‘Ditch the gimmicks’: Sussan Ley outlines realigned focus for Coalition

Sussan Ley has committed to cutting income tax and overhauling industrial relations as she gives an early glimpse of the Coalition’s plans for the next election.

The Opposition Leader was speaking in Sydney and argued the Albanese government was failing to protect its middle and low income workers.

She said the party would be turning its focus on its economic policy and income taxes for the election, which must be held before May 2028 and follows the Coalition losing 15 seats at the May 2025 poll.

On Monday, Ms Ley said the nation was at a “turning point” with productivity and living standards “sliding backwards”.

Speaking at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, Ms Ley argued the government should keep taxes lower “so the economy can grow”, paired with “responsible spending (and) a sustainable safety net for those who truly need it”.

She said when Liberal prime minister John Howard left office in 2007, the average worker paid 22.3 per cent in income tax, which has since increased to 24.3 per cent.

The independent Parliamentary Budget Office projected income tax will increase to 27.7 per cent by 2035-2036.

She promised the Coalition would commit to cutting personal income tax for low and middle income workers, arguing the Labor government pocketed $605b in taxes last year.

“We’ll start where the pressure is greatest — low and middle income earners who are feeling the squeeze from higher prices and rising living cost,” she said.

“Every instinct in my being tells me that Australians should keep more of what they earn.”

She also hinted at unwinding the Labor government’s multi-employer bargaining laws in favour of enterprise-level bargaining, which she said would allow businesses and staff to “strike agreements that reward higher performance and suit their circumstances – rather than industry-wide decrees”.

She said the country had suffered the “biggest fall in living standards in the developed world”.

“It feels like Australians are running faster and faster only to stand still,” she said.

“That is the reality people face, and it is not acceptable.”

Ms Ley said the party would continue supporting work from home arrangements, backflipping on the party’s stance earlier this year.

Former opposition leader Peter Dutton reversed the Coalition’s policy of restricting work from home arrangements for the public sector during the federal election this year, following backlash from the public.

“This is something that we got wrong in the lead up to the 2025 election. And we have listened,” Ms Ley said.

“We know employers and employees will take a commonsense approach. Different arrangements suit different industries, sectors, businesses and workers.”

She said the Coalition would be refocusing its efforts on budget restoration.

This is the second speech Ms Ley has given as opposition leader, last month saying the Albanese government should “live within its means, just as families and businesses do”.

“Every dollar wasted is borrowed against our children’s future,” she said.

But Assistant Minister for competition Andrew Leigh told reporters that Ms Ley’s idea was a “thought bubble, not a plan”.

He added: “Australians want to know what the Coalition would actually do, so unless Sussan Ley’s proposal comes with specific tax cut requirements, unless it’s actually properly costed, then all it is is just a another broad statement of intent.”