The Coalition's Agenda
All eyes were on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton this evening as he delivered his Budget in Reply speech, offering a glimpse into what a Coalition Government would deliver if elected. This comes after Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down a Federal Budget this week that headlined tax cuts and energy bill rebates, setting up for an election campaign focused on cost of living.
Framing the upcoming election as “a sliding doors moment for our nation”, Mr Dutton announced a Coalition Government would deliver four “critical” pieces of legislation on their first sitting day: the Energy Price Reduction Bill, the Lower Immigration and More Homes for Australians Bill, the Keeping Australians Safe Bill and the Guaranteed Funding for Health, Education and Essential Services Bill.
Declaring “energy is the economy”, Mr Dutton presented the centrepiece of his policy platform, a National Gas Plan to reserve gas for domestic use and bring down energy prices. The plan sets out to secure between 10 to 20 per cent of the east coast’s gas demand and protect Australians from international gas prices. Mr Dutton forecast the plan will drive down new wholesale domestic gas prices from over $14 per gigajoule to under $10 per gigajoule, with Australians seeing the $10 per gigajoule price by the end of 2025. In addition, the Coalition will invest $1 billion in a Critical Gas Infrastructure Fund.
Responding to the Government’s tax cuts, which Mr Dutton argued would deliver “just 70c a day” to Australians, and only after 15 months, the Coalition instead unveiled a $6 billion pledge to halve the fuel excise for one year. The policy, which the Coalition suggests would save households an average $28 per week, mirrors similar moves made by former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Scott Morrison ahead of the 2001 and 2022 elections. The Coalition’s cheaper fuel promise would replace the Government’s legislated tax cuts, which passed the Parliament late Wednesday night with the support of the crossbench and the Greens.
In addition, Mr Dutton vowed to cut migration by 25 per cent, increase youth mental health services, and axe 41,000 public servant jobs, saving an estimated $7 billion per year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is widely expected to head to Yarralumla tomorrow, Friday 28 March, to call the election, following media confirmation this evening. With the five-week campaign about to formally begin, both major parties will now shift gear to full election mode.
What's missing
Absent from the speech was any mention of the much-debated divestiture policy for insurance companies and major supermarkets.
No further details were provided on the Coalition’s low-emissions transport policy, which Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Bridget McKenzie this week flagged would be released “before the election” as an alternative to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.
Mr Dutton made no mention of the idea to hold a referendum on deporting criminals with dual citizenship, which was met with mixed responses by Coalition and Government figures alike.
Key policy announcements
Energy
Introduce a National Gas Plan to prioritise domestic gas supply, address shortfalls, and reduce energy prices.
Establish an east coast gas reservation policy, requiring 50-100 petajoules of spot cargo exports to be delivered to the domestic market.
Reserve 10 to 20 per cent of the east coast’s gas demand for domestic use, aiming to reduce wholesale gas prices from over $14 per gigajoule to under $10 per gigajoule.
Invest $1 billion in a Critical Gas Infrastructure Fund to increase gas pipeline and storage capacity.
Reinstate the $300 million Strategic Basin Plan.
Include gas in the Capacity Investment Scheme.
Legislate a ‘use it or lose it’ stipulation for gas drilling companies to ensure offshore gas fields are not locked-up for significant periods.
Fast-track the North West Shelf project in Western Australia.
Defund the Environmental Defenders Office.
Abolish the $20 billion Rewiring the Nation Fund, which supports grid infrastructure for major renewable energy projects.
Scrap the $16 billion Critical Minerals Tax Incentive and Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive.
Recommitted to introducing “zero-emissions” nuclear power into the energy grid.
Cost of living
Halve the fuel excise from 50.8c to 25.4c per litre for 12 months, estimated to cost $6 billion and save households up to $1,500 annually.
Increase the instant asset write off threshold for small businesses to $30,000.
Provide $50 million for food charities including Foodbank, SecondBite and OzHarvest.
Health
Overall investment of $9.4 billion into health, including to:
Incentivise junior doctors to address the GP shortage.
Provide $400 million in funding for youth mental health services.
Invest $500 million in women’s health.
Match Labor’s election commitments, including the $8.5 billion boost to Medicare funding, $500 million into women’s health, and the $25 Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cap.
Social cohesion
Establish a dedicated antisemitism taskforce.
Work with states and territories to develop national uniform knife laws.
Migration and housing
Reduce permanent overseas migration by 25 per cent over two years.
Introduce stricter caps on foreign students to “relieve stress on rental markets”.
Ban foreign investors and temporary residents from purchasing Australian homes for two years.
Grant first home buyers’ access to $50,000 of their super for a home deposit.
Invest $5 billion in essential infrastructure to support the construction of 500,000 new homes.
Industrial relations
Streamline the public service by slashing 41,000 jobs.
Set a target of 400,000 apprentices and trainees across Australia, with a $12,000 incentive payment to small and medium businesses to support trainees.
Revert to a simple definition of a casual worker.
Deregister the CFMEU.
Restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
Establish an AFP-led taskforce to investigate criminality in the construction sector.
Legislate new anti-racketeering laws.
Innovation
Support innovative sectors including artificial intelligence, automation, cyber security, space, bio and nanotechnologies.
Further reading
📰 Media Release – Labor heads to election with new Small Business tax increase, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley and Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, 26 March 2025
📚 Media Release – A budget for the next five weeks, not the next five years, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, 25 March 2025