As one senior Liberal warned that Peter Dutton will “have to go” if he loses the election, insiders have unloaded on the performance of Mr Dutton’s economic team and Angus Tayor is in their sights.

“He’s been an absolute disaster,’’ a Liberal MP told news.com.au

“He’s been an absolute disaster because of the failure to develop a tax policy.”

The Liberals have come under fire for vowing to repeal Labor’s modest $10 a week tax cut and offering only temporary tax relief in the form of a fuel excise cut for one year only and a $1200 tax cut that was a one-off.

‘Everyone is a d*ckhead’

But it’s the bedside manner of the Treasury spokesman that has annoyed some colleagues.

“I don’t think he doesn’t understand political communication. I’ve never known anyone to be so condescending and rude,’’ the Liberal MP said.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re a journalist or a colleague. I mean, he thinks everyone is dumb.

“You know, when I got to a meeting, I think, ‘what can I learn from this meeting? I don’t think ‘everyone is a dickhead’

Regardless of the MP’s sledge, it’s expected Mr Taylor is likely to emerge as a major contender for the leadership if Mr Dutton stands down.

On election night, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that post-election meetings were already being organised.

Some Liberal MPs said the Nationals Ted O’Brien or the Liberal frontbencher Michael Sukkar would have been a better communicator in the portfolio.

Peter Dutton ‘will have to go’

One senior Liberal said that depending on the number of seats Mr Dutton won, “he will have to go”.

Asked if he might decide to stand down, the Liberal source said they weren’t confident that would occur.

“I don’t think he will want to go. It will be an absolute shambles,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Liberals opposition finance spokesman Jane Hume has also had a challenging campaign.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has sought to weaponise her extraordinary and unsubstantiated claim that “Chinese spies” could be working on Labor pre-poll booths in new social media ads.

Capping off a challenging campaign for Senator Hume, who was also at the centre of the work-from-home backflip, the comments have infuriated Liberal colleagues.

Senator Hume previously claimed public servants who were “working for home” were in fact driving around in campervans while travelling Australia.

The Liberal Party later dumped the plan to force public servants back into the office amid fears staff thinking it applied to all workers.

Accusing the Liberal Party of questioning the loyalty of Chinese Australians, Senator Wong used new social media advertisements targeting Chinese voters on WeChat and RedNote.

“Yesterday, Liberal Senator Jane Hume accused Chinese Australians volunteering in the federal election of being Chinese spies,’’ Senator Wong said.

“We’ve seen this before from the Liberal Party.

“Why is it that the Liberal Party continues to question the loyalty of Chinese Australians, and we all remember how Peter Dutton weaponised the relationship with China.

“He didn’t care about the consequences for us, for our communities. And now, when he wants your vote, he says something different.

“But Chinese Australians know what Peter Dutton is like.”

Senator Wong then speaks in Chinese before translating her words to English.

“He won’t change,’’ she says.

“You’ve seen Labor’s approach to China working calmly and consistently. We’ve seen dialogue resume and $20 billion in trade barriers lifted.

“We aren’t reckless and aggro. Labor will always value Chinese Australian communities, not just when it’s convenient at election time.”

Hume

Speaking on Channel Seven’s election night coverage, Sunrise host Nat Barr put the story to Senator Hume that she was ringing around on the leadership.

“A story has just dropped in the press, Jane, you’ve been contacting colleagues asking for face-to-face after the election, five senior party sources have confirmed that,’ she said.

“This is such a beat up,’’ Senator Hume said.

She said she was ringing “candidates I have campaigned with to say, “Hey, how are you doing?” That’s what you do.”

Chinese spies claims

The Coalition finance spokeswoman told Channel 7’s Sunrise on Wednesday that people associated with the Chinese Communist Party had organised campaigners for a teal and Labor MP, before the latter rejected the arrangement.

Her observation followed a newspaper article outlining the claims.

“There might be Chinese spies that are, you know, handing out for you,” Hume said to Clare O’Neil. She offered no evidence to support the claim.

“But for us, there’s dozens, thousands, hundreds of young people that are out there handing out how-to-vote cards for the Liberal Party because they want a better life,’’ she added.

Sunrise host Nat Barr appeared shocked by the claim asking her, “Chinese spies?”.

Peter Dutton and China

During the 2022 election, the Liberals took a big hit among Chinese voters after taking an anti-China stance during the pandemic.

In the Liberal Party’s review of its election performance, undertaken by former party director Brian Loughnane and Senator Hume, it was reported: “In the top 15 seats by Chinese ancestry the swing against the Party (on a 2PP basis) was 6.6 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent in other seats.”

“There are more than 1.2 million people of Chinese heritage living in Australia today. Rebuilding the party’s relationship with the Chinese community must be a priority during this term of parliament,’’ the report written by Senator Hume stated.

On Friday, Senator Hume also appeared on ABC Breakfast and when asked about whether Angus Taylor was a future leader made a comment about gutting a chicken.

“You do not read the entrails until you’ve gutted the chicken,’’ she said.