A Coalition government would drive the budget deeper into deficit over the coming two years, as the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, insisted her party’s plan to save $17.2bn by slashing the number of Canberra-based public servants by 41,000 through “natural attrition” was achievable.
If returned to power, the Coalition would gut a long list of environment and clean energy programs, including scrapping the Net Zero Economy Authority, reversing Labor’s tax breaks for electric vehicles, and redirecting money slated for the home batteries program.
