Liberal Party 2025 Campaign Launch Speech
Liberal and National Party friends and colleagues – thank you for that incredible welcome.
Thank you for the hard work you’re doing across the country to win hearts and minds.
Thank you for being here today for our campaign launch in Western Sydney – one of many important battlegrounds in this election.
To Melissa McIntosh – should the Coalition win government, you will be an outstanding first ever federal Minister for Western Sydney.
To David Littleproud – thanks to your friendship and leadership, the Coalition is as strong as it’s ever been.
To Sussan Ley – you’re a real talent, an inspiration, and a loyal deputy – thank you.
For more than two decades, I’ve had the honour to represent the people of Dickson for whom I have deep affection and thank today.
Our launch today takes place one year after the stabbings at Westfield Bondi Junction. We are thinking of the six people murdered, and especially their families, at this time.
My wife Kirilly – and children Rebecca, Harry and Tom – are here today.
I’m indebted to them for their unwavering support over all these years.
Thank you to everyone for their kind wishes for my dad, Bruce – he is doing well.
To Australians watching today – thank you very much for your time.
In the last three years, I’ve met so many wonderful Australians across our great country:
Australians living and working in our cities and suburbs; in our regional towns and coastal communities.
Despite hearing so many unique stories, there are common struggles across the country:
Australians who are working hard, but who just can’t get ahead.
Australians who are really hurting from soaring bills and rent and mortgage stress.
Australians who can’t get an appointment for a GP.
Australians who have seen increased crime in their communities.
Australians who are worried about the future.
I say to Australians, it doesn’t have to be like this.
There is a clear choice at this election:
Between more of the same under Labor – a weaker, less secure, and worse off Australia.
Or much needed change under the Coalition – for a stronger, safer, and better Australia.
# # #
This election isn’t just about the next three years.
The outcome of this election will define the decades to come.
It’s a sliding doors moment for our country.
The past three years are a good indication of what our future will look like under a returned Labor Government in any form.
Since coming to power, the Albanese Government has lifted spending by a staggering $425 billion.
Rapid and unrestrained government spending has weakened our economy.
It’s meant inflation and interest rates have stayed higher for longer.
Under Labor, Australians haven’t only experienced the worst collapse in living standards in the developed world.
We’ve experienced the biggest collapse in living standards in our history.
You’re paying more for everything – food, rent, a mortgage, insurance, and certainly power.
Your electricity bill hasn’t gone down by $275 – as Labor promised on 97 occasions.
You’re now paying up to $1,300 more than Labor promised.
Australians are paying some of the highest power prices in the world under this Government’s renewables-only policy trainwreck – which is causing damage across the economy.
Under Labor, a record 30,000 small businesses have gone bust.
There’s been a three-fold increase in the number of manufacturers who have closed.
Anthony Albanese speaks of a ‘Future Made in Australia’.
But his government’s policies have done the opposite.
Less is being made in Australia – and more is being made abroad.
Productivity has fallen by 5.7 per cent under Labor.
This Government has also put Australians at risk.
Labor released more than 300 hardcore criminals from immigration detention into the community.
More than one-third of those released have reoffended against Australians.
Labor also granted tourist visas to 3,000 people from a terrorist-controlled war zone without conducting thorough security checks.
And our country is still recovering from Labor’s Voice referendum – which cost taxpayers $450 million and sought to divide our country by ancestry and race.
There’s been moments in the last three years when we needed leadership of strength.
When Alice Springs was rocked by crime.
When antisemitism showed its vile face on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
When Chinese Communist Party warships tested weapons off our coast and circumnavigated our country.
Instead, there was a vacuum of leadership.
At too many critical moments, Anthony Albanese is too weak, too late, and too equivocal.
Anthony Albanese promised you’d be better off under Labor.
So, let me ask you:
Are you better off today than you were three years ago?
Due to Labor’s mismanagement, our economy will be burdened with a trillion dollars of debt next year for the first time in our nation’s history.
The outlook is a decade of deficits.
Labor has put our economy in an incredibly weak position at the worst possible time.
The tariff war that’s playing out internationally could lead to a global recession, or at least a downturn – as Dr Chalmers is now suggesting.
Australia may not be shielded from any downturn.
And that’s because Labor has squandered the opportunity in the last three years to strengthen our economy.
# # #
We’re living in a time of great uncertainty.
Rising costs and ballooning bills continue to cause hardships for Australians.
There’s the prospect of more economic disruption around the world.
And there’s new dangers posed by emboldened authoritarian regimes.
I know Australians are troubled by events at home and abroad.
My message to Australians is that these challenges provide clarity about what we must do as a nation.
We must grow our economy – so we’re more protected against external shocks.
We must shore-up our energy security – so we have an abundance of affordable and reliable power that we need for our future.
We must re-industrialise – so we’re less dependent on other nations for essentials.
We must strengthen our defence force – so it has the firepower to deter any adversary that would threaten us.
In short, we must become a more resilient, self-reliant, resourceful, and robust country.
Getting our country back on track is what we must do now to prepare for the decades ahead.
If I’m given the great honour to lead our country, I will make the tough and responsible decisions.
To revive our national self-confidence.
To create certainty for our country amidst international uncertainty.
To set us on a course to achieve the security, prosperity and unity we need for the future.
That’s my vision.
That’s my commitment to you, your families, and our country.
The Coalition has a clear plan.
A plan to provide immediate cost-of-living relief for Australians.
A plan for a stronger, safer and better future for Australians.
Do I think the Coalition can win this election?
Absolutely I do.
We can – and we must.
Not because we seek to win for winning’s sake.
Or because the political victory is an end in itself.
But because we must get our country back on track.
In that spirit of hope and optimism, let me ask you this question:
Are you ready to get our country back on track?
# # #
Getting our country back on track starts with providing Australians with immediate cost-of-living relief.
Anthony Albanese’s plan is to spend $17 billion of taxpayers’ money to give you back 70 cents a day which you’ll get – wait for it – in 15 months’ time.
Frankly, the Dr Chalmers’s so-called tax cut is insulting.
Families are under financial pressure now.
And we’ve heard their cry for help – for help now, not in 15 months.
Straight away, as soon as a Coalition Government is elected, we will cut the fuel tax by 25 cents a litre.
Our measure is instantaneous and effective for every Australian who owns a petrol or diesel vehicle.
Every time you fill up, you will save $14 – or about $750 over 12 months.
For a family, you will save around $1,500 over 12 months.
And do you know what else we will do to help Australian families who drive?
We will scrap Labor’s family car and ute tax.
We support choice – including those who choose to buy an electric vehicle.
But Australians shouldn’t be penalised for choosing to buy a petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicle over an EV.
In abolishing Labor’s unfair car and ute tax, we will save Australians an extra $9,700 for choosing a RAV4 hybrid and an extra $14,400 for choosing a Ford Ranger – Australia’s two most popular cars.
Indeed, we will save Australians an average of $2,300 per vehicle.
# # #
In addition to immediate cost-of-living relief that comes from the fuel tax cut, Australians also need additional cost-of-living relief in the near-term.
Today, I announce a significant tax cut to help Australians who are suffering the most under Labor’s cost-of-living crisis.
A Coalition Government will deliver a one-off Cost-of-Living Tax Offset.
This will reduce the amount of tax paid by up to $1,200 dollars for millions of Australians.
Around 85 per cent of all Australian taxpayers will be eligible for – and benefit from – this reduction in tax.
That is, Australians earning an annual taxable income of up to $144,000.
These tax cuts save families with two incomes as much as $2,400.
They will work in concert with our immediate fuel tax cut – and with our plan to lower Australians’ power bills – which I’ll come to.
Ultimately, our plan is to get the country out of Labor’s cost-of-living crisis, permanently.
To do that, we will tackle its underlying causes.
The Albanese Government is the highest spending government in 40 years.
Labor is on track to be spending $223 billion more per year than during the national emergency of the pandemic.
To take the pressure off inflation and to get interest rates down, a Coalition Government will rein-in inflationary and wasteful government spending.
We will not proceed with more than $100 billion of Labor’s ineffectual measures.
But in doing that, we will still guarantee investment in essential services and critical areas of the economy – like health, aged-care, childcare, veterans’ support, and the NDIS.
Addicted to spending, Labor governments always come after more of your money.
Under the Albanese Government, hard-working Australians have suffered the biggest increase in average tax rates in our history.
The average taxpayer is now paying $3,500 more tax this year alone – or for a dual income household, $7,000.
Prior to the election, Anthony Albanese promised no changes to superannuation.
But once in power, he introduced a new tax on superannuation – because Anthony Albanese’s word is never his bond.
Labor continues trying to tax unrealised gains.
And there’s more bad news.
Labor has already been doing other modelling to cap or abolish negative gearing – and to increase capital gains tax.
These policies are supported by the Teals and Greens.
The Greens even want to introduce an inheritance tax.
Your super and your retirement savings are at risk if Labor is returned to government in any form.
I say to Australians, under a Coalition Government I lead, we will abolish Labor’s super tax.
There will be no increase to capital gains tax.
No changes to negative gearing.
And no inheritance tax.
A Coalition Government will always deliver lower, simpler and fairer taxes.
# # #
Tackling cost-of-living is also about energy.
Energy is the economy.
Cheaper electricity doesn’t just mean cheaper power bills at home.
Cheaper electricity means it costs less to grow and harvest food, less to manufacture products and goods, and less to run businesses and factories.
Cheaper electricity flows through the economy meaning Australians pay less for everything.
This is why Chris Bowen’s renewables-only energy policy has been such a disaster.
Labor’s out-of-control power prices have driven up the cost of everything across the economy.
It’s why, for example, you’re paying 30 per cent more for groceries at the supermarket.
From day one of a Coalition Government, we will take action to address our energy crisis.
Not everyone has gas at home.
But gas is critical for our economy.
It makes electricity, runs power plants, and is used by many businesses and manufacturers.
To reduce energy prices for Australians, a Coalition Government will ensure Australian gas is for Australians.
We will immediately introduce an east coast gas reservation.
We will audit and green-light development-ready projects across the nation.
And we will de-couple the domestic market from overseas markets.
Our National Gas Plan will reduce wholesale gas prices by 23 per cent.
And those cheaper wholesale prices will flow through the economy.
Gas bills will go down for industrial customers by 15 per cent – and for residential customers by 7 per cent.
And overall residential electricity prices will go down by 3 per cent.
We will also take steps to shore-up our nation’s future energy security.
If we win this election, Australia will become a nuclear-powered nation.
We will take our place alongside the other top 19 economies in the world in adopting proven, zero-emissions nuclear power.
Our sensible plan – which uses a mix of technologies – has been independently costed at 44 per cent cheaper than Labor’s plan.
That’s a saving of $263 billion to Australians through to 2050.
If a plan is cheaper, electricity prices will be cheaper – as fewer costs are passed on to consumers.
And with nuclear power, there’s no need to carpet our national parks, prime agricultural land, and coastlines with industrial scale solar and wind farms – or 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines.
# # #
We also need to re-energise our economy and boost growth.
A strong and growing economy means more revenue to fund infrastructure, essential services, and defence.
Central to boosting growth is restoring smaller government which gets off people’s backs.
Our economy has stagnated under the Albanese Government’s excessive regulation and interference.
Prioritising the agendas of inner-city Greens voters, activists, and union bosses, Labor has used every tool at its disposal to target sectors that are critical for our economy.
It’s gone after miners, manufacturers, energy producers, small businesses, farmers, fishers and foresters.
When these industries suffer, we all suffer.
My intention is to make Australia a mining, agricultural, construction, and manufacturing powerhouse once again.
We will defund the activist-led Environmental Defenders Office that’s stymied projects across the country.
We will halve project approval times.
And we will tackle the criminal elements in our building industry.
Criminally-run operations are ripping-off Australians and undermining productivity.
They’re stalling housing and infrastructure construction across the country – and driving-up costs.
We will put a stop to this modern-day mafia.
By reinstating an industry watchdog.
By legislating new anti-racketeering laws.
And by de-registering the corrupt and crime-infiltrated CFMEU.
Boosting growth also means having the backs of small businesses.
Under Labor, small businesses have struggled to survive.
Behind every small business is a person or a family.
Today, I say to small business owners and employees who have been doing it tough, help is on its way.
We’ve got tax cuts coming.
An instant asset write-off of $30,000 on a permanent basis.
And for two years, a deduction of up to $20,000 for business-related meal expenses.
That tax relief measure will allow small businesses to take their staff out for a meal to celebrate a work achievement.
And it will drive more customers through the doors of our cafes, restaurants, and pubs which have been hard hit since the pandemic.
A Coalition Government will also address critical skills shortages across the economy.
To help small and medium businesses put on a new apprentice or trainee, we will provide $12,000 to help them cover the costs of the first two years of training that employee.
Our target is to reach 400,000 apprentices and trainees in training across Australia.
Economic responsibility also means spending taxpayers’ money wisely.
Wherever possible, I want to see a dollar spent generating new dollars for the economy.
And that’s why we have committed more than $14 billion to date towards infrastructure across the nation.
This funding for roads, rail, and transport will create new jobs, generate productivity, and attract new investment.
John Howard and Peter Costello had our future generations in mind when they established the Future Fund.
The same intergenerational responsibility drives the Coalition I lead.
Using 80 per cent of any commodity windfalls each year, we will establish and maintain two new funds.
A Future Generations Fund – to help pay down debt, fund economic infrastructure, or be drawn on in an emergency.
And a Regional Australia Future Fund – to develop our regions and improve infrastructure and services.
# # #
A better Australia means reviving the hopes of young Australians.
I was very fortunate to buy my first home aged 19.
But that’s almost impossible for an Australian the same age today.
Indeed, Australians – well into their late 30s – are struggling to buy a home.
Despite working hard and diligently saving.
Too many Australians have been locked into renting forever.
Some are moving back in with their parents.
I won’t accept a situation in our country where the only people who can buy a home are those who can rely on the bank of mum and dad.
The Albanese Government has only made the housing situation worse.
In just two years, it’s brought in a million people through the migration program.
That’s 70 per cent more migrants than in any other two-year period in Australia’s history.
We have a wonderful migration success story.
But there’s a big difference between controlled, planned, and sustainable migration – and uncontrolled, unplanned, and unsustainable migration.
In opening the migration floodgates, Labor has put more pressure on infrastructure, services and housing.
Owning a home is life changing.
A home isn’t just a financial asset.
A home provides stability and security.
And the benefits of home ownership compound – from the individual, to the family, to the community, to the nation.
Today, I bring a message of hope to all Australians seeking a home of their own:
I will be a Prime Minister who restores the dream of home ownership.
First, we will ease demand on housing.
We will ban foreign investors and temporary residents from purchasing existing homes for two years.
We will lower the permanent migration program by 25 per cent for two years.
And keep it sustainable again in the next two years.
We will bring down the number of new foreign students commencing in higher education by 30,000 each year.
Our cap will focus on major metropolitan universities.
With these measures, we anticipate we will reduce net overseas migration in our first year by 100,000 relative to Labor.
And we will free up 100,000 homes over five years.
Second, we will increase housing supply.
We will invest $5 billion in essential infrastructure – like water, power, sewerage and roads.
This will help get stalled housing projects off the ground and unlock up to 500,000 new homes.
And our boost to apprenticeships will lift the number of workers with skills to build more homes each year.
Third, we will provide the support Australians need for a first home deposit.
Labor wants to lend you taxpayers’ money so the government has equity in your home.
It wants to make you dependent on – rather than independent from – the government.
We have a better plan.
We will allow Australians to access up to $50,000 of their super towards a deposit for their first home.
Your super is your money – not the government’s.
We will also work with the prudential regulator to ease rigid and overly-strict lending criteria.
And that will result in tens-of-thousands more Australians being able to get a home loan.
Today, I announce a new policy for first-home buyers who purchase a newly built property to live in.
A Coalition Government will allow you to deduct interest payments on the first $650,000 of a mortgage against your taxable income.
We will allow these deductions for five-years, provided you continue to live in that home for that period.
This policy will be available to individuals with a taxable income of $175,000 or less – and joint applicants earning a combined income of $250,000 or less.
# # #
In the last three years, the Albanese Government’s weak leadership and bad decisions have compromised community safety and national security.
Crime is a huge issue in many parts of our country and Anthony Albanese has allowed crime gangs to run riot in many communities.
I have the experience and the determination to strengthen our borders to slow down the drugs and illegal tobacco which are the life blood of outlaw motorcycle gangs.
I will strengthen laws and provide more funding for our police and intelligence agencies to stop the crime gangs.
My focus and strong leadership will make your neighbourhood safer from crime.
We will crush the outlaw motorcycle gangs who are peddling drugs to our children, who are then breaking into your home to feed their habit.
And it’s the bikie gangs buying the cars from offenders who have broken into your home to find the keys to steal your car.
My government will work with the states and we will reduce crime in neighbourhoods, suburbs, towns and cities around the country.
Under Labor, the people smugglers resumed their trade.
A Coalition Government will again stop the boats.
Under Labor, non-citizen criminals and repeat offenders have been allowed to stay in our country.
A Coalition Government will cancel their visas and deport them.
As I did for 6,300 criminals including murderers, sex offenders, and drug traffickers as Home Affairs Minister.
Under Labor, the absence of a ‘tough on crime’ attitude has seen youth crime and antisemitism spread across the country.
A Coalition Government will provide the moral and political leadership needed to restore law, order, and justice.
And we will do other things:
We will double the funding for the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.
We will develop national uniform knife laws – working with states and territories.
We will toughen Commonwealth bail laws to stop domestic violence offenders.
And I can promise Australians this too:
A Coalition Government will call out aggressive military activities that threaten our defence personnel, our country, and the region’s stability.
And we will do this in concert with our partners.
Self-censorship is a price no self-respecting democracy should ever pay.
I will always stand up for our national interest.
And that’s why we will return the Port of Darwin to an Australian Government-approved operator.
The Albanese Government rightly describes these times as the most dangerous since the Second World War.
And yet, its defence legacy is one of $80 billion in cuts and delays, capability hold-ups, and the cannibalisation of programs to pay for others.
The Coalition will soon announce a significant investment in defence.
We must equip our military at speed and scale.
In these uncertain times, that’s not an option.
It’s a necessary investment in our security, in deterring aggression, and in maintaining peace.
# # #
A healthier Australia is a better Australia.
When I was Health Minister, I increased GP training places by 25 per cent.
And I established the $20 billion-dollar Medical Research Future Fund.
During the last Coalition Government, hospital funding went up every year.
A Coalition Government will again deliver quality healthcare.
$9 billion will be invested into Medicare – more money than Labor.
This includes funding to incentivise junior doctors to work as GPs to address shortages.
Subsidised mental health sessions will double from 10 to 20 on a permanent basis.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payment will be lowered to $25 for cheaper medicines.
Women’s health will get a $500 million lift to support better access to services and treatments.
And youth mental health services a $400 million lift – including to establish a dedicated National Institute.
Public hospitals will be backed with a $1.7 billion investment.
And bulk billing will be boosted.
Under Labor, it’s fallen nationally by 11 per cent.
When a desperate government has so few achievements to speak about, it resorts to scare campaigns.
For the third time in less than a decade, Labor is again resorting to a Mediscare campaign.
If Anthony Albanese lies about something as simple as falling off a stage, there’s nothing he won’t lie about.
# # #
The Voice referendum result was emphatic.
Australians voted against being divided – but want to see practical action to improve Indigenous lives.
A Coalition Government will start with a long overdue full audit into spending on Indigenous programs.
We will identify what’s working and what’s not – to improve housing, health, education and employment.
We will reintroduce the Cashless Debit Card for working-aged welfare recipients – in consultation with communities where drugs and alcohol are prevalent.
We will hold a Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse in Indigenous Communities.
And we will learn from local success stories – like the successful Barker School in northeast Arnhem Land.
# # #
We have a national duty to preserve the innocence of childhood and to nurture young minds in a responsible way.
For too long, education standards have been in decline.
It’s not an issue of funding.
Commonwealth funding per student has more than doubled in the last two decades.
The issue is what’s being taught in our institutions.
A Coalition Government is committed to ensuring classrooms are places of education – not indoctrination.
For our children’s future, we want Australia’s education system to return to being among the world’s best.
We’ve seen promising improvements in schools which are focused on teaching the basics – reading, writing and arithmetic – and where concepts are explained and practised.
And it’s those curriculums that cultivate critical thinking, responsible citizenship, and common sense – and reflect the expectations of parents – that must become the norm.
Of course, government should never be a substitute for parenting.
But as I’ve found across the country, so many parents are desperate for help to limit the impacts of harmful content that’s re-wiring impressionable young minds in a bad way.
That’s why we will ban gambling advertising during – and either side of – a live sporting event.
And why we proposed – and will maintain – a restriction on social media for children under the age of 16.
But we will ensure age verification technology doesn’t compromise individual privacy.
# # #
Every election is about choice.
And the choice could not be clearer at this election for Australians.
A choice between an enduring cost-of-living crisis and a weaker economy under Labor.
Or cost-of-living relief and a stronger economy under the Coalition.
A choice between higher power prices and energy insecurity under Labor.
Or affordable and reliable power – and energy security – under the Coalition.
A choice between an ongoing housing crisis under Labor.
Or the dream of home ownership being restored under the Coalition.
A choice between less bulk billing and fewer GPs under Labor.
Or a return of quality healthcare and more bulk billing under the Coalition.
A choice between allowing crime, disorder and drugs to continue to run rampant on our streets under Labor.
Or a return of law and order under the Coalition.
We live in the best country in the world.
But our country has gone backwards because of bad government.
Australians can’t afford three more years like the last three.
This election is about your future, your family’s future, and our country’s future.
It’s about who Australians can trust to manage the economy and keep our country safe.
It’s about who Australians can have confidence in to create certainty for our country amidst international uncertainty.
It’s about who Australians know has the plan to set our country on a course to be stronger, safer and better.
I stand before you as a former police officer.
As someone who started and successfully ran a business.
As a parliamentarian and minister with 23 years of experience across economic, national security and social policy.
I’m ready to serve Australians as the strong Prime Minister and steady hand our country needs.
And I lead a united and capable team.
We’re ready to govern.
This is a pivotal election that will shape our future.
A rise or fall moment.
At this election, choose your Liberal or National candidate so we can course-correct the country under a new Coalition Government.
Australians – let’s get the country we love back on track.
Thank you.
https://www.liberal.org.au/2025/04/13/address-to-liberal-party-2025-campaign-launch-check-against-delivery