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March 27, 2025
JAMES PATERSON: In tonight's budget in reply speech, Peter Dutton will outline the first elements of our plan to get our country back on track. And it will include real relief right away on petrol excise. We will halve the rate of petrol excise from the first days of a Dutton government. On the first day that the parliament will sit, we will introduce legislation to reduce it, and what that will mean is real relief right away for Australians, not fake relief in 15 months' time under this government. It will mean for the average family that fills up just one car once a week, a $14 dollar saving per week. That adds up over a year to about $700 that they'll be better off with. A two car family that fills up both of those cars each week will be $28 better off every week, or about $1,500 a year better off. That's the kind of relief that Australians need. That's the kind of relief Australians can't wait for. They are not up for waiting 15 months for $0.70 a day in tax cuts. They need real relief right now, and in the suburbs, regions and cities of our country, they are crying out for immediate help, and a Peter Dutton led Coalition government will deliver it.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, couple of bucks off, less a week in off their tax or a couple of bucks off their fuel bill every week. Is this really going to move the dial for Australians?
PATERSON: Well, I think this will be real relief straight away for Australians, they won't have to wait 15 months like they will under Labor, and this will be much more relief for them who drive one, let alone two cars. $28 per week for a family is a really significant improvement in their budget bottom line. We don't pretend though that this is going to solve the problem entirely on its own, and Peter will outline other measures in his budget reply speech tonight and in the weeks ahead for plans to get electricity prices down, to get the price of gas down, to make our country back on track again. Because we desperately need relief, we cannot afford three more years of Labor.
JOURNALIST: Can we expect a lot to come out of the speech tonight, then? We've all been waiting a while.
PATERSON: Well look, some elements of the speech have been previewed in the papers today, but there will be other new elements in the speech tonight, and we'll have a lot more to say in the coming days. It's very clear that the Prime Minister is about to fire the starting gun on this election. We've got a significant positive policy agenda and a real plan to get inflation under control, to restore the standard of living for all Australians at the next election.
JOURNALIST: Now, the Greens have just said, Sarah Hanson-Young, they are not certain that your 25% reduction in excise is going to do much in the polls for you. What's your response?
PATERSON: We don't rely on policy advice or political advice from the Greens political party. This is an extreme party that has become completely out of touch, particularly over the last three years, and has been far more focused on Gaza and Israel than they have been on Australians and the cost of living crisis they are facing. The Greens have no idea about how to solve these problems. But they could be in a minority government with the Prime Minister after the next election if he loses his majority. I think that is a real risk to our country, and we shouldn't allow that to happen. At this election, Australians have a choice between a strong leader in Peter Dutton, who has a plan to get our country back on track, and a weak Prime Minister, who would be dependent on the Greens and the Teals to return to power.
JOURNALIST: We saw yesterday a dead fish appear in the Senate. How do you perceive that sort of thing? We occasionally see stunts from a range of parties. What's your view of that?
PATERSON: Well, it is typically unedifying and unhinged behaviour from the Greens. They are increasingly extreme, they are obsessed with foreign conflicts, not helping Australians here at home, and they have tolerated, frankly, and harboured antisemitism in their party at a time of crisis for social cohesion in our country, so it's no surprise to see them resorting to desperate stunts like that. The real question is for Mr. Albanese. Will he rule out forming a minority government with the Greens after the next election if he falls short of a majority, as most of the polls predict?
Thanks, everyone.
ENDS