Election campaign won’t be big-spending ‘free-for-all’
The federal election will not be a blatant cash splash, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says – as PM Anthony Albanese prepares to announce millions in commitments on his pseudo campaign for votes.
With Australians due to cast their votes before May 17, Albanese has kicked off the year by courting voters in marginal electorates across multiple states.
The rising cost of living remains a chief concern for many Australians, and while the government would do what it could, Chalmers said it must be responsible.
“People shouldn’t expect this election to be a big free-for-all of public money, or a huge cash splash,” he told the ABC on Thursday.
“We’ve got to continue to manage the budget responsibly, but if we can do a little bit more to help people with these cost-of-living pressures, of course we’ll consider that.”
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After journeying through Queensland and the Northern Territory, Albanese’s trip will continue into Western Australia on Thursday, where he is expected to reveal funding for infrastructure and housing in the state’s regional areas.
The state was crucial to Labor’s 2022 election win and the party will attempt to maintain its grasp and expand support in a handful of knife-edge electorates.
Politicians have historically returned to work after the January 26 public holiday, so Albanese’s whirlwind tour marks an unusually early start to the political calendar.
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been relatively quiet since the start of the year, but Nine papers suggest he will kick off his unofficial campaign on Sunday.
Australians are increasingly directing their discontent at the major parties, with polling predicting neither Labor nor the Coalition will form a majority government after this year’s federal election.
This could offer an opportunity for minor parties and independents to exert their influence during the next term.
“This election is so vital for the future of Australia and the role that we play in the world,” Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young told the ABC.
“Whether it’s Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton, we will hold them to account and give insurance to the Australian people that dangerous policies won’t pass.”
Albanese has already spruiked millions in spending for local community facilities and infrastructure in north Queensland, where Labor is eyeing the seat of Leichhardt, held by retiring Liberal MP Warren Entsch on a 3.4 per cent margin.
Albanese also used a visit to an NT cattle station on Wednesday to highlight the economic benefits of China ending its suspension of Australian beef exports.
The trip was his 12th venture into the territory as prime minister and showed the importance of the jurisdiction at the election.
Most of the NT is taken up by the seat of Lingiari, held by Labor MP Marion Scrymgour on a razor-thin 0.9 per cent margin.
The federal government will have to fight to hold the seat after its territory counterparts were demolished by the Country Liberal Party at the 2024 election.
