08/04/2025 

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER
MINISTER FINANCE
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE
MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES

JASON CLARE MP
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE
SYDNEY
TUESDAY, 8 APRIL 2025

SUBJECTS: Peter Dutton's cuts.

KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE, WOMEN, THE PUBLIC SERVICE, GOVERNMENT SERVICES, LABOR CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: Now is not the time for cuts and chaos that we're seeing from Peter Dutton and the Opposition. Yesterday we're meant to believe that they have abandoned their plan to cut 41,000 public servants across the country, and also that they're now not against working from home arrangements. So they've spent two years or more investing in cuts to the public service, in telling people they need to get back to the office, and then, in the teeth of an election campaign, in an attempt to chase votes, they've decided that all of a sudden, those aren't their policies anymore. Well, we don't believe them, and I don't think the people of Australia believe them, because they know that under Peter Dutton, you'll get cuts, you'll get chaos, and you'll get shameless vote chasing, as opposed to considered and responsible policy from the Government.

And we know, even in the last 12 hours, since the supposed change to their policy, we've seen cracks emerging. We've seen Angus Taylor on 7.30 say that they haven't abandoned their policy at all. We've seen David Littleproud saying they still believe that workers should be back in the office and that's still something that they believe in. And this morning, we've seen Peter Dutton say they're still going to get their 7 billion out of the public service without sacking 41,000 people. He's trying to tell us that he's not going to do that anymore, then he has to come clean on why he's still getting 7 billion in savings confirms their policy is to cut the public service and force workers back into the office.

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, LABOR CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: Thanks very much Katy. Peter Dutton's election campaign is falling apart and he's getting desperate. He's now desperately trying to con the Australian people that he's all of a sudden changed his mind when it comes to working from home. But Australian people aren't silly. They can tell when Peter Dutton is trying to con them, and Peter Dutton has tried to con them before.

Before the 2013 election, he went on 4BC radio on Shane Doherty's program, and he was asked this question, 'can you guarantee that health will not be a place that you'll cut back?' And he said, 'Yes.' Now that was a lie. That was a flat out lie, because after that election, it was like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was just cuts everywhere. He tried to cut 50 billion worth. It shows that you just can't trust Peter Dutton, whether it's cuts to health or whether it's cutting your rights to work from home. He doesn't understand modern families, and he hasn't changed. He's just trying to con the Australian people a couple of weeks before they vote. The truth is, as sure as night follows day, he'll cut and you'll pay. Thanks very much.

ENDS