Anthony Albanese calls Australian federal election for 3 Might | Australian election 2025

Anthony Albanese has framed the federal election as a alternative between Labor’s plan to “maintain constructing” and Peter Dutton’s “guarantees to chop” after asserting voters will head to the polls on 3 Might.

The prime minister visited the governor basic, Sam Mostyn, on Friday morning to dissolve the forty seventh parliament, triggering a five-week race to kind the subsequent authorities.

Saying the election date at Canberra’s Parliament Home, Albanese later solid Labor as finest positioned to steer Australia by means of “unsure instances”.

However the opposition chief, Peter Dutton, framed the Coalition marketing campaign as a query about dwelling requirements. “The query that Australians must ask is: are you higher off immediately, is our nation higher off immediately, than three years in the past?” he mentioned in Brisbane on Friday morning.

Albanese cited the federal government’s assist for bulk billing, slicing scholar money owed and the tax cuts introduced in Tuesday’s funds as centrepieces of the marketing campaign – at a number of factors brandishing a Medicare card within the air.

He mentioned the world had “thrown quite a bit at Australia” over the previous three years however the authorities had chosen to face international challenges “the Australian means – serving to individuals beneath cost-of-living stress, whereas constructing for the long run”, and claimed the economic system was now turning the nook.

Nodding to the shadow of the Trump administration hanging over the marketing campaign, Albanese mentioned the most important threat to Australia’s economic system was “not what’s occurring elsewhere on the planet”, however “going again to the failures of the previous, the tax will increase and cuts to companies that Peter Dutton and the Liberal celebration wish to lock in”.

Albanese is aiming to turn into the primary prime minister since John Howard in 1998 to win a second time period.

Dutton, requested straight about comparisons to Trump in his press convention, accused Albanese of repeating “damaging stuff day after day”.

“The sledge-a-thon is on by the prime minister as a result of he doesn’t have a great story to inform about his three years in authorities. If [he] had finished actually good issues for our nation, [if] individuals have been higher off immediately than they have been three years in the past, he’d be speaking concerning the plan,” Dutton mentioned.

“So you’ll be able to count on the private sledges. I’m not serious about that. I’m serious about our optimistic plan to assist Australians.”

Albanese denied he would run a scare marketing campaign in opposition to Dutton within the 5 weeks to election day, saying he wished “a marketing campaign about coverage substance and about hope and optimism for our nation.”

Making the case for a second time period, Albanese mentioned that “it was all the time going to take greater than three years to scrub up 10 years of mess” left by earlier Coalition governments.

“The world immediately is an unsure place however I’m completely sure of this – now just isn’t the time for slicing and wrecking, for aiming low, punching down or wanting again.”

Albanese strongly condemned Dutton’s plan to sack 41,000 public servants, citing the instance of public servants he met in Hervey Bay serving to residents affected by the Queensland floods.

Dutton defended his deliberate cuts, however once more supplied no particulars on which employees would go, or by what methodology – whether or not voluntary redundancies, payouts or pure attrition. He mentioned he would “defend frontline companies” however didn’t state which employees he thought of frontline.

Defending his resolution to repeal Labor’s legislated tax cuts in favour of promising gasoline excise aid, Dutton mentioned Albanese’s plan wouldn’t supply sufficient cost-of-living assist.

“What kind of prime minister, in the midst of a cost-of-living disaster, guarantees a 70c-a-day tax reduce, beginning in 15 months’ time? Australian households want aid now,” Dutton mentioned.

Labor holds 78 seats within the decrease home – a two-seat majority – and Albanese is adamant the federal government will be returned in its personal proper regardless of most opinion polls pointing to a hung parliament.

Requested about potential power-sharing offers with the crossbench, the prime minister mentioned he supposed to kind a majority authorities and would serve a full time period if re-elected.

Dutton hopes to guide the Coalition again to energy simply three years after its thumping 2022 election defeat, when Scott Morrison’s authorities misplaced 19 seats, together with six heartland electorates to teal independents.

The opposition chief has pitched a 12-point plan to “get Australia again on observe”, that includes his proposal to switch coal-fired energy stations with nuclear reactors, reduce immigration to free-up housing and slash “wasteful” authorities spending, together with within the public service.

In his funds reply speech on Thursday, Dutton additionally pledged to halve the gasoline excise for 12 months and enhance fuel provide to cut back costs.

Dutton has additionally focused Albanese’s character, portray the prime minister as “weak” on points starting from antisemitism to standing as much as Xi Jinping.

In a marketing campaign video launched on Friday morning, Dutton mentioned Australia was at a “turning level” after three years beneath Albanese.

“Too many are having to make sacrifices simply to afford the weekly store and pay their payments,” he mentioned. “This election is a alternative about who may also help Australians get forward.”

The opposition holds 54 seats, that means it has a mountain to climb to win a majority within the 150-seat Home of Representatives.

The Greens and teal independents are aiming to retain the seats gained in 2022, placing them within the body to behave as potential kingmakers in a hung parliament.

The Greens chief, Adam Bandt, stays optimistic the celebration can acquire floor regardless of a string of poor outcomes at latest state, territory and council elections.