Peter Dutton dismissed questions regarding the Liberal party’s vetting processes and remained tight-lipped on cost-cutting measures, following concerns over candidate Jeffrey Kidney’s 2024 guilty plea for deceiving financial advice. Dutton, who visited a factory in the Melbourne seat of Aston, was pressed about his party’s vetting after it was revealed Kidney pleaded guilty to obtaining financial advice by deception in a 2019 incident. Dutton defended his party’s candidates and criticized the trustworthiness of the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese. The incident with Kidney follows a series of controversies involving Liberal candidates across the country, including disendorsed candidate Ben Britton and others with controversial statements on social media. The party continues to avoid detailed explanations of their plans to cut 41,000 public service jobs by 2030, with Dutton emphasizing the need for an efficient public service.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/10/peter-dutton-liberal-party-candidates-vetting-questions-public-service-cuts-ntwnfb