In a speech delivered this afternoon to the Centre for Independent Studies, a prominent conservative think tank, the leader of the Liberal Party made a firm promise to prioritize income tax cuts and budget deficit reduction if elected. These goals, he stated, would form the cornerstone of the opposition’s platform in the run-up to the next federal election.

“Our focus will be on where the pressure is most intense—on low and middle-income earners who are grappling with rising prices and living costs,” emphasized Ley.

“This isn’t merely a policy choice,” Ley continued. “It’s a profound commitment to reducing taxes. I’ve never been more convinced, determined, or passionate about any undertaking in my public life than I am about making this pledge to the Australian people today.”

This new stance marks a significant shift from the Coalition’s previous electoral strategy, which involved a promise to repeal the “top up” tax cuts introduced by Labor, a position held under former leader Peter Dutton.

That’s a departure from the policy the Coalition took to the last election, when it promised to repeal Labor’s “top up” tax cuts under previous leader Peter Dutton.

However, Ley’s pledge was met with scepticism by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

“They’re promising more spending and smaller deficits, Australians deserve to know how they’re going to do it. This can only mean savage cuts to Medicare and other essential services to pay for their promises,” he claimed.

Ley didn’t outline a specific tax cut, instead saying the Coalition would work on its policy platform and unveil it before the next election.

“Whilst early work on our tax cuts plan has already begun, we will determine the scale and scope of our eventual package as the final budget position becomes clearer over the next two and a half years,” she said.

However, she added the Coalition would focus on reducing regulation and making government smaller in order to be able to afford any tax cuts while improving the budget position.

The government should “do fewer things and do them better”, she said.

Ley also promised to wind back regulation and flagged a potential fight with Labor over industrial relations laws introduced over the past three-and-a-half years.

However, she sought to allay any fears that could include stopping people working from home, after a plan to force public servants back to the office backfired badly on Dutton and the Coalition at the last election.

“We believe in enterprise-level bargaining – where businesses and their staff can strike agreements that reward higher performance and suit their circumstances – rather than industry-wide decrees,” she said.

“I want to give Australian workers this assurance: flexibility does not mean stripping away worker protections.”

The address was the latest in a series of speeches by Ley as she seeks to haul the Coalition back from its disastrous performance in the May election, but comes amid the backdrop of more internal party turmoil.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is believed to be weighing up a switch to One Nation after announcing he will quit the Nationals – and a number of other Coalition MPs are reportedly being eyed off by the minor party.

That, in turn, came after prominent shadow ministers Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Price quit Ley’s front bench; Hastie stepping down due to disagreements over immigration policy, and Price dumped amid the fallout from her damaging comments about Indian migrants.