, Dutton has also appointed Jacinta Price to lead a new “government efficiency” position, aimed at cutting back on wasteful spending within the public service. In echoes of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Price has already singled out diversity, equity and inclusion roles for cuts.

Asked why DEI was under threat given it represents a tiny portion of the public sector, Dutton replied that voters expect the government to spend efficiently during a cost-of-living crisis.

“In terms of government departments, the focus should be on front-line delivery,” he said. “And we’ve guaranteed those front-line delivery positions. So that’s where the focus is and making sure that we’re spending money efficiently. I think diversification is great, but I think there is a lot of money that’s spent in the government at the moment on non-productive positions.”

Dutton made an effort to distance himself from Trump’s politics during the interview, jokingly saying the only thing that could justify him being dubbed a “Temu Trump” is his hair.

“I read two things. One is that, that I’m nothing like Trump or I should be more like Trump or that I’m a cut-price version of Trump. I’m my own person,” he said.

As revealed by this masthead, Dutton has recorded sales worth $18.8 million over 26 properties in 35 years, an achievement he told The Pay Off he is proud of.

“We [my father and I] essentially went into business together. So I was working double shifts or a lot of overtime as a police officer. He was building the houses and so half of that list is actually the small business that we had; houses that I never lived in, never rented out, that we paid tax on, we paid stamp duty, paid capital gains, paid personal income tax,” he said.

“So when you look at what the final net figure would be, it’s much less obviously. And particularly in those days it was less … That was our small business. And I’m proud of that.”

While Dutton was quick to acknowledge that the market is significantly more challenging today than it was when he bought his first property as a 19-year-old, he said he would still not be comfortable with house prices going down.

“I definitely don’t want to see property prices go backwards. If you’re a first-time buyer that’s about to buy a house, settle in a house today. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re sitting on negative equity … that would be psychologically draining.”

Sylvia Jeffreys’ podcast is called The Pay Off, Tap here and follow the podcast to get the latest episodes for free as soon as they publish.