The Australian Coalition has chosen not to promise a specific reduction in energy prices, following the unveiling of a new gas policy aimed at boosting domestic production.
The announcement, which was made public through Sky News, seeks to address rising costs but stops short of providing a concrete figure for savings.
This approach stands in stark contrast to Labor’s 2022 promise to cut household power bills by $275, a commitment that has failed to come to fruition.
Coalition’s National Gas Plan Aims to Bring Down Prices
In a bid to tackle rising energy costs, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton introduced the National Gas Plan, which focuses on increasing domestic gas production and establishing an east coast gas reserve.
This plan is expected to lower wholesale gas prices from over $14 per gigajoule to under $10 per gigajoule. However, the Coalition has not specified the expected savings for consumers.
Ted O’Brien, the Coalition’s shadow energy minister, has emphasized that unlike Labor’s failed promise to reduce household power bills by $275, the Coalition will not offer a set figure. According to O’Brien,
We will not be doing what Labor did and making a promise about a $275 reduction in household power bills or anything like that – he said.
He stressed that the Coalition prefers to be transparent with the Australian people about the complexity of the energy issue, stating,
This is why you need to be straight with the Australian people. You need to ensure you tackle challenging problems and energy is challenging.
The failure of Labor’s $275 promise
Labor’s pledge to cut electricity prices by $275 was a central campaign promise in the 2022 federal election, but it has since failed to materialize.
As power prices have surged in recent years, many have questioned the feasibility of such ambitious promises. In response, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated that the government will not repeat similar promises during the 2025 election campaign.
I’m not going into this election, as the Prime Minister did in the last election, promising that electricity prices (will) come down by $275 – Mr. Dutton said.
The Coalition’s broader energy reform plan
The Coalition’s proposal represents a significant shift in Australia’s energy market, with plans to decouple the domestic gas market from international prices.
This strategy includes a $1 billion Critical Gas Infrastructure Fund and a $300 million Strategic Basins Plan to boost domestic gas supply.
While the specifics of how these policies will impact household energy bills remain unclear, the Coalition’s approach seeks to address the energy sector’s broader challenges with a long-term vision. O’Brien also indicated,
Our policies have been based on engineering and economics. We’ve been upfront all the way through. There’s more we’ll say. We will release our full modelling through the course of the campaign.
