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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThis comparison can no longer tell you who to vote for. The federal election was held on Saturday 3 May 2025, and the guide below records what Labor and the Liberal/National Coalition promised in the run-up, as reported by PerthNow on 2 May 2025. Use it as a historical record of five policy areas: energy, tax and cost of living, housing, health and defence. Each pledge is a campaign-era proposal, not a confirmed outcome.
The election result
The Australian Electoral Commission’s 2025 Federal Election Report records Labor winning 94 of the 150 House of Representatives seats contested, and the Liberal/National Coalition winning 43. Those results are the reference point for everything that follows: a party that won 94 seats had the authority to pursue its agenda, while the Coalition’s proposals describe what it would have done had it formed government.
The PerthNow article was written for what it called “soft — or undecided — voters comparing policies from the two major parties.” It has a Western Australian lens, particularly in energy and local clinic references, so some of its figures are most relevant to WA households.
How to read the figures
Campaign documents mix several kinds of claims. Before relying on any number below, check which kind it is:
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- Pledge: a commitment a party made during the campaign. Most items in this guide are pledges.
- Estimate: a weekly or annual saving or cost calculated for an example household, such as the $5 a week from the initial tax cut.
- Reported figure: a number the article quotes from another source, such as the $191 a month average WA family electricity bill in mid-2024 or a reported survey result on GP bulk-billing.
- Analysis: the article’s own view of likely effects, such as its argument that demand-side help for buyers could push entry-level prices higher.
Every figure below should be read with its attribution: “as reported by PerthNow, 2 May 2025” unless stated otherwise. The article does not establish whether each pledge was later legislated, changed or dropped, and this guide does not either.
Energy
Energy was the area where the WA lens was strongest. The table sets out what the article reports for each party. “Not stated in article” means the article reports no comparable pledge, not that the party has no position.
Rank #2
| Measure | Labor (as reported 2 May 2025) | Coalition (as reported 2 May 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Household electricity relief | Two $75 rebate instalments | Not stated in article |
| Home batteries | $2.3 billion household battery-cost measure | Not stated in article |
| Social housing bills | $800 million for energy bills | Not stated in article |
| Community facilities | $100 million for upgrades | Not stated in article |
| Gas | Stated use of gas through 2050 | North West Gas Shelf proposal; $1 billion gas fund |
| Nuclear | Not stated in article | Seven nuclear reactors, including a proposed small modular reactor in Collie |
| Regulation | Not stated in article | Reduced regulatory barriers |
For WA households, the Collie proposal and the North West Gas Shelf reference are specific to the state, while Labor’s rebates and battery measure are national programs. The article’s reference point is an average WA family household electricity bill of $191 a month in mid-2024. That is the article’s reported figure; this guide has not checked it against a bill dataset, and it will not match an individual bill.
Tax and cost of living
The tax comparison is mostly about timing and who benefits, so check each measure against your own income and vehicle use before assuming it applies.
| Measure | Labor | Coalition |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | Legislated future tax-rate reductions. The article estimates the initial cut at $5 a week. | Repeal Labor’s tax changes |
| Instant deduction | Proposed $1,000 instant tax deduction | Not stated in article |
| Tax offsets | Not stated in article | Offsets up to $1,200 |
| Fuel | Not stated in article | 25-cent-per-litre fuel-excise cut for 12 months. The article estimates $14 a week for a family using one vehicle weekly. |
| Student debt | Proposed 20 per cent student-debt reduction | Not stated in article |
| Vocational training | 100,000 fee-free TAFE places, continuing from 2027 | Not stated in article |
The $5 and $14 figures are the article’s examples. A household with a different income, fuel use or vehicle count will see a different result, and a fuel-excise cut is a temporary measure with a stated 12-month term in the Coalition’s proposal.
Housing
Both parties targeted first-home buyers, but with different tools. Labor’s approach relied on government-backed deposits and direct funding for new homes; the Coalition emphasised tax relief, superannuation access and infrastructure to speed supply.
Rank #4
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| Measure | Labor | Coalition |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit support | 5 per cent deposits with government backing against lenders mortgage insurance (proposed) | Tax deductions on mortgage interest for eligible first-home buyers; access to up to $50,000 of superannuation toward a deposit |
| Supply | $10 billion toward 100,000 homes for first-home buyers; expansion of the Help to Buy scheme | $5 billion for housing infrastructure, intended to accelerate 500,000 homes |
| Migration | Not stated in article | Proposal to reduce net migration |
| Foreign buyers | Two-year foreign-buyer ban, also promised by the Coalition | Two-year foreign-buyer ban, also promised by Labor |
The article argues that demand-side assistance could push entry-level prices higher. That is the article’s analysis, not a finding this guide has verified. If you are a first-home buyer, the practical question is whether the deposit scheme or superannuation access would reduce the size of your loan enough to matter once higher prices are factored in.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Health
The health comparison covers bulk-billing, urgent care and the cost of prescriptions. Both major parties shared one commitment: reducing the PBS maximum co-payment to $25 from the beginning of 2026.
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Best Value
| Measure | Labor | Coalition |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk-billing | Bulk-billing commitment, described in the article | Competing bulk-billing commitment, described in the article |
| Urgent care | $644 million for 50 additional Urgent Care Clinics | Not stated in article |
| PBS co-payment | Maximum reduced to $25 from the beginning of 2026 | Maximum reduced to $25 from the beginning of 2026 |
The article also cites a reported Royal Australian College of General Practitioners survey, which it says found that 10 per cent of GPs would increase bulk-billing and 66 per cent would keep it the same. Those percentages are the article’s attribution. This guide has not checked the survey itself. The article also mentions a Greens dental proposal as context, but it is not a major-party pledge and is not compared here.
Defence
| Measure | Labor | Coalition |
|---|---|---|
| Spending increase | A reported $100 billion increase over eight years | An additional $21 billion through 2030 |
| Target | 2.3 per cent of GDP in 2033–34 | 3 per cent of GDP within ten years |
Defence spending was contested in the campaign. The article quotes UWA Defence and Security Institute research fellow Troy Lee-Brown saying: “The strategic community’s been calling for a rise in defence funding above the 2.3 per cent of Labor’s promised.” He also said, “Our warning time is really limited now, and the threat horizon for major conflict in the region, it’s never been higher since the end of the Second World War.” These are expert opinions quoted by PerthNow on 2 May 2025, not an official threat assessment.
Checking what happened after the election
A historical comparison goes out of date as governments legislate, amend or abandon pledges. To find the current position of any measure:
- Confirm the result in the Australian Electoral Commission’s 2025 Federal Election Report.
- Search the Federal Register of Legislation for the measure’s name or a related bill, such as the tax-rate changes, the student-debt reduction or the fuel-excise cut.
- Check the most recent federal Budget and Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook for funding lines matching each pledge.
- For household programs such as rebates, the battery measure or the first-home buyer schemes, check the responsible agency’s current eligibility and application pages rather than campaign material.
- For the PBS co-payment, check the current PBS listing for the maximum patient charge in force on the date you are reading.
Using this comparison for your own finances
No party choice follows from the table above. Instead, sort the measures by how much they could affect your household:
- Renters and first-home buyers: deposit support, superannuation access, and the foreign-buyer ban matter most.
- Vehicle owners: fuel and tax-offset proposals, and whether a temporary cut suits your budget.
- WA households: the average electricity figure, the Collie nuclear proposal and the gas measures.
- Households using GP or urgent care: bulk-billing commitments and the urgent-care clinic funding.
Whatever you conclude, weigh the pledge against its status today rather than its status in May 2025.
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