Nationals leader promises lower power prices within years

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has promised Australians that a Coalition government will lower power prices within years by increasing gas supply, going further than colleagues previous commitments and escalating the climate wars with the government.

Asked on ABC Radio National Breakfast if he could guarantee that energy prices will fall under a Dutton government during the next term of parliament, Littleproud said more gas for electricity generation would lower prices, but refused to say how much bills would fall.

Nationals leader David Littleproud during a doorstop interview in the press gallery at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 24 March 2025.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“The highest input price is gas. One commodity that you can get into the energy grid quickly is gas and so if you increase the supply of that, you can bring down your energy bills,” Littleproud said.

“We have a spread in our energy mix, not putting all our energy into one basket, we will have renewables as well, make no mistake, there will be renewables as part of our grid, but you’ve got to have base load power.”

The Coalition has said its nuclear-led energy plan will be 44 per cent cheaper than Labor’s by 2050, which the government disputes, and it has not released any modelling or proposals to lower prices in the short term beyond committing to support Labor’s electricity bill rebates.

Other leaders in the Coalition have refused to forecast cheaper prices.

Energy spokesman Ted O’Brien did not repeat Littleproud’s claim but said “energy prices will always be cheaper under the Coalition”.

Speaking on ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor did not detail how much bills would fall under a Coalition government, but said more gas was needed to cut bills.

“We will have more to say about our shorter-term energy policy in the coming weeks, but what is very clear … we need to get more gas into the system.”

The cost-of-living crisis and energy bills will be central to the upcoming election, due by May 17. Labor went to the last election in 2022 claiming power bills would be $275 cheaper by this year, but they have instead increased sharply.

A draft ruling from energy regulators earlier this month showed household electricity bills are set to jump by as much as $200 a year in parts of the eastern states.

Bills have risen by more than $500 for some households since Labor formed government in 2022.

Peter Dutton’s opposition has elevated gas supply as a key campaign issue before this year’s election, promising to deliver a dramatic increase to the supply of natural gas if it forms government.

However, despite former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s promise of a “gas-led recovery” from the COVID economic downturn, no significant new gas projects kicked off under the Coalition government to cut prices.

Wholesale gas prices rose under the Coalition, spiking from a low point of about $4 a gigajoule to more than $30 by the time it left office.

Australia is one of the most gas-rich nations in the world, but it is also one of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.

The energy market operator forecast last week that the east-coast would run short of gas by 2029 and state and federal governments view gas import terminals as the best way to help fill holes for NSW and Victoria. This would mean shipping in gas from Queensland, Western Australia or the international market.

While the opposition is spruiking gas as a near-term solution to energy costs, it has pledged in the longer term to extend the forecast life of ageing coal plants until its promised fleet of seven nuclear plants are built in the mid-2040s.

However, the government insists that boosting supplies of renewable energy are the best way to cut energy costs.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.