Australia’s federal election has officially been set for May 3 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Governor-General Samantha Mostyn this morning to request the election date.
This also kicks off the start of the election campaign with both the prime minister and his political rival, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton facing around five weeks to secure support from voters.
Albanese’s decision came just days after his government handed down the 2025 federal budget.
While the Labor government had initially planned to hold an election in April, the date was delayed due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which wreaked havoc in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
Australians Are Better Off Under Labor: PM
The Prime Minister said Australians were better off under the Labor government in response to the opposing claims from the opposition.“We’ve been in turbulent seas, but if Peter Dutton had had his way and his opposition to our cost-of-living measures had been put in place, Australians today would be $7,200 (US$4,500) worse off on average,” he said.
Albanese also criticised Dutton for his budget reply, saying it was “all about fear.”
“He [Dutton] has no plans for cost-of-living relief going forward,” he said.
“Last night, all we saw was a very dark speech, a negative speech: we [the Coalition] had no plans except for jacking up taxes for all 14 million Australians.”
During his reply on March 27, the opposition leader pledged to abolish Labor’s climate change initiatives and gig worker laws, as well as several other major policies.
Labor’s Campaign Is About Hope: PM
At the same time, the prime minister said his campaign would focus on “hope and optimism.”“What I want is a campaign about policy substance and about hope and optimism for our country,” he said.
“The greatest honour of my life is being here in Australia but it’s also when I walk into a G20 meeting, I know that Australia has that fair ethos of looking after each other…”
