Opposition Leader Peter Dutton welcomed to Albury by deputy and Farrer MP Sussan Ley

That came with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's visit to Albury for talks with small business owners, women's groups, larger firms and community organisations.

He was hosted by his deputy and Farrer MP Sussan Ley, who drew attention to what she said was the government's failure to rein in power and gas prices.

Mr Dutton said "lots" of Australian families, including those in the Border region, were "sitting in a very difficult position" on cost-of-living rises, including ever-increasing interest rate rises.

"They believed the prime minister when he said before the election he'd deliver them lower mortgages. It hasn't happened," he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"They believed the prime minister when he said he would reduce power prices by $275."

Mr Dutton said Anthony Albanese promised this "97 times" and "he just hasn't delivered".

"No Australian can hold up their power bill and say they've paid less for their power in the last 10 months than before that," he said.

Ms Ley said the Liberals did not shy away from the fact that Saturday was "a tough day in the office" with Labor winning the Aston by-election, a shock result given it had been a safe Liberal seat.

"But we'll regroup, we'll redouble our efforts and we will earn the faith, the trust and the support of the Australian people," she said.

"We saw a very big spending Labor budget in October; we'll be watching closely to make sure the government gets it right. They absolutely should in May because so many families are counting on them."

Mr Dutton rejected any suggestion the visit to Albury was a knee jerk reaction to that loss and a desperate attempt for the party to return to its support base.

"We actually had this trip planned well before the by-election last weekend," he said.

"There's lots of lessons for us to take out of Aston - if we had all the answers we would have won the election on the weekend. The fact is Labor ran a very brutal campaign.

"The prime minister talks about saying no or being opposed to things - the Labor Party have had nothing positive to say for the past five weeks."

Ms Ley said the significant utility price rises on the way in July frightened many Border businesses, making her more determined to put pressure on the government.

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

FacebookTwitterWhatsappEmail