Australians won’t be offered any more tax relief under a coalition government, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton instead pitching cheaper electricity and petrol.
With cost of living the premier thought on Australians’ minds heading into an election campaign, the opposition leader used a major speech to outline boosting gas supply and cutting the fuel excise to bring down power and bowser prices.
But Labor has seized on the admission by Mr Dutton that the Liberals wouldn’t offer any income tax cuts while repealing legislated cuts under which taxpayers will save up to $268 in 2026/27 and up to $536 each financial year after.
“So the stage is now set, if Labor wins the election, your taxes will be lower, if Peter Dutton wins the election, your taxes will be higher,” cabinet minister Jason Clare said.
A battle is brewing over which party would better address hip pocket woes, with the coalition promising motorists an average $14 saving on a tank of fuel each week as soon as it comes to power.
Cheaper electricity bills and lower taxes have shaped up as key election issues as Australians are wooed on the eve of a federal election campaign.
Mr Dutton used his budget reply speech to announce a domestic gas reserve, $1 billion for pipelines and storage and fast-tracked approvals would be put in place under a coalition government to bring down power bills.
But Mr Clare branded it nothing more than hot air, saying the government had already secured six times more gas than what would be in the reserve – enough to power Queensland for two years.
“To be frank, this is just a distraction from his nuclear policy, which is now about as popular as a fart in an elevator,” he said.
Mr Dutton vowed energy prices would be lower under the Liberals after Labor pledged a $275 reduction at the 2022 election but failed to deliver.
“The Albanese government has broken its core energy promise,” he said.
“The only way to drive down power prices quickly is to ramp up domestic gas production.”
Mr Dutton has also vowed to cut the fuel excise to bring down prices by 25 cents a litre at the bowser, saving an average motorist $14 a week.
With it set to cost the budget $6 billion, the opposition leader said it was an either-or option between that and supporting Labor’s tax cuts, which won’t come into effect until 2026.
“Our plan is to reduce tax in another part of the family budget and that, of course, is in relation to the halving of the fuel excise,” he told ABC TV after his speech.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended not matching the proposed slash to the excise, saying petrol prices had come down significantly since the last temporary excise cut under prime minister Scott Morrison’s government.
Broad and ongoing tax relief was a better way to address cost-of-living pressures, Dr Chalmers said.
The treasurer has defended the delayed timing of the tax cuts, saying it was to ensure inflation was back within the central bank’s target band.
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