Joint Media Release | End of energy bill relief exposes Labor’s cost-of-living, energy policy and budget disasters | 08 December 2025

Joint Media Release

End of energy bill relief exposes Labor’s cost-of-living, energy policy and budget disasters

Monday, 08 December 2025
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Labor’s decision to end household energy bill relief exposes the Albanese Government’s cost-of-living, energy policy and budget disasters for all to see.

After Labor spent $6.8 billion of taxpayers’ money to paper over its own energy policy failures, struggling households will now confront the full brunt of Labor’s 40-percent increase in electricity bills.

This energy bill relief was always about treating the symptoms rather than the disease. Now Labor has left struggling households to contend with both.

Labor promised at the 2022 election to lower household electricity bills by $275 – then in government delivered electricity bills that were $1,300 higher than promised.

Labor’s cynical political fix was to send households $300 energy rebates, all paid for by those very same households in higher taxes and higher debt.

The Treasurer claims his 70-cent-a-day tax cut will fill the void left by today’s decision.

But what he doesn’t admit is that he has already hiked personal income taxes by $5,000 a year per taxpayer, and his budget shows he plans to raise an additional $25,000 per taxpayer over the coming decade.

The Albanese Government has already overseen the sharpest fall in living standards in the developed world, and all signs point to further cost-of-living pain in the year ahead.

The Coalition understands we must address the root causes of Labor’s energy bill crisis.

That’s why the Coalition is offering an alternative energy plan that prioritises affordable and reliable energy. Our emissions reduction goals will never come at the expense of Australian families, and this principle will guide every decision we take.

Labor’s decision today also exposes its budget disaster for all to see.

Labor can’t continue to provide energy bill relief because they have run out of money.

Labor’s debt is due to breach $1 trillion this year and $1.2 trillion by the time of the next election. Labor plans to deliver 11 deficits in a row.

Government spending is growing four times faster than the economy and has reached its highest level outside of recession in nearly 40 years.

Sound budget management is the bedrock of strong economic management. When you fail to manage the nation’s finances, you lose the capacity to assist those in need.

That’s why Labor is leaving struggling households to fend for themselves today.

When Labor spends, you pay.

ENDS