Anthony Albanese has laid out his final case for a second term as prime minister as Peter Dutton ruled out agreements with right-wing minor parties to claim the top job.
In a major set-piece speech to the National Press Club just three days out from polling day, Mr Albanese emphasised he was a safe pair of hands to guide the country over the coming three years during a period of international turmoil.
“At a time of global uncertainty when so much in the world is unpredictable, Australians can be sure of where Labor stands and what Labor stands for,” he said in the Wednesday address.
“The Liberals have not changed and they have not learned. It is very clear to all that they have simply not done the work that you need to do if you are to present as a credible alternative government.”
Once again wielding his Medicare card, which has become a frequent sight on the campaign trail, the prime minister ran through his second-term agenda of expanding health care and increasing access to housing.
Mr Albanese also criticised the platform of the opposition leader, saying uncertainties still remained over the coalition’s policies.
“The answer to every question boils down to ‘we’ll tell you after the election’,” he said.
“It beggars belief that someone seeking to be prime minister of Australia could propose such a risky and extreme set of policies, and yet … still refuse to explain what those policies will mean to you.
The prime minister said Labor’s offerings to the public had been out in the open months before the election.
“Australians can be very confident that we will always stand up for Australia, trusting our values and backing our people to build that future,” he said.
And a new poll suggests Peter Dutton won’t have a chance to tell you after the election, with his campaign predicted to end with the worst coalition result in 80 years.
The opposition leader started Thursday in his home electorate of Dickson, where he’s under siege.
Labor believes the Queensland seat, which is the most marginal seat in the state, is winnable despite being held by the Liberals for 24 years.
Mr Dutton said he wasn’t in his electorate on Thursday because he was worried, but rather because he always attends a Red Shield Appeal breakfast no matter the date, which happens to fall close to election day on Saturday.
The opposition leader dodged questions about a campaign littered with missteps and controversies, saying the election was about the next three years.
“I have no doubt that there are a lot of Australians who are saying, ‘you know what, I haven’t voted Liberal before but I’m going to vote Liberal at this election because I’ve just had enough of not being able to afford to pay my bills’,” he said.
But if YouGov’s final poll before Saturday’s election is correct, this is the exact opposite of how Australians will vote, with the coalition set to suffer its worst lower house seat loss since 1946 and Labor expected to expand its majority.
YouGov’s modelling points to an 84-seat win for the government, out of 150 lower house seats, to return Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to The Lodge for a second term. The winning party needs 76 seats for a majority.
Under this scenario, the coalition will drop to 47 seats – a net loss of 11.
Liberal frontbenchers David Coleman, Michael Sukkar and Dan Tehan could all lose their seats and the coalition would lose Calare, Cowper, Wannon and Bradfield to independents, the modelling shows.
All sitting independents are tipped to retain their seats.
The Greens could lose Brisbane to Labor, dropping their lower house seat total to three.
Labor could also pick up Braddon in Tasmania, Banks in NSW, Bonner in Queensland, Menzies and Deakin in Victoria, Moore in Western Australia and Sturt in South Australia from the coalition, YouGov predicts.
However, the Coalition is tipped to reclaim Aston in Melbourne, which it lost to Labor in a historic by-election in 2023.
But Mr Albanese isn’t putting his trust in the numbers, pointing to the party’s 2019 shock defeat to Scott Morrison, in defiance of the major polls.
“It’s really important to not get ahead of ourselves, on the basis of polling that just essentially answer what people think at a particular point in time, so we’re working really hard,” he told ABC radio.
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