Ley Promotes Energy Plan Emphasizing Gas, Refuses to Quantify Price Reductions
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Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley intensified her campaign for the Liberal Party’s energy policy Wednesday, repeatedly declining to specify how much electricity prices would fall under Coalition plans while attacking the government’s renewable energy strategy as unaffordable and inadequate for meeting baseload power demands.
In an interview with ABC News Australia, Ley, the Liberal member for Farrer in New South Wales, promoted what she described as an “affordable and responsible energy plan” that would increase natural gas supply and move away from what she characterized as the Labor government’s “renewables only” approach.
“It will put downward pressure on prices and I want to explain why,” Ley said when pressed on specific price reduction targets. “We all know that the laws of supply and demand tell us that if you get more supply into the system, prices will come down.”
The opposition leader’s energy pitch comes as Australian households grapple with elevated power costs, a issue that has dominated political discourse since the Albanese government took office. However, Ley offered no modeling or economic analysis to support claims that her party’s approach would deliver cheaper electricity than current government policy.
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Ley’s strategy centers on expanding domestic natural gas production, criticizing what she described as an illogical situation where Australia exports massive quantities of liquefied natural gas while planning to import LNG through new terminals to meet domestic energy needs.
“We are now planning to build, well we are building, import terminals to bring LNG back into Australia to power our energy system,” Ley said. “That LNG that we’re importing is coming from the Middle East. How does that make any sense? We all know instinctively that it doesn’t.”
The opposition leader emphasized Australia’s status as holder of the world’s third-largest natural gas reserves, arguing that increased domestic gas supply represents the most practical path to lower energy costs. “This is one area where we will, as I say, step on the gas to get more supply into the system,” she said.
Ley positioned the Coalition’s approach as balanced between renewable energy sources and what she termed “baseload and dispatchable power,” distinguishing it from what she characterized as the government’s exclusive focus on renewables.
“It’s not just about renewables, they are important, they have their place, I believe in them, but they have to be balanced by baseload and dispatchable power,” Ley said, carrying a physical copy of the Liberal energy policy document that she described as “recommended reading.”
The opposition leader has made energy affordability a central theme of her six-month tenure as Liberal Party leader, consistently linking energy costs to broader cost-of-living pressures facing Australian families.
“When energy is unaffordable, everything is unaffordable,” Ley said, framing the issue as fundamental to household budgets rather than purely an environmental or technical matter.
Ley challenged media organizations to press Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Labor member for Grayndler in New South Wales, and his ministers on their own price reduction timeline, noting that Labor campaigned on bringing down electricity costs in two elections.
“I want all my friends in the media including you Steph because you do a great job to actually ask the Prime Minister and his ministers this very simple question because they stood there at two elections and they said they would bring prices down and they have not,” Ley said.
The interview revealed Ley’s messaging strategy of positioning the Coalition as prioritizing practical outcomes for ordinary Australians over what she suggested were the government’s symbolic environmental gestures.
“Our appeal to voters is always about them, about the fact that we in the Liberal Party team are developing a serious, compelling policy agenda that backs in what Australians, what mums and dads, what families, what small businesses are expecting from a government that cares about them, their future and the next generation,” Ley said.
The opposition leader indicated she plans to continue promoting the energy policy during community visits, mentioning a planned trip to an IGA supermarket with colleague Aaron Violi later in the day to speak with families struggling with living costs.
Ley’s reluctance to provide specific price reduction figures mirrors a pattern among opposition parties of criticizing government policy while avoiding detailed commitments that could later be used against them. The approach allows the Coalition to maintain pressure on the government over cost-of-living issues without exposing itself to accusations of making unrealistic promises.
The energy debate occurs against a backdrop of global volatility in fossil fuel markets, ongoing international climate negotiations, and domestic political tensions over Australia’s emissions reduction commitments. The Coalition’s emphasis on expanded gas production represents a divergence from more aggressive renewable energy transitions being pursued in some comparable economies.
Energy policy has emerged as a defining political battleground ahead of the next federal election, with both major parties attempting to position themselves as offering the most credible path to affordable, reliable power while managing emissions reduction obligations.
Ley’s energy messaging represents her most developed policy platform since assuming the opposition leadership, providing substantive policy detail amid ongoing questions about her political future and internal party dynamics.
The Liberal leader’s focus on energy affordability aligns with polling showing cost-of-living concerns rank among top voter priorities, though questions remain about whether policy announcements can overcome broader challenges facing the Coalition as it attempts to rebuild from previous electoral defeats.
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