Q: On your public service cuts can I get clarity on a couple of things, you said yesterday you worked with the PBO and that’s how you got the assumption natural attrition would deliver at 41,000 person decline, given that’s well above the natural attrition rate now, and you said you will be keeping frontline roles, what assumptions are you making or how are you confident you will get those cuts and could you give explanation about what you consider a frontline public servant, is it someone who answers phones for Services Australia for example?

Dutton:

I’ll leave the PBO question to the appropriate time and that will be further in the campaign. This election is about how we treat Australians with the dignity they deserve and that includes making sure we spend wisely and efficiently and not in a wasteful way, the taxes they earn and pay. I think readers of the daily tally would be more interested in how we can take different help them with their problems because at the moment they are struggling to keep head above water. What I want to do and I don’t make any apology for this… Is it there is waste within the budget, and Labor has built up wasteful spending, I want to make sure the money can get back to families, to frontline services, to supporting doctors, supporting nurses, to make sure we can spot the Australian Defence Force and we can achieve that through a measured approach as was evidenced in the Howard years. And that’s exactly what we’ll do.