LIVE: Election 2025 - Peter Dutton lets slip the secret target of his public sector jobs massacre as impending Trump tariffs overshadow campaign

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Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are hitting the ground in the must-win state of Victoria today.

It comes as Labor has given its backing to a pay rise for three million low-paid workers including retail staff, early childhood educators and cleaners as part of its election pitch.

Meanwhile, impending tariffs imposed by Donald Trump are threatening to overshadow the close-fought campaign.

Follow Daily Mail Australia’s live coverage here. 

Peter Dutton hints he might slash funding for the ABC and NDIS

The Opposition Leader has campaigned on a commitment to cut ‘wasteful’ government spending.

In a direct echo of Trump’s Elon Musk-led ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, Mr Dutton handed Jacinta Price the newly-created role of Shadow Minister for Government Efficiency in his last reshuffle.

The Coalition has been coy about where they aim to make savings, suggesting in previous weeks that they aim to slash public servant numbers by 41,000 and carry out an audit of Indigenous spending, including Welcome to Country ceremonies.

But now the Opposition Leader has let slip that the ABC and the NDIS could be in his sights.

‘The approach we would take is to reward excellence and where we find waste is to cut that waster,’ Mr Dutton (pictured, below) told Sky News.

epa12001357 Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton at a press conference after visiting the Cougar Mining Equipment facility in Tomago in the Hunter Valley on day 3 of his 2025 Federal Election Campaign in the seat of Paterson, New South Wales, Australia, 31 March 2025. Australia will hold federal elections on 03 May 2025, to elect members of the federal parliament.  EPA/MICK TSIKAS  AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

‘There are a lot of regional services for the ABC, which I think are underdone.

‘We were out in western Queensland just yesterday looking at the devastation of the floods, and the ABC could be a much more integral part of that community.’

‘But just having it based in Sydney…or Melbourne is not helping people in outer metro areas or regional areas.’

Mr Dutton said he wanted to see the NDIS ‘remain sustainable’ but said he was concerned about ‘waste’.

‘(I am) committed to the NDIS, committed to equity for people with disabilities but against waste and rorts and rackets,’ he added.

‘I want to see the money go to frontline services and hep those who are most in need.’

Albo insists he is not distancing himself from unpopular Victorian state premier Jacinta Allan

In consecutive days, the Prime Minister has happily appeared at press conferences alongside popular Labor state premiers: Roger Cook in WA and Peter Malinauskas in WA.

But in his first visit to Melbourne during the campaign on Wednesday morning there was no sight of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.

A fair-minded observer might conclude that this is because the Labor-run state government has experienced a collapse in support in recent months.

AVALON, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 28: Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan (centre) reacts while meeting exhibitors inside the trade of the Avalon Airshow halls on March 28, 2025 in Avalon, Australia. The Avalon Australian International Airshow 2025, scheduled from March 25-30 at Avalon Airport in Victoria, is set to be the largest aviation event in the Southern Hemisphere, featuring both industry trade days and a public airshow. The event will showcase a wide range of aircraft, from historic warbirds to cutting-edge military jets, along with over 700 exhibitors from the aerospace, aviation, and defence sectors, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience the latest in global aviation technology and thrilling aerial displays. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

But Mr Albanese immediately batted away any suggestion that he was trying to distance himself from the unpopular Labor leader, insisting that Victorian parliament was sitting.

‘It’s this little thing called sitting, it’s this little thing called parliament,’ Mr Albanese said.

He insisted it should not be seen as a ‘lack of confidence in her government’.

‘I work closely with all state and territory governments and have a good relationship with every premier and chief minister, including Jacinta Allan,’ he added.

Coalition ‘supports wage rises’, Dutton claims

Peter Dutton has given his tacit backing to Labor’s support for a pay rise for three million low-paid workers including retail staff, early childhood educators and cleaners as part of its election pitch.

Labor will make the submission to the Fair Work Commission – Australia’s independent tribunal responsible for setting award rates and minimum wage – on Wednesday.

‘We support wage increases,’ Mr Dutton told reporters in Melbourne.

But the Opposition Leader claimed families were doing it tougher than ever after three years of Labor.

‘The prime minister is out there telling Australians they have never been better off, that everything is good, we have turned the corner.

‘That’s not the experience of families we’re speaking to.’

He later accused Mr Albanese of ‘politicising’ a decision by the independent Fair Work Commission.

Albo accuses Dutton of being ‘aggro’ after he said he would stand up to Trump ‘in a heartbeat’

Peter Dutton repeated his usual refrain earlier by branding the Prime Minister ‘weak and ineffective’, telling Sky News that Trump was ‘walking all over’ him.

Asked about the comments at a press conference in Melbourne, Mr Albanese insisted he would ‘stand up for Australia’.

‘Peter Dutton will always dial things up to 11,’ Mr Albanese added.

‘He thinks this is a contest of who can say the most aggro things: it’s not.

‘It’s not the way that diplomacy works. It’s not the way that engagement in international relations works.

‘This guy has no experience in international relations.’

The Prime Minister insisted he would not compromise when it comes to the PBS, biosecurity laws and the news media bargaining code — all areas in the sights of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ list of complaints.

Mr Dutton told Sky News he would stand up to Trump ‘in a heartbeat’.

‘If I needed to have a fight with Donald Trump or any other world leader to advance our nation’s interests, I’d do it in a heartbeat and I’ll put the Americans on notice and anyone else who seeks to act against our national interests,’ he said.

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs overshadow campaign

Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ is set to eclipse Australian leaders’ campaign efforts, as the US president’s latest wave of tariffs are unleashed.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will be on the fifth day of their cross-country election blitz when Trump unveils sweeping tariffs that, he warns, will affect ‘all countries’.

Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton have tried to keep the campaigns focused on domestic issues like health and government services.

But the unpredictability and ferocity of Trump’s second-term decisions have made voters increasingly concerned about the impact on Australia, and raises questions over which leader will be better placed to handle the volatile president.

Australia has already been slugged with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 1: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes a question from a reporter during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. Leavitt discussed tomorrow's expected "Liberation Day" tariffs signing Rose Garden event with U.S. President Donald Trump, illegal crossings at the southern border, deportations, the Mara Salvatrucha gang commonly known as MS-13, and other topics. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

A report released by Trump’s office on the eve of ‘Liberation Day’ showed the US was keeping an eye on trade barriers imposed on American goods – such as beef, pork, chicken, apples and pears – that are aimed at preventing pests and viruses from arriving in Australia.

The document also pointed to issues over Australia’s treatment of pharmaceutical patents and its news media bargaining code, which requires tech platforms to pay media organisations for their content.

But Mr Albanese insists biosecurity, the pharmaceutical subsidy scheme and the media code are not up for negotiation.

While no country has scored a carve-out from US tariffs, Mr Dutton has continued to claim he would be best placed to deal with Trump.

When asked whether global leaders could secure exemptions, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt (pictured, above) insisted that Trump was ‘always up’ for a phone call or ‘good negotiation’.

‘But he is very much focused on fixing the wrongs of the past and showing that American workers have a fair share,’ she told reporters.

Albo backs pay rise for millions of Aussies

Anthony Albanese’s government is backing a pay rise for three million low-paid workers including retail staff, early childhood educators and cleaners as part of its election pitch.

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