Pauline Hanson takes lead from Elon Musk in bid to cut government spending by $90bn

Pauline Hanson’s radical plan to cut $90 billion in Australian Government spending includes deleting the department of climate change and withdrawing from major UN organisations.

Exclusive: Pauline Hanson is taking a lead out of US billionaire Elon Musk’s approach to government efficiency playbook with a radical plan to cut $90 billion in Australian Government spending that includes deleting the department of climate change and withdrawing from major UN organisations.

The One Nation leader will unveil her party’s 2025 election platform on Thursday which includes heavy cuts to several government sectors, with a plan to then return some $40bn of the savings to the pockets of Australians through cost of living measures, infrastructure investment and tax changes.

The party has estimated it would save $30bn a year by abolishing all department, agency, programs and regulations related to climate change, and a further $12.5bn by scrapping the National Indigenous Australians Agency, which implements the strategies of governments to close the gap and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Savings would also be made by applying income means-testing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), abolishing the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and rolling its functions into the Department of Health, as well as withdrawing Australia from the United Nations, World Health Organisation, International Criminal Court and other global bodies.

Elon Musk has taken a billionaire’s approach to government efficiency in the US. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

One Nation’s policies include allowing aged and veteran pensioners to earn more without penalty to their government support payments, as well as income splitting and joint tax return filing for couples with dependent children.

The party also wants to lift the tax-free threshold to $35,000 for self-funded retirees.

Ms Hanson said without substantial spending and tax reform, as well as investment in nation-building projects, Australia’s living standards would continue to go backwards.

“Our plan will provide much-needed relief immediately, slash government waste and help build the big infrastructure that will generate more wealth for Australia,” she said.

Ms Hanson said she wanted to cut power bills by 20 per cent, suggesting changing the National Electricity Market (NEM) rules to “enable and incentivise” cheaper coal and gas-fired power, while also supporting nuclear energy in the medium term would achieve this.

Senator Pauline Hanson will unveil One Nation’s election platform which includes heavy cuts to several government sectors. Picture: NewsWire/Martin Ollman

One Nation would also halve the fuel excise to 26c per litre for a year, backed increasing the Medicare rebate to better remunerate GPs and lift bulk billing rate, and would “crack down” on Medicare fraud “estimated to be at as much as $3bn per year”.

An independent review of the Medicare system by Dr Pradeep Philip released in April 2023 estimated Medicare fraud, largely through “noncompliance errors,” was costing between $1.5bn and $3bn a year.

One Nation Queensland Senator Malcolm Roberts said the plan included a comprehensive spending reform agenda focusing on “eliminating unnecessary waste and duplication across a range of departments”.

“Our plan includes a review of the functions and costs of the Federal departments of education and housing, eliminating duplication with state government departments and getting rid of costly building code mandates such as the requirement for all new dwellings to be wheelchair compliant,” he said.

Originally published as Pauline Hanson takes lead from Elon Musk in bid to cut government spending by $90bn