Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has moved to gazump Anthony Albanese’s budget tax cuts on the cusp of a cost-of-living election with a $6 billion pledge to cut the price of petrol by 25¢ a litre for one year.

The pledge, part of a broader energy policy to be unveiled by Dutton on Thursday night, would afford most consumers larger and more immediate relief than the government’s income tax cuts, which Dutton intends to try to repeal if elected.