Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fired the starter's gun on the election campaign on Friday, in an attempt to draw attention away from Peter Dutton's budget reply speech delivered the previous evening.
Taxpayers won't be offered any more tax cuts under a coalition government, who instead would make electricity and petrol cheaper.
With the cost of living to be the defining element of the campaign, the opposition leader promised to boost gas supply and slash the fuel excise to bring down prices.
Coalition campaign spokesman James Paterson said he was comfortable with government intervention in the gas market.
"The principle is that Australian gas should be for Australians first and it is insane that we have some of the highest gas prices in the world as a gas-producing and exporting nation," he told ABC News on Friday.
"The market is not working as it should for a whole range of reasons, and Peter Dutton is unafraid to make tough decisions in the national interest.
"He will put our country first, even if the prime minister is not willing to do the same."
Labor has seized on Mr Dutton's admission the coalition wouldn't offer any income tax cuts while repealing legislated cuts under which taxpayers will save up to $268 in 2026/27 and up to $536 each financial year after.
Cabinet minister Jason Clare said the election was a choice between higher taxes under Mr Dutton, or lower taxes under Labor.
Voters will likely be asked if they're better off under the Albanese government, as the opposition claims motorists will bank an average $14 in savings on a tank of fuel each week if it comes to power.
Mr Dutton used his budget reply speech to announce a domestic gas reserve, $1 billion for pipelines and storage and fast-tracked approvals would be put in place under a coalition government to bring down power bills.
Mr Dutton vowed energy prices would be lower under the Liberals after Labor pledged a $275 reduction at the 2022 election but failed to deliver.
"The Albanese government has broken its core energy promise," he said.
"The only way to drive down power prices quickly is to ramp up domestic gas production."
With the fuel excise set to cost the budget $6 billion, the opposition leader said it was an either-or option between that and supporting Labor's tax cuts, which won't come into effect until 2026.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended not matching the proposed slash to the excise, saying petrol prices had come down significantly since the last temporary excise cut under then prime minister Scott Morrison's government.
The treasurer has defended the delayed timing of the tax cuts, saying it was to ensure inflation was back within the central bank's target band.
