SOVEREIGN AUSTRALIA COMPARE — ENERGY

ENERGY — WHERE THE PARTIES STAND

The targets, the price of a kilowatt hour, coal, nuclear and the fuel in the tank — five parties, from platforms, releases and parliamentary votes, with the check date on the table. The Sovereign Australia column restates the published policy: price first — a legislated 10 cents a kilowatt hour, coal decided by the market, and fuel Australia makes.

Checked 27 August 2026. Sources: party platforms, releases, statements and parliamentary votes; the Coalition’s November 2025 joint climate policy; AEMO quarterly data and the AER 2026–27 default market offers; DCCEEW announcements of July–August 2026 including the 28 July WA refinery investigation; Sovereign Australia’s published energy policy, platform Part 4 and the fuel security memos. “No stated position” means none found on the public record, not indifference. One Nation’s positions are drawn from speeches and Senate interventions rather than a published platform. This table states each party’s position, not this party’s characterisation of it.

IssueSovereign AustraliaLaborCoalitionGreensOne Nation
Net zero and the targets
Federal
Repeal the legislated target. Measure two published numbers instead: the price of a kilowatt hour, and the share of transport energy arriving by ship. 43 per cent below 2005 by 2030 and net zero by 2050, both legislated. Would legislate to scrap Labor’s targets; net zero retained only as “a welcome outcome if achieved through technology, choice and voluntary markets” (joint policy, November 2025). Faster reduction than the legislated targets; opposes new coal and gas projects. Opposes net zero and the legislated emissions targets.
Power prices
State + Federal
A legislated maximum of 10 cents a kilowatt hour for households and small business by the end of a first term; 6 cents at corridor maturity. Energy bill relief payments; default market offers cut from 1 July 2026; the Solar Sharer free-hours scheme; Rewiring the Nation grid investment and the Capacity Investment Scheme. Maintain baseload power, unlock new gas supply, and lift the ban on nuclear energy. Household and business electrification, with grants and low-interest loans for appliances and solar. Cut electricity bills by 20 per cent through changes to National Electricity Market rules so coal-generated power is not artificially priced; all sources in the mix — coal, gas, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind.
Coal
State + Federal
No legislated closure dates. Coal runs until it is undercut on price, and closes as a market outcome. 82 per cent renewables in the grid by 2030; renewables supplied a record 47 per cent of the market in the first quarter of 2026. Keep coal-fired power longer for grid stability. No new coal or gas; rapid exit. Responsibly develop new coal mines and projects; long-term security to encourage investment in upgrading coal plant.
Nuclear
Federal
Opposes nuclear power — “we don’t need it”: corridor solar at scale, storage, east–west time arbitrage and gas as the transition fuel. The AUKUS nuclear submarine component is cancelled. Opposes; the ban stands. Lift the ban; seven reactors including small modular reactors at former coal sites. Opposes nuclear power. Lift the ban. Backs modern nuclear including small modular reactors, and research into cleaner coal and nuclear generation.
Fuel security
Federal
Drill and prove Australian oil, refine it here, and hold a true 90-day reserve of fuel Australia made. The 2026–27 fuel security package: a government-owned reserve, a higher stockholding obligation, payments to the two remaining refineries — and, announced 28 July 2026, an investigation with the WA government into building a new oil refinery in Western Australia. No separate published position beyond support for domestic refining. No separate position; opposes new oil and gas exploration. Secure supplies with 90-day onshore reserves; halve the fuel excise and end the six-monthly CPI adjustments.

Where our column comes from

Every Sovereign Australia cell restates the published policy — the energy policy, power prices, fuel security and Part 4 of the platform. The price argument in full is Australia’s Energy Future; the fuel case is the fuel security memo pair.