Australia budget to dole out energy bill relief as general election looms

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's government said on Sunday that a federal budget this week would include an A$1.8 billion extension to a scheme to reduce energy bills, ahead of what is expected to be a closely-fought general election due by May.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labor government has already handed out A$3.5 billion in energy bill relief in a bid to tackle inflation, as it grapples with rising living costs in the nation of around 27 million.

On Sunday, ahead of handing down on Tuesday its final budget before the election, Albanese said Australian households and around one million small businesses would get another A$150 "in rebates automatically applied to their electricity bills in quarterly instalments".

"Treasury estimates this will directly reduce headline inflation by around half of a percentage point in 2025," Albanese said in a statement, which costed the measure at A$1.8 billion.

The government's main political opposition, the conservative Liberal-National coalition, said it would not oppose the scheme's extension, after the country's energy regulator last week warned that power prices in some eastern regions could surge by nearly 9% from July.

As announced on Saturday, the budget will also expand a scheme to help would-be home buyers get on the property ladder, as housing, the largest contributor to the rising cost of living in Australia, shapes up as a key election issue.

The budget pledges come after a widely-watched poll in February showed most Australian voters wanted the Labor government out of office. In the poll, Albanese's approval rating hit its lowest point since he was elected to office in May 2022.

The government, which has not yet officially called the election, is working to lift support via a slew of measures aimed at pleasing families and businesses grappling with high living costs.

Australia's central bank, which in February cut rates for the first time in more than four years, warned at the time that it was too early to declare victory over inflation and was cautious about the prospects of further easing.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Daniel Wallis)