Australians are being promised cheaper electricity bills as a result of more gas being pumped into the energy grid, as Peter Dutton sets up an election fight over the cost of living.
The opposition leader outlined his vision for the country in his budget reply speech, including a national gas plan to bring down power prices.
“This plan will prioritise domestic gas supply, address shortfalls, and reduce energy prices for Australians,” he said in his speech to parliament on Thursday.
An east coast gas reserve will be set up to safeguard 10 to 20 per cent of demand and approval times will be halved in a bid to pump more gas into the system.
Gas will be added to the capacity investment scheme, which underwrites funds in renewable energy projects such as wind, solar and batteries, and $1 billion will be earmarked for a gas infrastructure fund to pay for pipelines and storage.
The coalition would forgo $6 billion to slash the fuel excise by 25 cents a litre, making it about $14 cheaper for a tank for the average motorist, the opposition leader said in his budget reply speech.
Mr Dutton further pledged $50 million over four years for food charities to expand their services, including school breakfast programs.
Spending will be slashed in an effort to bring down inflation and lower interest rates, with $46 billion on the chopping block across Labor’s housing investment fund, renewable energy fund and critical mineral tax credits, Mr Dutton said.
More than 40,000 public servants will also be axed to save a projected $7 billion, but frontline services would not be affected, he said.
Permanent migration will be cut by 25 per cent to take pressure off housing and services, he added.
Mr Dutton also made community safety a focal point of his speech, saying he would toughen bail laws for domestic violence offenders and work with states and territories to introduce uniform knife laws.
The coalition spend the final parliament sitting day before a federal election peppering the government with questions about cost of living and delayed tax cuts.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor pledged to repeal legislated tax cuts that would save taxpayers up to $268 in 2026/27 and up to $536 every financial year after as Mr Dutton called it “a shameless election vote-buying exercise”.
But Treasurer Jim Chalmers quickly went on the offensive.
“If the shadow treasurer cared about the cost of living, he wouldn’t be the first shadow treasurer in living memory to take to an election a policy to increase income taxes on every single Australian taxpayer,” he told parliament.
The government was also quick to point to previous comments from the opposition leader and shadow treasurer about how cutting the fuel excise would be inflationary, costly and eaten up by oil companies.
The main influence on Australia’s petrol prices was oil prices, not the excise, NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said.
“Lower petrol prices are better for everyone but what we want is lower and sustainable prices, which require oil prices to fall,” he said.
Voters in outer suburban and regional areas, where the coalition are hoping to pick up seats, are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries as they spend more time on the road and are more likely to have older cars requiring more fuel.
Seats in these areas would be crucial to the election outcome as many were held by Labor on a knife’s edge, election analyst Ben Raue said.
Werriwa in western Sydney, Hawke in Melbourne’s western fringe and central coast electorates like Shortland, Robertson and Dobell could all fall to the coalition if Mr Dutton plays his cards correctly.
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