Opposition leader also says ‘I’ll let scientists pass that judgment’ when asked if climate change impacts getting worse in second showdown
- Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign
- Polls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverage
- Anywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guide
- Listen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: Gina
- Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast
Peter Dutton has admitted he made a mistake by wrongly claiming the Indonesian president had announced a proposal for Russia to base military aircraft in Indonesia, and declined to state whether the impacts of climate change were getting worse.
The opposition leader has also confirmed his plan to reduce the size of the federal public service by 41,000 positions by 2030 would not pay for the entirety of the Coalition’s policy platform, suggesting further cuts to government spending may be necessary.