Albanese calls federal election for May 3
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked Governor-General Sam Mostyn to dissolve parliament and announced an election for May 3.
Albanese visited Mostyn early on Friday, before announcing the election date at Parliament House.
“In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges that we will face, but we can determine how we respond,” he said.
“Our government has chosen to face global challenges the Australian way – helping people under cost-of-living pressure, while building for the future. Because of the strength and resilience that our people have shown, Australia is turning the corner.
“Now on 3 May, you choose the way forward.”
The announcement sets candidates up for a five-week campaign.
In Labor’s red corner, Albanese will vie to be the first prime minister since John Howard to win back-to-back elections.
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No party has been booted from government after one term for nearly a century, but Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is hoping for a shift.
Dutton has led the Coalition through three years of opposition to be within striking distance of government.
While the election was initially expected to be held in April, the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland and northern NSW meant Albanese put off making the call.
The delayed election decision also led to this week’s federal budget, which unveiled tax cuts for all workers from July 2026.
Dutton used his budget reply on Thursday to roll out a halving of the fuel excise for one year as a cost-of-living measure.
Announcing the election on Friday has allowed the government to steal the spotlight from Dutton’s budget reply.
Polls have shown a tight contest is looms, with a hung parliament a likely outcome.
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Hip pocket battle
A battle is brewing over which party would better address hip pocket woes, with the Coalition promising motorists an average $14 saving on a tank of fuel each week as soon as it comes to power.
Cheaper electricity bills and lower taxes have become key election issues as Australians are wooed on the eve of a federal election campaign.
Dutton used his budget reply speech to announce a domestic gas reserve, $1 billion for pipelines and storage, and fast-tracked approvals would be implemented under a Coalition government to lower power bills.
But cabinet minister Jason Clare branded it nothing more than hot air, saying the government had already secured six times more gas than what would be in the reserve – enough to power Queensland for two years.
“To be frank, this is just a distraction from his nuclear policy, which is now about as popular as a fart in an elevator,” he said.
Dutton vowed lower energy prices under the Coalition, after Labor pledged a $275 reduction at the 2022 election but failed to deliver.
“The Albanese government has broken its core energy promise,” he said.
“The only way to drive down power prices quickly is to ramp up domestic gas production.”
Dutton has also vowed to cut the fuel excise to bring down prices by 25 cents a litre at the bowser, saving an average motorist $14 a week.
With it set to cost the budget $6 billion, Dutton said it was an either-or option between that and supporting Labor’s tax cuts, which won’t come into effect until 2026.
“Our plan is to reduce tax in another part of the family budget and that, of course, is in relation to the halving of the fuel excise,” he told ABC TV after his speech.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended not matching the proposed slash to the excise. He said petrol prices had fallen significantly since the last temporary excise cut under the former Morrison government.
Broad and ongoing tax relief was a better way to address cost-of-living pressures, Chalmers said.
He has also defended the delayed timing of the tax cuts, saying it was to ensure inflation was back within the central bank’s target band.
