Federal election 2025: Peter Dutton makes final pitch, says country ‘can’t afford’ another Labor term

Peter Dutton made his final pitch to Australians on Friday, saying only a Coalition government can help tackle cost-of-living and manage the economy, and the country “can’t afford” another Labor term.

“My conversation with the Australian people has gone on for three years, and we’ve listened respectfully, and what I would say to Australians at this election is that there is a choice and a sliding doors moment.

“The choice is to continue three bad years and Australians can’t afford that. I want to make sure we get a positive plan where we can help families straight away,” he said.

The Opposition leader also hit out at what he called the Prime Minister’s lies and talk of the The Voice resurfacing, as he prepared for election day.

“I’ve worked for four prime ministers, I’ve observed three on the other side. I’ve never seen a prime minister who can just look down the barrel of a camera and tell mistruths or lies like this prime minister has,” Mr Dutton said.

“The whole scare campaign of Labor has been built on a lie, and the Prime Minister continues to repeat these lies.

“When a government can’t talk about their positive track record, and that’s why you should re-elect them, they throw mud.”

At the end of a brutal five-week campaign, Mr Dutton spent the afternoon at an oceanside cafe in Perth’s northern seat of Pearce.

He said WA was vital if the Coalition is to return to office and claimed that if elected he would trump the Prime Minister’s 10 visits west a year, just to illustrate his support.

Mr Dutton also campaigned in Tangney and Moore, and was expected to visit Curtin on Friday evening, as the Coalition bids to win back the five seats it lost in WA in 2022.

“I have been coming to WA for 25 years and to watch it at different periods where it’s been down ... but when it’s booming, when it’s racing, it is an exciting place, and it will be racing under a government that I lead,” he said.

In Moore, he hit his 16th petrol station of the campaign to spruik his plan to cut fuel excise by 25¢, which has been his headline cost-of-living measure alongside tax cuts.

Driven by Liberal candidate Vince Connelly in his “Vinny Van”, the pair filled up at a Joondalup 7-Eleven.

“It doesn’t have a huge fuel tank so he doesn’t save as much as somebody driving a LandCruiser or a HiLux might, but 25¢ a litre on fuel is going to help a lot of Australians,” Mr Dutton said.

Earlier, appearing in the southern electorate of Tangney alongside Liberal candidate Howard Ong, Mr Dutton was asked whether he needed a miracle to win on Saturday.

In reply, he said he had confidence in the efforts of his party and his candidates.

“I believe that communities will reward that effort. And, if we do that, we can form a government. And if we do that, we can bring three bad years of a Labor Government to an end.”

After moving through 18 seats in the past week, Mr Dutton appeared in good spirits, starting his day at a produce market in the seat of Makin in Adelaide’s north.

“Australians will make a decision, and right up until polls close, people are contemplating, what does our future as a country look like?” he said.

“I think we’re in for the fight of our lives, because if you look at the seat-by-seat analysis, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can win this election.”

He had held a rally in Sturt on Thursday night — an SA seat thought to be on a knife edge alongside Boothby — but his visit to the Labor stronghold of Makin raised some eyebrows.

Despite facing dire polling and a surge in early voting, Mr Dutton remained confident the Coalition could still pick up seats.

Almost 5.7 million people had cast their vote and more than 1.5 million postal ballots were returned by Thursday night, accounting for about 40 per cent of eligible voters.

Mr Dutton said he expected “big surprises” on election night.

He has repeatedly invoked the Coalition’s shock 2019 election win under Scott Morrison, but has also noted that a first-term government had not lost since the 1930s.

Mr Dutton is expected to hold his election night event in Brisbane, where his seat of Dickson, which he has held for two decades, is Queensland’s most marginal.