Coalition Pledges Gas Expansion and Nuclear Neutrality to Tackle Energy Costs

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has outlined a Coalition energy approach centered on affordable power, expanded gas supply and technology neutrality, as households face rising electricity prices and cost-of-living pressures.

Speaking with FlowFM's Wayne Phillips during an end-of-year interview, Ms Ley said Australians were paying the price for what she described as Labor’s “unachievable targets at unaffordable costs”, claiming power prices had risen by around 40 per cent with no relief in sight.

“Energy is in everything you buy and everything you do,” she said. “Country people know this better than anyone.”

Central to the Coalition’s plan Ms Ley said is a significant expansion of domestic gas supply, including an east coast gas reservation scheme to prioritise Australian consumers.

“We are standing on some of the most abundant gas reserves in the world,” Ms Ley said. “We export it overseas while locking it up at home. Gas in Australia should be for Australians.”

She criticised recent agreements between the government and the Greens, arguing new gas projects were now facing slower approval processes, limiting supply and keeping prices high.

On nuclear energy, Ms Ley reaffirmed the Coalition’s position that all technologies should be considered. She called for the removal of Australia’s nuclear moratorium, allowing private investors to bring forward proposals.

“If 19 of the world’s top 20 developed economies either have or are developing nuclear, that tells you something,” she said.

Ms Ley said the Coalition supported emissions reduction but insisted affordability must come first, arguing households and businesses could not sustain further increases in energy costs.