Australia Needs a DOGE: Libertarians Also Pledge $50,000 Tax Free Threshold

Tax reform and bringing back natural resources into the energy grid at the top of the Libertarians’ agenda.

Elon Musk shows off a shirt that says "DOGE" as he walks on the South Lawn of the white House after stepping off Marine One upon arrival to the White House on March 9, 2025. Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images

Victorian Senate candidate for the Libertarians, Jordan Dittloff, is campaigning on the idea that governments have become too bloated with taxpayer funds.

“It’s like the road to hell is paved with good intentions, that saying,” he told The Epoch Times.

“Far too often and almost invariably, all government knows what to do in response to a problem is make recommendations. And it doesn’t always work out.”

His comments come after Coalition Leader Peter Dutton announced a major policy reversal to cut 41,000 public servants from Canberra if he wins office, as well as scrapping work from home for Commonwealth employees

“We’ve made a mistake in relation to the policy,” Dutton told Channel Nine’s Today programme. “We apologise for that. And we’ve dealt with it.”

In December 2024, Australia’s net debt stood at 33.7 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), or approximately $940 billion (US$587 billion), with projections indicating a continued rise to 36.8 percent of GDP by 2028-29.

By June 30, 2024, the Australian Public Service (APS) had 185,343 employees in 583 locations and 101 agencies.

Inspired by President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk’s cutting of mass debt through their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States, Dittloff says cutting waste would be a focus of his if he is able to secure a Senate seat at the federal election on May 3.

“The Libertarians are all about the idea that government has grown far too large, and it’s interfering in far too many areas of personal and private life,” he said.

“Look at the American experience and what Elon’s doing with DOGE.

“No matter how much the government attempts to solve problems for you, it almost always gets it wrong. Or it creates consequences.”

Dittloff said cutting income tax and bringing down the soaring prices of electricity bills across the country would be among his top priorities.

Push for $50,000 Tax Free Threshold

Dittloff said if the Libertarians can win any influence over the federal Parliament, they would push for a flat 20 percent income tax, meaning high-income earners would not be financially punished because of their success.

In Australia, the tax-free threshold only exists for those who earn up to $18,200, and it is 32.5 percent for those who earn $45,001 to $120,000.

Those earning up to $180,000 fall into a higher bracket, with a 37 percent tax rate.

Dittloff believes this needs to change, adding the Libertarians would implement a $50,000 tax-free threshold.

“So instead of having these tax brackets that aren’t indexed to inflation, you end up moving up in tax brackets even if your income in real terms doesn’t change,” he said.

“Essentially, you’re getting taxed more just by virtue of inflation pushing your income higher.

“Whereas rather than indexing tax brackets, we think they should just be abolished.”

In order to create these more favourable income-tax conditions, Dittloff said the Libertarians would cut wasteful government spending, and look at reintroducing more coal and gas into the energy grid.

“With the tax changes we’re proposing, you could halve the size of the ATO [Australian Tax Office]. And that in itself would create so much benefit,” he said.

Taking Ownership of His Criminal Past

Dittloff is open about his past criminal history. In 2015, he stole a total of $255,000 in client funds from 47 Colac residents while working as a travel agent.

The next year he was sentenced to a minimum of 20 months in jail, going on to serve 27 months. His X bio reads “ex-offender and rehabilitant.”

“In 2015, at the age of 27, poor business decisions and an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and drugs lead to my theft of $255,000 of client funds, resulting in the collapse of my travel agency business and crisis in my personal life, including 27 months in prison,” he wrote on his webpage last year.

“I chose to take ownership of my mistakes, using my experiences to turn my life around, completing a business degree and a postgraduate law degree in the process.

“I have been able to reflect on behaviours that fuelled past addictions, and now with strong support networks I have over eight years of recovery and sobriety.”

He said he has repaid over $40,000 to his victims and is working to clear the remaining balance.

‘Let’s Bring Back Coal and Gas’

According to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), renewable power reached a record share of Australia’s main electricity supply in the December 2024 quarter, with the contribution of coal-fired generation dropping below 50 percent for the first time.

While renewable energy sources drove quarterly total carbon emissions to record low levels, power bills have also skyrocketed across the country.

In Victoria alone, the federal government’s Rewiring the Nation investment, including the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector (VNI West), is estimated to cost $2.25 billion.

Dittloff said the Libertarians would put a stop to this large-scale government subsidising of energy.

“We’re a resource-rich nation that has unreliable energy and expensive energy, and it’s insane,” he said.

“We’re happy to export our coal to China where they’re building new coal-fired power stations. But we’re not happy to use it ourselves and invest in our ageing coal infrastructure.

“And we’re the largest supplier of uranium in the world and we don’t have a commercial nuclear-energy industry.”

Minor Party Wants to Stop Interference in Energy Market

David Limbrick, the Libertarian MP for the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region in Victoria, said he was concerned about government intervention in the energy market, and believes it could result in a national energy crisis.

In Victoria, the Allan government is phasing out new gas connections in all new homes, apartment buildings, and residential subdivisions that require planning permits.

This move is part of the state’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions, aiming for a 75 to 80 percent reduction by 2025, and net-zero emissions by 2045.

The Victorian government is also transitioning away from coal power, with plans to shut down the Loy Yang A power station by 2035.

But the large-scale phasing out of coal and gas is happening too quickly, according to Limbrick.

“I’m concerned that the government has been interfering in the energy market for so long, and so intensively that we’re going to end up with an energy crisis,” he told The Epoch Times.

“That’s the worst thing because it makes it hard for families, manufacturers and everyone when your energy prices are high.

“I want every energy option and technology on the table.”