Student debt handbacks and electric vehicle subsidies will be on the chopping block if the coalition wins the federal election.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Monday said he would not repeal a fringe benefits tax break for EVs, which has blown out in cost due to its unexpected popularity.
But late on Wednesday the coalition revealed they would axe the incentive, putting their leader’s earlier statement down to him mishearing the question.
Liberal campaign spokesman James Paterson said Mr Dutton’s comments were the result of a misunderstanding.
“From the very beginning, we’ve been highly critical of this policy,” he told Sky News on Thursday.
“We don’t think it’s a good use of taxpayers’ money to subsidise people who can afford to buy a brand new electric vehicle and have everyone else pay for that.”
A cornerstone of the coalition’s campaign, which has featured frequent petrol station visits by Mr Dutton, has been its pledge to temporarily cut fuel excise.
Labor’s $16 billion promise to cut student debt by 20 per cent for more than three million Australians would also be scrapped, setting out another clear point of difference between the major parties.
For a student with the average HECS debt of $27,600, they would see their bill reduced by more than $5500.
The government has argued the measure was aimed at helping students deal with cost-of-living pressures and fixing generational unfairness.
But shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said it was unfair for students who had already paid off their student debt and for tradies, who got nothing from the policy.
As the campaign enters its home stretch, the mudslinging from party leaders has intensified.
That approach is only likely to increase in the final days before the May 3 election as it is one of the most powerful tools parties have left in their arsenals to swing support, one expert says.
Lagging in the polls before campaigns pause for Anzac Day, Mr Dutton has ramped up personal attacks on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, labelling him “weak” and a frequent liar.
The prime minister has also gone on the offensive, warning the coalition will unleash secret cuts if it wins government.
La Trobe University politics professor Andrea Carson said attacks were frequently seen in the last stages of a campaign.
“Studies show that negative campaigning works to some extent as it builds on people’s fears and fear is a powerful emotion to initiate action,” she told AAP.
“Campaign coverage becomes more negative, perhaps reflecting the campaign, the closer we get to polling day.”
While there could be many aspects to negative campaigning, Prof Carson said it traditionally centred on law and order and migration issues – areas the coalition frequently targeted when attacking Labor.
Labor’s negative messaging that the coalition will need to cut health and education to fund its nuclear plan relies on cherry-picking facts, but has been effective, according to work done by polling company Redbridge.
“Whilst their positive messaging has had some limited impact on their vote, their negative campaign on Dutton and the Liberal Party has been brutally efficient and effective,” director Tony Barry said.
Mr Albanese brushed aside concerns negative campaigning during the election would disillusion voters.
“This is an opposition that, if they have any policies, they’re either taken from overseas or they are taken from the reversal of reforms that we have put in place,” he said.
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