Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has defended his chief economic salesman Angus Taylor against public and internal criticism of the opposition’s economic performance ahead of a cut-throat budget-in-reply speech, warning pre-election leaking against the party could cost an election win.
Dutton’s defence in a party room meeting on Tuesday was delivered in a more mild tone than Nationals counterpart David Littleproud, who spent several minutes giving a full-throated defence of Taylor.
Peter Dutton and Nationals Leader David Littleproud with Angus Taylor.Credit: James Brickwood
“David was very strong, he said, ‘the undermining needs to stop, the leaking has to stop’,” one MP said, noting some cheers for Taylor in the meeting.
The Coalition has been under pressure to announce detailed policies lately and a series of stories in this masthead and other outlets such as The Australian have revealed a level of internal angst about the party’s economic messaging and policy offering.
A significant portion of the frustration is directed towards Taylor, whose performance in an ABC Insiders interview added weight to the concern of MPs who are seeking details on the party’s positions on tax, migration and short-term power price relief.
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Dutton addressed his troops at a party room meeting on Tuesday morning, in which he backed the work of Taylor and finance spokeswoman Jane Hume for helping the Coalition get into a competitive position after a 2022 election drubbing. The Coalition holds a 17 per cent lead on economic management in the latest Resolve Political Monitor.
Several MPs at the meeting, not authorised to speak about it publicly, said Dutton warned internal dissent could cost a few seats in an election and cut the chances of an election win.
He also claimed the criticism of Taylor, which is not shared across the whole party, was driven by NSW intra-party feuding, in what was viewed as a shot across the bows of MPs aligned with the NSW moderates and centre-right.
