Peter Dutton vows to deregister CFMEU, reduce public servants, bust inflation and boost growth in keynote address

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says he will “make Australia a powerhouse again” if elected. In a keynote speech he took aim at the CFMEU, the ‘bloated’ public service and inflation.

Federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton has vowed to deregister the CFMEU, slash Canberra’s “bloated” public service and make Australia a “powerhouse” again, if elected to power in the upcoming election.

In a keynote address on Friday, Mr Dutton said the Coalition’s two economic goals would be “busting inflation and boosting growth”, after “three years of setbacks” from Labor.

At an event hosted by LNP-aligned think tank The Menzies Research Centre, Mr Dutton said Labor’s “indulgent” spending was to blame for Australia’s spiralling inflation and stifled productivity.

He singled out 36,000 public service jobs created under Anthony Albanese — costing taxpayers $6 billion a year — as an example of “wasteful spending”.

He added he’d never met an Australian who was better off because of the “bloated public service”.

Peter Dutton during at Q&A session after his keynote address. Picture: News Corp

“Labor says it’s created 1.1 million jobs. Seven out of ten jobs have been taxpayer-funded, that’s a completely, unsustainable situation,” he said

“Now, positions advertised have included culture, diversity and inclusion advisers, change managers, and internal communication specialists,” he said. Such positions, as I say, do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians.

“When the public service becomes bloated and inefficient, as Labor has done in Victoria over the last decade, the economy is brought to its knees.”

Mr Dutton said, a Coalition government would spend more on frontline workers, doctors, and veterans, and scale back the public service in a “responsible way”.

Mr Dutton also took aim at the CFMEU trade union, vowing to deregister it.

“The CFMEU is essentially a modern day mafia operation which is contributing to construction costs and an escalation in poor work practices, with productivity now on CFMEU sites down to just over two days a week,” he said

Peter Dutton has blamed the CFMEU for stalled productivity

Mr Dutton also said his government would “urgently” restore the building industry watchdog.

Expanding on his promised economic policy, Mr Dutton stated his government would “get off peoples backs” and wind back regulation.

“It is time for smaller government which gets off people’s backs and revives the freedom that allows our economy to flourish,” he said

“My intention is to make Australia a mining, agricultural manufacturing powerhouse once again.”

He also plans to increase the threshold for instant asset write-offs and business-related meal expenses to $20,000 a year.

Originally published as Peter Dutton vows to deregister CFMEU, reduce public servants, bust inflation and boost growth in keynote address