Liberals eye tax cut battle to win over small business voters

The federal Coalition has marked key battleground issues it hopes to target in a plan to win back the hearts of Australians after its crippling election loss last year, a senior Liberal has revealed.

Gearing up for a fight on stage three tax cuts and ensuring the survival of small businesses amid a cost-of-living crisis will be “front and centre” for the Coalition it looks to claw back support from Australian voters.

Ahead of parliament’s return next month, Deputy Liberal Sussan Ley has revealed the opposition will staunchly defend legislated tax cuts should the federal government seek to walk away from its promise to deliver on the full package in 2024.

“I think (Treasurer) Jim Chalmers is tiptoeing around the issue … and hoping to build a case that perhaps after all, they need to be taken off the table,” she said.

“We know power prices are going up, that mortgage rates will continue to go up, and that the cost of living crunch is going to continue so at exactly the worst time, if Labor takes the tax cuts off the table, that damage to the economy, to small business will be profound.”

Mr Chalmers has previously stated Labor’s position on the stage three cuts has not changed, but his careful language on the issue has fuelled speculation the government’s final position may shift.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Picture: Gary Ramage

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, Ms Ley – who counts small and family business, industry, training and skills among her responsibilities – said supply chain disruptions, energy costs, inflation and skill shortages were hurting the nation’s small employers.

“Given their importance, their central role in both economic growth and health, small business are absolutely where they need to be in the Coalition’s mind as we go into 2023: front and centre,” she said.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Picture: Gary Ramage

As of last financial year there were more than 2.5 million small businesses employing more than five million people – about 42 per cent of the private sector workforce.

Ms Ley, who also holds the women’s portfolio, said she was also focused on developing policies that delivered flexibility for families and supported women’s aspirations.

The Liberal Party’s review of the 2022 election recommended a target of 50 per cent women in all seats as part of efforts to re-engage female voters.

Ms Ley said she believed the party had the “right values” for women in Australia, but needed to be more proactive about engaging them in the community.

“Let’s take our party out to the streets, to the town halls, to the places where we talk as both local members and shadow ministers to ask women what they want to see from us and tell them that we’re there for them,” she said.

Reflecting on her own experience as a 30-year-old mother who went to university to study economics and feeling “out of place” carrying a baby capsule, Ms Ley said ensuring women had “flexibility” in their lives and support to achieve their aspirations was key.

“Knowing that I would be supported as a woman in an educational institution, that I had children and family responsibilities and needed flexibility … those are the values of the Liberal Party,” she said.