Australian voters in parts of Queensland are battling heavy rain to attend ballot boxes in the federal election as hopeful treasurer Jim Chalmers continued campaigning in Brisbane.
Chalmers, from the centre-left opposition Labor party, on Saturday trumpeted the centre-right coalition’s “waste” as one of several reasons to switch governments.
“People have said to us they want to put an end to the rorts and waste and the economic mismanagement, which has seen $1 trillion in debt and nothing to show for it,” he told reporters in the Brisbane seat of Rankin.
“They know that the difference between our responsible investments in child care, and cleaner and cheaper energy and training and universities, are what this country ... what this economy, needs to get it growing the right way and to get real wages moving again.”
Defence Minister Peter Dutton was the face of the coalition in Brisbane on Saturday, casting a vote and handing out how-to-vote cards in his electorate of Dickson.
Colleague Keith Pitt was at Hervey Bay High School where he praised people for braving heavy rain to attend polling booths. “This is democracy at work” despite the “pretty tough conditions,” he told News Corp.
Senator Larissa Waters flew the left-wing Greens flag in the sunshine state.
Polling has Labor ahead in the federal election and victory for the party would see Chalmers become treasurer.
“The economy has been absolutely central to this campaign and people are supportive of Labor’s view that we can put an end to a decade of waste and rorts,” he said.
“This is not Liberal Party money in the commonwealth budget, it belongs to the Australian people. It needs to be invested wisely on their behalf and that’s what we intend to do.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk posted a photo to Twitter of herself voting in support of her party on Saturday, commenting: “Voting for [Australian Labor] is the only way to change the federal government.”
