Peter Dutton is, for now at least, keeping in the shadows the modelling that he claims shows his gas policy will reduce electricity prices, while simultaneously criticising Anthony Albanese for not releasing Labor modelling on climate targets.
At a press conference on day one of the election campaign, the opposition leader said the Liberals had commissioned modelling on his plan to increase gas supply in Australia, but he repeatedly declined to say what it found about price impacts. Dutton said he would “leave it to other experts to talk about their analysis”, adding it would be released during the campaign.
Dutton said he would not name a target price for power bills to fall to, or set a 2035 emissions reduction target before the election.
Twice on Saturday Dutton was targeted by protesters from the climate group Rising Tide, who infiltrated events at a XXXX brewery and a Chinese restaurant in Brisbane. Two women yelled criticism of his gas policy, holding signs calling for “no new coal or nuclear” power. Both were quickly forced out by security.
The campaign stops of each party leader are closely guarded secrets for security reasons – but also to avoid protests. It’s unclear how protesters are learning about Dutton’s movements.
When pressed by reporters at the brewery about why the Coalition hadn’t released its modelling, Dutton pledged it would be shared before the election, but didn’t comment further when asked what it said or why it remained under wraps.
“We’ll let other economists talk about their modelling,” he said.
“Our plan is based on economics. If you bring more supply into the market, more gas into the market, you’ll bring the price down.”
Only moments earlier, Dutton had criticised Albanese for not releasing Labor’s modelling on its future climate targets.
“Mr Albanese’s 2035 plan, which he’s got the modelling of, as you know, but refuses to release that,” Dutton claimed, at a media event in Brisbane.
“So the Labor Party’s secret modelling on the 2035 target, if it was good for the country, why wouldn’t he release it before the election?”
The Labor campaign was contacted for comment.
Dutton said the plan had been modelled by Frontier Economics, which also produced analysis of the Coalition’s nuclear plan. The nuclear modelling did not produce any concrete projections for how the Coalition’s plan would lower electricity prices.
Earlier on Channel Nine’s Today, Dutton pledged his gas supply plan would bring down prices economy-wide because it would cut input costs for manufacturing and production. He said extra gas could be brought online “by the end of this calendar year”.
“We can do it straight away because the gas is there … it doesn’t require any infrastructure, it’s a matter of turning it back into the economy,” he said.
Energy experts have expressed doubts the Coalition’s plans to force gas producers to sell more of the fossil fuel domestically could bring down prices or ease supply pressures.
Albanese on Saturday described Dutton’s plan as an “embarrassment”, noting Labor had moved to cap gas prices, and that the Labor government had already brought on more supply than Dutton’s plan would deliver.
Labor went to the 2022 election with a target to cut emissions by 43% by 2030, based on modelling it had commissioned from climate economics company Reputex.
The government has said it will release its 2035 target after the election, delaying that decision after the Climate Change Authority requested more time to analyse the effects of the Trump presidency on global emissions.
Dutton called Labor “reckless” for basing its 2030 target on external modelling, not advice from government officials. He said the Coalition would not release its own 2035 target before the election, because he wanted advice from public servants in the Treasury and finance departments.
One of Dutton’s other major policies is a plan to cut 41,000 public servants.
It is unclear exactly which members of the public service the Coalition would seek to cut, beyond a pledge to not target “frontline” workers.