Federal election: A rough and tumble week one

Just as the ALP was busy portraying Peter Dutton as another Donald Trump, Albo did his best Joe Biden impersonation by falling off a stage up in the Hunter.

Dutton then managed to take out a cameraman with an AFL ball at the Charles Darwin University in the NT.

And so ended a rough and tumble week of campaigning.

Australians clearly enjoyed the Prime Minister’s tumble, as the subsequent Newspoll showed him inching a little further ahead of the opposition leader as preferred prime minister, 48 to 40.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Newspoll now puts the ALP ahead of the LNP 52-48, reviving some faint hopes for Team Albanese to hold on to a majority government.

Three weeks however, is a long time in politics.

On Monday, the Australian share market nosedived 5% in reaction to the Trump tariff announcements late last week which sparked retaliatory measures from China over the weekend.

The ASX300 Share Price Index is off over 12% from its peak in late February and most economists now say the risk of recession in the US and its major trading partners later this year is very real.

“Sometimes you need to take the medicine,” President Trump said.

It goes without saying that whoever does form a government after May 3 is going to have their work cut out for them.

The LNP kicked off week two of the campaign by hitting the CTRL-ALT-DEL button, walking back two of its recent policy announcements – sacking 41,000 public servants and forcing other public sector employees working from home back to the office.

The WFH policy in particular drew widespread criticism from working aged women, a key demographic the LNP was hoping to win back.

“We got it wrong and we apologise,” Dutton said at a subsequent press conference, adding that the ALP had turned it into a scare campaign by falsely claiming the policy would be applied to all Australians, including private sector employees.

Nevertheless, this leaves the LNP’s commitment to nuclear energy as (arguably) the only real point of differentiation from Labor.

Presumably, there are more policy reveals to come.

And there will be plenty of opportunity to do so over the next week or so with a series of televised debates between the major parties.

The first of these was being aired as we went to press with Albanese and Dutton squaring off in the ‘people’s forum’ in Western Sydney hosted by Sky News anchor Kieran Gilbert on Tuesday night, April 8.

The two leaders faced questions from the audience around Medicare, the Gaza conflict and their respective immigration policies and the impact on housing.

Dutton accused Albanese of poor economic management, including the escalation in public spending and debt, while Albanese returned fire over the $600B cost to taxpayers of building seven nuclear reactors which would not be operational until 2040.

Dutton pointed out that taxpayers would also bear the cost of the ALP’s plan to subsidise household batteries.

When it came to the role of gas in the energy mix, Albanese took the opportunity to deliver what we can only presume was a preprepared put-down: “The only gas policy that the Coalition has is the gaslighting of the Australian public”.

Dutton said the Prime Minister had spent his first 16 months in office obsessing about The Voice, “a $425M red herring”, while the cost of living was left to spiral out of control.

Both leaders agreed on one thing at least – that they would not do any deals with The Greens.

The verdict? The crowd of 100 voted 44 to Albanese and 35 to Dutton with 21 still undecided.

Sky News hosted a debate between Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor on Wednesday, April 9, while on Wednesday, April 16, the ABC will host a second leaders’ debate from its studios in Parramatta, moderated by Insiders host David Speers.

Given the current state of polling, perhaps the debates should have been held in the bellwether seat of Roberston where the battle between Gordon Reid and Lucy Wicks may end up deciding who forms the next government.

Contestants in both Dobell and Robertson and their red and blue armies were out on the road this week (literally) waving signs and pressing the flesh.

The ALP announced it would provide $1.8M towards the upgrade of Ettalong foreshore and $4.8M for new links on the Tuggerah Lakes loop at Tuggerawong and Canton Beach.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party committed $2M to upgrade Watanobbi Oval, $1M to upgrade Don Small Oval, $450,000 towards the construction of a clubhouse for the Empire Bay Tennis and Community Club and $1M for a Giant Bug Garden and Splash Adventure precinct at the Australian Reptile Park.

And if you haven’t yet enrolled to vote, you’re too late – the rolls were closed on Monday, April 7.

Nominations Close on April 10, with the declaration of nominations to occur on Friday, April 11.

Early voting starts on Tuesday, April 22.

And just to close off on key dates, postal vote applications, which are currently open, will close Wednesday 30 April.

Ross Barry