Dutton vows to 're-prioritise Canberra-centric' funding

Mr Dutton tore into Labor's third federal budget as "the most irresponsible" he had seen in his 22 years in Parliament in his reply speech on Thursday evening.

Among other measures, he proposed to reduce net permanent migration by 25 per cent, roll out nuclear power, lift work bonuses for pensioners and veterans, support women's health initiatives and introduce new laws targeting online crime.

Speaking to journalists directly after the speech, Education Minister Jason Clare called for detail on the policies and their potential impacts, slamming Mr Dutton as "dour and angry".

The Opposition Leader also indicated that he would redirect public service funding towards Defence priorities, as he zeroed in on the increase of 36,000 APS roles under Labor since 2022.

While Mr Dutton has hinted at reducing public service jobs, he has not made any commitment to do so.

"The Coalition sees areas like Defence as much more of a priority than office staff in Canberra given the precarious times in which we live and threats in our region," Mr Dutton said in his speech.

"We will reprioritise Canberra-centric funding and make an additional investment into Defence to rapidly enhance the capability of our men and women in uniform.

"We're working with leaders in defence industry to identify projects and investments that can be made in Australia to keep us safe in an uncertain world."

The public service grew by about 17,000 places between Labor's May 2023 and May 2024 budgets.

The increase includes an additional 5248 places in the 2023-24 financial year, while Average Staffing Level (ASL) is set to rise by 12,042 in the 2024-25 year.

Military received the greatest boost to jobs, above all government agencies, of 5355 ASL places, while the department will also grow by 1083 places.

The ASL measure provides a full-time equivalent figure of the number of employees receiving wages or salary over the financial year.

The growth is part of Labor's plan to reduce spending on outsourced labour, after it lashed out at a so-called shadow workforce of nearly 54,000 - costing $20.8 billion - under the Morrison government in the 2021-22 financial year.

Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has committed to another audit in the 2024-25 financial year, on Wednesday saying she would "hope to see a pretty significant reduction on that shadow workforce we inherited".