Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused the opposition of confected outrage as he revealed the full detail of sweeping changes to Australia’s income tax rates.

Albanese defended the change in policy – which came after he had repeatedly pledged to deliver the former government’s stage-three tax cuts in full – as the “right thing to do”.

“When economic circumstances change, the right thing to do is change your economic policy,” Albanese told the National Press Club on Thursday.

“This is a change in our policy.”

All taxpayers will pay less under the changes and 90 per cent will get a bigger cut than promised under the original scheme. The benefit for those on the highest incomes will be halved, although they will still pay less tax after July 1.

Under the changes, a person earning an average wage of $73,000 will get a tax cut of more than $1500 a year.

At the upper end, the cut for those earning $200,000 will be slashed from $9075 to $4500.

Under the rejigged scheme, the lowest rate on income tax will drop from 19 to 16 cents in the dollar, meaning workers will pay less on their first $45,000.

The low-income threshold at which the Medicare levy kicks in will also increase.

The second tax rate will be reduced from 32.5 to 30 per cent for people earning up to $135,000.

Labor will retain the 37 per cent rate for people earning over $135,000 and the top tax rate of 45 per cent will kick in at $190,000 rather than $180,000.

Albanese said the government had tried to “keep as much consistency as possible”.

“I am very clear about the fact we have changed our position, we have changed our position for the right reasons. And I stand by and accept responsibility for it,” he said.

“It was unanimously adopted by the ERC and Cabinet, and the ministry and unanimously adopted by the caucus.

“I am not trying to argue that it is not a change of position. As we have kept as much consistency as possible, by keeping the same amount there, but done it in a way that recognises the reality which is there.”

Asked why he committed as recently as last week to the original plan – and if that was a lie – Albanese said he could be trusted to “make the right call, not the easy call”.

“That is what I have done. We changed our position on Tuesday in the Cabinet, I’m here at the National Press Club on Thursday with everyone, here being accountable for that decision,” he said.

He also took aim at media commentary that has been critical of this week’s change of heart.

“I say this: The readers of the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun and the Courier Mail and the Advertiser, overwhelmingly, will be beneficiaries from what I’m announcing today,” he said.

“As politicians we cannot say, yes we are aware of the cost of living, we are sorry but [are] not in a position to do anything about it. I’m the Prime Minister, I am in a position to do something about it, we are doing something about it and it’s the right thing to do.”

There was also a serve for the Coalition, after Deputy Opposition Leader, Sussan Ley initially pledged a Coalition government would to roll back the changes, and then backtracked on that.

“We have seen already that our opponents will revert to their predictable shouting and confected outrage. It’s all they do, that’s all they’ve got … It’s just all negativity, conflict and division,” he said.

“They don’t know what it looks like, they don’t care that it will help, the only thing they are interested in is having a fight.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who has kept a low profile in recent days, emerged on Thursday to accuse Albanese of “blatantly” lying about the changes.

“We’ve got a Prime Minister who’s prepared to lie to the Australian public, and I don’t think people will easily forget or forgive,” he told radio presenter Ray Hadley on 2GB.

“I don’t believe he will have any credibility with the public.

“They’ve promised on over 100 occasions, he and [Treasurer] Jim Chalmers that the stage-three tax cuts would remain in place.”

Dutton said the backflip would cost Albanese the Labor leadership.

“I said a week ago, Ray, on your program I think, that if the Prime Minister abandoned stage-three tax cuts, then his leadership was dead, buried, cremated. Let me tell you, I believe that to be the truth,” he said.

Opposition finance spokesman Simon Birmingham accused Albanese of “treachery”.

“This is not just another broken promise. This is treachery by the Prime Minister and no matter how many words he might utter and give grand speeches, the reality is he is turning his back on the word he gave to the Australian people prior to the last election,” he said.

But asked on the ABC if a Coalition government would upend the changes – thereby increasing taxes for a majority of Australians in favour of handouts to the highest-paid – Birmingham stopped short.

“In terms of the details of our future position, we will have to look at the detail of the legislative package that is brought forward, the analysis that underpins it,” he said.

“We will work our policies out for the next election. But they will be policies consistent with our liberal international party values of fairer, lower, simpler taxes.”

When the stage-three tax cuts were introduced by the Coalition in 2018, the Australian economy was expected to be supported by strong global conditions. Inflation and interest rates were expected to remain low.

“Unanticipated global events meant these projects have not come to pass,” Albanese said on Thursday, quoting Treasury advice.

He said the global pandemic, a recession, disrupted supply chains, conflicts and rising inflation, and global uncertainty had changed the game.

“If we were to simply proceed with the old plan – promoted before any of these challenges even existed – it would mean middle Australia missing out on the help they need and they deserve,” he said.

Albanese also quashed fears the rejigged tax plan would put pressure on consumer prices. Treasury and the Reserve Bank expect a broadly neutral impact on inflation.

-with AAP