Federal election 2025: Dutton sharpens attack, claiming Labor has ‘secret plans’ to abolish negative gearing

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has launched a fierce attack on independents and the Labor government, accusing them of dishonesty and warning voters about a “secret plan” to abolish negative gearing.

Speaking ahead of the May 3 federal election in the NSW Hunter, Dutton described the teals as “Greens in disguise with a T-shirt on,” claiming they lack transparency and align with the Greens on key policies.

He singled out Kooyong MP Monique Ryan’s campaign, saying, “Monique Ryan’s husband still hasn’t declared whether there was one sign or multiple (liberal party) signs he stole. These people are hypocrites.”

Mr Dutton warned that voting for a teal candidate risks delivering a Labor minority government, which he said would be “a disaster for negative gearing.”

He accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of secretly planning to abolish negative gearing after the election.

The Opposition leader’s claims come after the Prime Minister denied commissioning Treasury work on negative gearing during Wednesday’s second leaders debate, despite the Treasurer previously confirming unsolicited advice existed, a contradiction the Coalition seized as proof of Labor’s dishonesty.

“The Prime Minister has done secret planning through the Treasury department to abolish negative gearing,” Mr Dutton said.

“Jim Chalmers is a strong supporter advocate and proponent for the abolition of negative gearing, this government is proposing to tax on realised capital gain. ”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly denied any plans to scrap negative gearing and insisted that it’s not part of labor’s policies.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also ruled out changes, insisting Treasury’s past advice on the policy was unsolicited and unrelated to current plans.

Mr Dutton also claimed this would push rents higher and make home ownership more difficult.

“The Prime Minister looked down the camera and lied,” referring to Albanese’s denial of work on negative gearing policies during their debate on the ABC on Wednesday evening.

Mr Dutton then went on to say the Coalition is proposing to give people back $1,200 in tax relief to help with “groceries that have gone up 30 per cent under the Prime Minister”.

“If you want to abolish negative gearing, be honest and take it to an election.”

He framed the Coalition’s approach as a return to responsibility, promising to “clean up Labor’s mess”.

Responding to reports of robocalls targeting opponents in the teals, Mr Dutton said, “people should abide by the laws,” but also accused teal candidates of deceptive tactics, “the fraud has to stop”, claiming they’re fooling people into believing they’re independents.

Positioning the Coalition as protectors of property owners and renters, Mr Dutton warned voters.

“Last night we saw a bit of a train wreck from the Prime Minister when it came to negative gearing. The Treasurer and the Prime Minister are at odds on what is a very important issue for many Australians, he said.

“If you own a rental property and setting up to buy a property so you can maybe have a bit of extra income in retirement, if you’ve got a rental property and think you may leave that to your kids one day, all that is at risk under the Albanese government.”

While the Opposition leader used his Easter message to urge families to discuss the election’s stakes, calling it a “sliding doors” moment for Australia.

“Parents and grandparents talking to their kids... It’s an opportunity to talk about the reality”.