Ley flags future tax cuts as sweetener for votersAndrew BrownAAPMon, 20 October 2025 12:35AM
Low and middle-income Australians will be given tax cuts under a future coalition government.
In a major economic speech in Sydney on Monday, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will say personal income tax cuts will be a centrepiece of the coalition’s policy offerings it will take to voters.
She will say future tax cuts will be focused on areas where financial burdens are being felt the hardest.
“We’ll start where the pressure is greatest: low- and middle-income earners who are feeling the squeeze from higher prices and rising living costs,” she will tell the Centre for Independent Studies.
“This is not a passing policy preference. It is more than just a commitment to lower taxes.”
However, the scale of any potential tax cuts taken to voters is yet to be determined, with firm details to only be announced closer to an election.
The promise of a tax cut is one of the first policy priorities announced by Ms Ley since she took over as opposition leader after the coalition’s worst-ever election defeat.
The May election saw the coalition under then-leader Peter Dutton had no promises of tax cuts in its policy platform, instead only opposing the modest decreases put forward by Labor in its March budget.
Coalition policies have been under review since the election defeat, with areas such as energy and climate still to be determined amid internal party tensions.
Ms Ley will say any economic policy taken to the next election would have a firm focus in mind.
“Every time we say no to Labor’s waste, we will look first to return those savings to taxpayers or to strengthen the nation’s finances,” she will say.
“Every instinct in my being tells me that Australians should keep more of what they earn.”
The opposition leader will also use the economic speech to call for generational fairness for younger Australians, as well as outline priorities in industrial relations.
She will say flexibility for workers will remain important.
“Flexibility does not mean stripping away worker protections; it means giving workers more choice in how they balance work and life, and giving businesses the ability to test new ideas, attract talent, and reward merit,” she will say.
“A fair and balanced industrial relations system would create more jobs and more productivity gains.”
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