Australia news LIVE: Late bid for new hate speech laws as parliament returns; Treasurer accused of politicising public service to attack Coalition
In his address to a joint party room meeting at the outset of the 2025 parliamentary year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton rallied the Coalition around the idea of a government that has “lost its way”.
He said Australians had been let down by the prime minister amid the cost-of-living crisis, listing the number of failed small businesses and the price increases of food, rent, electricity and gas since the 2022 election as proof of this failure.
“I think there is momentum for change. People do want to get their country back on track, and that’s what we want to do,” Dutton told the meeting.
The opposition leader framed the PM as someone who was out of touch and “living in a parallel universe”, pointing to the optimism Albanese displayed in comments this morning and to his caucus on Monday.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton addresses a joint party room meeting at Parliament House.Credit: James Brickwood
“The prime minister says families have never had it better off because inflation is off, but all of the prices are up. For people in the Jewish community and across the country, Australians are watching their prime minister, knowing he is out of his depth, and he is not up to the task, particularly in relation to law and order and keeping our country safe,” Dutton said.
In a sign of what’s likely to come in the election campaign, Dutton argued the prime minister had failed at the “basic task” of keeping Australians safe.
“People in Jewish communities are really living in fear, and yet in the prime minister’s discussion yesterday with his caucus, he never mentioned antisemitism once, even though it is a national crisis in our country, and it is indicative of further problems across society,” Dutton said.
“I want to make sure that we can take the decisions that are required, including minimum mandatory sentencing for people who commit terrorist attacks. I want a clear message to be heard by anybody who has evil in their heart that we have absolute zero tolerance for antisemitism.”
