A leaked internal review of the Liberal Party’s 2025 federal election defeat has delivered a devastating assessment of the campaign, criticising former leader Peter Dutton and identifying major strategic failures across the party organisation.
The 64-page report, written by senior party figures Pru Goward and Nick Minchin, concluded that the election effort represented “the worst campaign the Party has ever fought”.
The document became public after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tabled a copy in parliament following the Liberal Party’s decision to keep the review confidential.
Leadership problems
The report found that Australian elections had become increasingly leader-focused and that Dutton’s leadership style significantly undermined the campaign.
It described the former opposition leader as presenting a “grim and introverted demeanour” throughout the campaign, which failed to inspire voters.
The review also concluded that Dutton struggled to connect with key demographics, particularly women and younger voters.
In some cases, female Liberal candidates reportedly asked party officials not to schedule visits by Dutton to their electorates.
Dutton later rejected the report’s conclusions, describing it in media comments as an “unprofessional attempt at a hit job”.
The former leader lost his Queensland seat of Dickson in the election, ending a 24-year parliamentary career.
Campaign management breakdown
The review also highlighted a “broken” relationship between Dutton’s office and the party’s federal campaign director, Andrew Hirst.
Traditionally, the party headquarters manages campaign logistics, research and communications while the leader acts as the public face.
However, the report said Dutton and his team effectively took control of the campaign, sidelining the party’s head office.
This arrangement produced poorly coordinated announcements and frequent last-minute changes to travel and messaging.
One state director told the review that Dutton had made himself “captain, coach and ballboy”.
The report’s first recommendation was that the party must never again allow a parliamentary leader to bypass its campaign structure.
Trump comparisons
Labor successfully linked Dutton to US president Donald Trump during the campaign, a comparison that the review said proved politically damaging.
Policy proposals such as cutting 40,000 public service jobs and abolishing work-from-home arrangements were widely perceived as “Trump-like”.
The report said the association worsened as public sentiment toward Trump deteriorated in Australia during the campaign.
Policy failures
The review also criticised the Coalition’s proposal to build seven government-owned nuclear reactors across Australia.
Polling cited in the report found the nuclear policy was particularly unpopular with women voters, who described it as “weird”.
The campaign’s broader policy platform was described as incoherent, with several proposals later reversed or abandoned.
These included the work-from-home policy and a plan to reverse Labor’s income tax cuts.
Faulty polling
Another key problem identified in the report was the party’s reliance on polling conducted by Freshwater Strategy.
The review said the research significantly overstated support for the Coalition and misled campaign strategists about key marginal seats.
As a result, resources and campaign workers were deployed to electorates the party was unlikely to win while other seats received less attention.
Female vote challenge
The report also warned that the Liberal Party faces a structural problem with female voters.
After more than a decade of declining support among women, the review criticised the party for failing to conduct a serious investigation into the causes.
It also highlighted a shortage of senior female staff inside the party organisation and limited engagement with groups that promote women candidates.
The findings add to growing pressure on the Liberal Party leadership as it attempts to rebuild following the 2025 election defeat.
