Labor promises to slash power bills ahead of budget

"We are going to take a further $150 right off your power bill because helping your family budget is our number-one priority," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

"This is another cost-of-living relief measure that my government is delivering for Australians while putting downward pressure on inflation."

If the government is re-elected, from July 1, households and around 1 million small businesses will see $150 in rebates applied to their electricity bills in quarterly instalments.

The proposed relief comes on top of previous rebates rolled out in the past year.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will be under pressure to match the energy relief commitment ahead of an election to be fought on the cost of living.

Mr Dutton quickly matched Labor's $8.5 billion pledge to extend bulk-billing incentives to all Medicare card holders, as well as a budget measure to cap PBS medicine co-payments at $25 a prescription.

Pledging the relief, Mr Albanese said: "Peter Dutton opposed the $300 energy bill relief to households."

"His only plan for energy is a $600 billion nuclear scheme that he will cut Medicare to pay for," he said.

Mr Dutton has previously said subsidies like the proposed energy bill cuts were not sustainable for meaningful financial relief.

"When government overspends, interest rates and inflation stay higher for longer. We can only escape the clutches of the cost-of-living crisis by reining in inflationary spending," Mr Dutton said in January.

After the energy regulator proposed lifting benchmark prices by about 9 per cent in parts of the country earlier in March, Mr Dutton described Energy Minister Chris Bowen as a "disgrace" who should be sacked.

The Coalition has also attacked the government for not delivering its promise before the 2022 election to cut $275 from household power bills by the end of 2025, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers has emphasised how the government's first two rounds of energy bill rebates softened the impact of rising prices.

The extension of energy rebates promised by Labor is set to cost $1.8 billion.

According to Treasury, it will reduce headline inflation by around half a percentage point in 2025 and reduce household bills by 7.5 per cent on average nationally.

Energy relief was not the government's only announcement affecting Canberrans, with $25 million promised on Sunday to plan future upgrades to the Barton Highway.

"These planning works will continue the duplication works along the Barton Highway corridor, reducing congestion, cutting travel times and giving the road network the flexibility and reliability it needs to keep traffic moving at all times," Transport Minister Catherine King said.

"This funding provides greater certainty for the overall corridor and the local community."

The highway has seen significant work in past years, including duplication on the NSW side of the border involving the rolling of 60,000 tonnes of new road surface.

According to the government, it has committed $203.6 million in total towards upgrading the cross-border highway.