Cost of living and energy central to Dutton election pitch

Peter Dutton is seeking to topple a first-term Labor government with the promise Australia will be safer domestically and abroad under his watch, while vowing to bring down house prices by slashing migration.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton starts his election campaign with a press conference at the state LNP headquarters in Albion, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Peter Dutton is seeking to topple a first-term Labor government with the promise Australia will be safer domestically and abroad under his watch, while vowing to bring down house prices by slashing immigration and to ­reduce energy bills with his gas and nuclear policies.

In an effort to bolster the image of himself as the country’s alternative prime minister, the Opposition Leader on Friday invoked the legacy of John Howard – who he served under – and argued he had more experience in parliament and outside of politics than Anthony Albanese.

“I have a track record as a police officer, as a small-business owner, and as a minister across a number of portfolios,” he said in Brisbane.

“I was the assistant treasurer in the Howard government, and I want to make sure we can get the economy back on track because families are hurting at the moment.

“I’m going to stand up for Australians and make the decisions that we need to make to keep our country safe and to make sure that our economy is properly managed.”

While Labor has the smallest majority of any first-term government going into an election since World War II, Mr Dutton would be defying nearly 100 years of precedent by managing to kick a first-term government out of power on May 3.

Central to his pitch will be the worsening of the cost-of-living crisis under the Albanese government, with Coalition frontbenchers due to continue asking voters if they are better off today than three years ago.

“Right now, Australia is going backwards,” Mr Dutton said.

“Because of Labor’s bad decisions, Australians are doing it tough and they need help. Worse still, for many, they’re losing hope for their future – 29,000 small businesses have gone broke over the course of the Albanese government’s first term.

“I don’t believe that we can simply afford to continue down the current path.”

Mr Dutton will also seek to weaponise Labor’s focus on the Indigenous voice to parliament in the first half of its term as a ­reason for why inflation rose to crippling levels for many Australians, while also slamming the government’s energy policies.

“They’re relying on green ­hydrogen, which is not a commercial reality, and all of it – under the renewables-only policy – adds to extra increases in costs of energy,” he said.

“Families are seeing that at the moment: 30 per cent more for groceries, 34 per cent more for gas, 32 per cent more for electricity. That’s the reality of life, so far, under just one term of the ­Albanese government.”

Despite some criticism towards the Coalition’s promise to immediately halve the fuel excise – which would save the average car owner $14 per visit to the bowser – Mr Dutton criticised Mr Albanese for promising a 70c-a-day tax cut in 15 months time “in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis”.

He defended his domestic gas reserve policy, brushing off concerns by declaring he was interested in looking out for average mums and dads, rather than the gas companies that blasted his announcement this week.