Opposition leader Peter Dutton to pledge fuel cost slash if elected

Dutton will offer voters a 12-month promise to cut the excise in half, from 50.8 cents a litre to 25.4c/L.

That will save drivers about $14 a tank, or about $700 over a year, according to the opposition.

It’s in response to the tax cuts handed down in the government’s federal budget on Tuesday night, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed would see workers keep $268 more of what they earn from July next year, building to $536 by the following year.

Dutton labelled the tax cut a “cruel hoax” yesterday.

Both parties are gearing up for an election that hasn’t yet been called but is due before the end of May.

Speaking on Today yesterday, Dutton said cost of living relief, home ownership, and national security were among the Coalition’s chief priorities.

The Age has reported Dutton is also likely to make a pledge on gas projects, aiming to fast-track those developments whose operators promise to keep their production domestic and not aimed at the international market.

One of the opposition’s chief attacks on the government has been the cost of energy.