{"id":513674,"date":"2026-03-02T10:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T10:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/513674\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T10:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T10:31:17","slug":"peter-dutton-lets-fly-as-liberal-party-election-review-leaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/513674\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Dutton lets fly as Liberal Party election review leaks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated March 2, 2026 \u2014 6:54pm,first published 6:52pm<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

Save this article for later<\/p>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n

Got it<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Former Coalition leader Peter Dutton has described the Liberal Party\u2019s suppressed election review as a \u201cgratuitous and personal\u201d hit job after the full report was leaked.<\/p>\n

Dutton is furious about findings that focused on his unattractiveness to women, as well as lengthy criticisms of his staff seizing control of the campaign from party head office.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Liberal leader Peter Dutton on election day in May. His unpopularity with voters was a major factor in the Coalition\u2019s loss.James Brickwood<\/p>\n

The report, seen by this masthead, written by party elders Pru Goward and Nick Minchin, has become a focus of intrigue after new Coalition leader Angus Taylor met with party officials last week to shelve the document despite Sussan Ley\u2019s previous commitment to make it public.<\/p>\n

With the party\u2019s polling position at record lows, a byelection looming in Ley\u2019s seat following her resignation on Friday, and a threat from One Nation\u2019s polling surge, Taylor and party officials decided it would serve little purpose to air the party\u2019s dirty linen.<\/p>\n

However, Goward and Minchin argue the party will never learn from its mistakes. Taylor and deputy Jane Hume are facing pressure over the decision to bury the document that delves into errors on tax policy involving Taylor and a damaging comment by Hume on \u201cChinese spies\u201d, for which both have already apologised.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Opposition<\/a><\/p>\n

Dutton had threatened legal action if the report was released, while the quality of the report was also questioned.<\/p>\n

Dutton, who suffers from alopecia, took exception to the review\u2019s recommendation number 15 of 18, which states: \u201cThe female vote is clearly a problem for the Liberal Party. The combination of a Leader unattractive to women, and policies or messaging that alienated women appears to have been a major factor in 2025. Further research to understand the loss of the female vote over the past decade must be undertaken urgently\u201d.<\/p>\n

In response, Dutton told this masthead the review \u201cwas an unprofessional attempt at a hit job\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report is embarrassing in what it neglected to mention and gratuitous and personal to the point of being without foundation in many of its claims,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report makes numerous baseless claims and asserts a breakdown in relationships, which just wasn\u2019t the case. It was discredited before it was leaked. It points out that I have a good head for radio. It\u2019s a fair point, but I just don\u2019t know how the personal attacks help us win the next election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Opposition<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of Dutton\u2019s supporters in the executive meeting felt the term \u201cunattractive\u201d was a comment on Dutton\u2019s appearance, which the report states was weaponised by Labor, who compared Dutton to Harry Potter villain Voldemort. But the authors firmly reject this claim, and some Liberal sources say Dutton was using the loose language in the review, which is widely acknowledged as unusual, as ammunition to discredit its findings about him.<\/p>\n

Minchin, a Right faction stalwart of the party, said Dutton\u2019s claims were wrong. \u201cI share Peter\u2019s conservative leanings and I would reject any suggestion this was a hit job,\u201d the report\u2019s co-author said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is while I personally have a great affinity for Peter and have known him for some time, his leadership during the campaign and the decisions he made during the campaign were a significant contributor to the size of that loss and it would have been quite irresponsible for Pru and I not to reflect that fact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The rift over the document underscores the party\u2019s struggles to recover from its catastrophic electoral result. Taylor is the third opposition leader in less than four years, leading a Liberal Party that many candidates and MPs told the review might \u201ccollapse or disappear\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The clash over a document meant to chart a path forward stands in sharp contrast with the sober review conducted by Labor after its disastrous 2019 loss, paving the way for the win in 2022.<\/p>\n

A leaked copy of the latest version of the review makes 18 recommendations including: codifying the campaign director\u2019s supremacy over the party leader\u2019s office; offsetting the party\u2019s \u201cageing\u201d membership base by hiring campaigners in key seats; partnering with women\u2019s organisations to find common ground; forcing MPs to engage with younger people and diverse background voters; and reviewing its fundraising to avoid conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

Much of the election review\u2019s focus is on the relationship between Dutton and the professional campaigning unit led by federal director Andrew Hirst.<\/p>\n

Officials in party HQ told the review that Dutton\u2019s office were \u201cnot engaging\u201d on strategy in the years and months before the election. Dutton\u2019s team, meanwhile, claimed the party officials failed to develop a positive story for Dutton or an effective campaign against Anthony Albanese.<\/p>\n

\"HeadHead of federal Liberals Andrew Hirst.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

The reviewers said the breakdown was a critical factor in the party\u2019s poor tactics that made the election loss so large.<\/p>\n

Minchin and Goward said they were satisfied that the leader\u2019s office took control of the campaign at key points, usurping Hirst, who is meant to be in full control of campaigns.<\/p>\n

Key to the breakdown, they said, was Dutton\u2019s \u201cuntrusting nature\u201d. The leader trusted very few of his colleagues and was sceptical of their motives, the review said. Dutton\u2019s team \u201ctreated MPs as irrelevant\u201d, the review found, as strong polling gave Dutton false confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leader and his chief of staff had little trust in the federal director\/federal secretariat,\u201d Minchin and Goward wrote.<\/p>\n

\"TaylorTaylor and Dutton on the campaign trail.James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Dutton sledged the party\u2019s campaign unit, even though Hirst ran Scott Morrison\u2019s victorious 2019 campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were outgunned by Labor\u2019s machine,\u201d Dutton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the truth of the last election campaign. In February, we were 52\/48 up. My net favorability was plus 5, and by election day it was minus 29. Full credit to Labor for the character assassination and effective online propaganda campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, our campaign machine wasn\u2019t up for the fight. That is the lesson of the last election, and until we get match-fit we won\u2019t come within a bull\u2019s roar of Labor, regardless of how much policy we put out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor acknowledged a critical breakdown in the party\u2019s campaign effort in an interview with this masthead on Sunday, without laying blame at either Dutton or Hirst\u2019s feet. The Nightly was first to report on the campaign breakdown discussed in the review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s very clear lessons that I haven\u2019t talked about in the past, about the tension that existed between the federal secretariat and the leader\u2019s office,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to do everything to make sure that is not repeated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The review gives Dutton credit for the Voice to parliament defeat but says the results of the referendum were then used by pollster Freshwater to overestimate the expected Liberal vote.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Peter<\/a><\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump\u2019s effect on the election is examined in detail, with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price\u2019s call to \u201cMake Australia Great Again\u201d singled out as an own-goal. Trump\u2019s tariffs, announced during the election campaign, \u201cdeepened Australian dislike of the president and the opposition leader, now successfully painted as Trump-like\u201d.<\/p>\n

Although Taylor is not mentioned by name, the failure to match Labor\u2019s tax cuts is criticised as a mistake. Hume was criticised for her working from home policy, which was dumped mid-campaign, and for her comments about Chinese spies, which former MP Keith Wolahan blamed in part for the loss of his seat of Menzies as well as Kooyong and Bradfield.<\/p>\n

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Massola<\/a> is chief political commentator. He was previously national affairs editor and South-East Asia correspondent. He has won Quill and Kennedy awards and been a Walkley finalist. Connect securely on Signal @jamesmassola.01Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"PaulPaul Sakkal<\/a> is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and has won Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated March 2, 2026 \u2014 6:54pm,first published 6:52pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-513674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}