Federal Election 2025: Peter Dutton vows to reserve gas for domestic use

Peter Dutton used his budget reply to attack Labor and Anthony Albanese on the economy, defence and energy.

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Peter Dutton will impose an east coast gas reservation regime to secure up to 20 per cent of ­demand and drive down energy prices by decoupling local gas from overseas markets, amid election-eve warnings that Australia’s biggest states will face gas shortfalls by July.

In his fourth budget-in-reply speech, the Opposition Leader on Thursday night put energy at the heart of his election fight with ­Anthony Albanese and unveiled the Coalition’s national gas plan to “prioritise domestic gas supply, ­address shortfalls and reduce ­energy prices”.

Ahead of the Prime Minister on Friday calling the May election, Mr Dutton told voters that “the choice is clear at the next election … I will be a strong leader and a steady hand just as John Howard was, I will make the tough decisions – not shirk them”.

Mr Dutton framed his $6bn pledge to halve fuel excise for millions of motorists in the suburbs and regions as an immediate cost-of-living relief measure, in contrast with Jim Chalmers’ $17.1bn tax cuts promise in Tuesday’s budget offering “70c a day – in 15 months’ time”.

No tax reform in campaign

The Liberal leader also categorically ruled out unveiling tax cuts or tax reform in the election campaign, saying his focus would be cleaning up Labor’s budget debt.

Mr Dutton’s move to provide short-to-medium-term energy certainty until the Coalition brings ­nuclear power online from 2036 came within hours of the consumer watchdog issuing warnings about gas shortfalls on the east coast from July to September.

Mr Dutton said that under his “Australian gas for Australians” plan, the Coalition government would immediately introduce an east coast gas reservation to secure an additional 10 to 20 per cent of demand by tapping gas that would have been exported.

“Gas sold on the domestic market will be decoupled from overseas markets to protect Australia from international price shocks. And this will drive down new wholesale domestic gas prices from over $14 per gigajoule to under 10 per gigajoule,” Mr Dutton said.

He also committed the ­Coalition to higher defence spending, more cost-of-living supports, cutting the permanent migration program by 25 per cent and restoring a school curriculum that “cultivates critical thinking, responsible citizenship and common sense”.

‘Wasteful government spending’

Mr Dutton said that, if he won the May election, he would axe Labor’s “inflationary” big-­spending programs including the $20bn Rewiring the Nation Fund, the $10bn Housing Australia ­Future Fund and the $16bn ­production tax credits scheme for critical minerals and green ­hydrogen.

“To get interest rates down, we need to get inflation down,” he said. “And to get inflation down, we need to address its underlying causes – especially wasteful government spending.

“We will reverse Labor’s increase of 41,000 Canberra-based public servants – saving $7bn-a-year once in place, and well over $10bn over the forward estimates.

“But I also make this guarantee … we will continue to invest in ­essential services and critical areas of the economy – like health, aged care, veterans’ support, the NDIS, and defence. We won’t cut frontline service-delivery roles.”

Mr Dutton, who attacked Labor’s renewables-only energy policy as a “reckless trainwreck”, said Australia has an abundance of natural gas, which was the “key to making electricity and keeping the lights on”.

“Energy is the economy,” he said. “Australians are paying some of the highest power prices in the world: up to three to four times more than some comparable economies.

“The Albanese government has broken its core energy promise. Your electricity bill hasn’t come down by $275, as Labor promised on 97 occasions. Rather, Australians are paying up to $1300 more than Labor promised.”

Halving approval times

As previously revealed by The Australian, Mr Dutton committed to halving approval times for gas projects, fast-tracking the decision on the $30bn North West Shelf off Western Australia and immediately auditing development-ready projects with a focus on the southern states, including Victoria where the state Labor government has imposed anti-gas policies.

“The Albanese government has stalled projects from getting off the ground and created a national gas emergency due to insufficient supply,” Mr Dutton said. “Under Labor, gas prices have gone up for households and businesses by 34 per cent and 43 per cent ­respectively. The only way to drive down power prices quickly is to ramp up domestic gas production. We will accelerate new investment in gas projects by reinstating a $300m Strategic Basin Plan and include gas in the Capacity Investment Scheme.

“We will invest $1bn in a Critical Gas Infrastructure Fund to increase gas pipeline and storage capacity. We will put in place ‘use it or lose it’ stipulations for gas drilling companies – so offshore gas fields are not locked up for years. And we will ensure we will have a fit-for-purpose gas trigger to safeguard supply.”

The Queenslander said his gas plan would lower wholesale gas prices across the economy and provide energy certainty as the Coalition “secures our nation’s energy security for decades to come” through the construction of seven zero-emissions nuclear power plants.

Five-point election plan

Mr Dutton used his budget reply speech to outline the Coalition’s 5-point election plan: “1. A stronger economy with lower inflation; 2. Cheaper energy; 3. Affordable homes; 4. Quality healthcare; and 5. Safer communities”.

Mr Dutton said that, on the first sitting day of the next parliament, a Dutton government would introduce four pieces of legislation: an Energy Price Reduction Bill, a Lower Immigration and More Homes for Australians bill, a Keeping Australians Safe Bill and a Guaranteed Funding for Health, Education and Essential Services Bill. New funding commitments included $400m for youth mental health services and $50m for food charities.

Mr Dutton also announced that he would “set a target of 400,000 apprentices and trainees in training across Australia”.

“Our plan is to restore targeted and proven incentive payments for employers to hire and train an apprentice. We will provide small and medium businesses with $12,000 to support them to put on a new apprentice or trainee in critical skills areas for the first two years of their training.”

Defence commitment still to come

After previously flagging higher defence spending than Labor amid pressure from Donald Trump for western nations to lift their investments, Mr Dutton said the Coalition would announce a significant funding commitment during the election campaign.

He accused Mr Albanese of allowing crime to flourish, stoking divisions following the doomed Indigenous voice referendum and rise in anti-Semitism, and turning a “blind eye” to Chinese Community Party aggression and threats to military personnel.

In response to Tuesday’s budget, Mr Dutton accused the Albanese government of increasing spending as a share of the economy more than “any other government since the recession of the early 1990s”.

Ahead of what most expect to be a bruising and tight campaign battle with dozens of seats up-for-grabs, Mr Dutton warned voters that “this election matters more than others in recent history”.

“It’s a sliding doors moment for our nation. A returned Albanese government in any form won’t just be another three bleak years. Setbacks will be set in stone. Our prosperity will be damaged for decades to come. But you have the power to change the path our country is on. You have the ability to reverse the decline. You have the opportunity to get our country back on track.”

With more than 29,000 small businesses becoming insolvent since mid-2022 and industries offshoring, Mr Dutton attacked Mr Albanese’s Future Made in Australia plan as proof that “no government can subsidise the economy to success”.