Election 2022: PM trips, brings down child during soccer practice
Scott Morrison has reached out to check on the boy he crashed into while playing soccer on a campaign visit. See the video and photos here.
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The Prime Minister has tripped and fallen on a child while playing soccer on a campaign visit to Tasmania.
To gasps from the sidelines, Scott Morrison fell on Luca Fauvette - who was unhurt. (Scroll down to see the video)
Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese has seized on Mr Morrison’s eleventh-hour rebrand, accusing the Prime Minister of pretending to be someone else to woo undecided voters.
It comes as Mr Morrison slammed the Labor leader for doing “the full Forrest Gump” after Mr Albanese fled a press conference amid heavy questioning about Labor’s debt and deficit levels.
In other election news
■ Former Prime Minister John Howard believes controversial Katherine Deves is in with a ‘real shot’ to take back Tony Abbott’s old seat of Warringah but admits it ‘won’t be easy’.
■ Some regional Australians may be unable to vote in their local area on election day, with the Australian Electoral Commission warning of staff shortages
■ Mr Albanese jumped on new figures showing average Australian wages growing by 2.4 per cent, less than half the inflation rate of 5.1 per cent
■ Mr Morrison hit back, saying Australians would be dropping their best economic shield against rising interest rates and inflation by electing a Labor government
■ Mr Albanese declined to say whether he would pick up the phone to the Chinese leader if elected and has rejected concerns over links with China of his deputy, describing it as “nonsense”
■ The PM has warned inflation and interest rates pressures would not improve with Mr Albanese.
■ Mr Morrison has vowed Australia will not go back to days of Covid lockdowns under him as PM.
■ Mr Albanese will have himself sworn in as prime minister and Penny Wong as foreign minister as soon as Sunday or Monday in order to attend the Quadrilateral meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, if Labor wins the election – something Peter Dutton called “bizarre”.
Keep up with the latest developments in our rolling coverage below and let us know what you think in our comments section.
LUCA’S OK! MORRISON CHECKS IN ON BOY HE FELL ON
Scott Morrison has reached out to young soccer star Luca Fauvette, after the pair collided at soccer training on Wednesday in Tasmania.
During a campaign visit to Devonport, the PM tripped and fell on Luca while playing soccer, and brought him down to the ground.
Mr Morrison said he had spoken to Luca and his mother Ali.
“A shout out to young Luca for being such a good sport,” Mr Morrison wrote on Facebook.
“You may have seen we had a bit of a collision at club training tonight at the Devonport Strikers Football Club in Tasmania.
“I spoke to Luca and his mum Ali tonight to check in on him and he was in good form. Great to be able to have a good chat to him about his love of football and to hear he’s had three hat-tricks in his budding career already.”
Luca’s club also posted their support of Luca.
“Our club values are determination, effort and respect,” the Club wrote.
“We think Luca showed plenty of determination and effort to stop the PM scoring at all costs!
“The latest star of the election is ok and looking forward to being the star of the show at school tomorrow,” they wrote.
PM TAKES DOWN KID WHILE PLAYING SOCCER
Scott Morrison has taken his self-dubbed “bulldozer” title to a new level, accidentally knocking over a young soccer player.
The incident at the Devonport Strikers Club on Wednesday evening sparked gasps and awkward laughter from the side of the pitch after the pair got caught up during practice with the under 8s team.
Mr Morrison appeared to trip and lose his footing, wrapping Luca Fauvette as he fell to the ground, seemingly to protect the child as they toppled.
This prompted jokes from the sidelines that Mr Morrison, who likes to try his hand at every sport, may have forgotten what code he was playing.
Mr Morrison quickly patted Luca on the back and later gave him a high-five to check he was okay.
A club official said Luca had been tripped but went home without any injuries.
Mr Morrison said he hoped Luca wasn’t off to the hospital.
“It’s been a lot of fun being here this afternoon,” he said.
“When that grandstand comes down here it needs a bit of a bulldozer to knock it down. So I might be able to help with that.”
Under-8s soccer coach Keegan Smith said Luca was “tough as” and came out of the incident with a smile on his face.
“He probably falls over three times that much just training with the boys,” Mr Smith said.
“He had a massive smile on his face and I think he ended up scoring a goal after that too.”
Mr Morrison made the late-afternoon dash to the electorate of Braddon to announce a $3.5m upgrade to the pitches and facility at the Valley Road Soccer grounds, if elected.
He asked local players about the sporting facility upgrade, saying it was great to see them “not on the phones, out here playing soccer”.
He also practiced scoring goals with a group of nine- to 12-year-olds, who started chanting “ScoMo, ScoMo”.
“ScoMo the GOAT,” one young boy cheered.
“You’re better than Ronaldo,” another said.
DEVES HAS A SHOT AT WIN: HOWARD
Former Prime Minister John Howard believes controversial Katherine Deves is in with a ‘real shot’ to take back Tony Abbott’s old seat of Warringah but admits it ‘won’t be easy’.
Both Mr Howard and Mr Abbott joined Ms Deves on the campaign trail on Wednesday.
On Sky News, Mr Howard said he believed Anthony Albanese was not up to the job of being Prime Minister as he failed to get himself across key economic detail.
He was asked whether this year’s election had the same feeling about it as 2007 when Kevin Rudd took office.
Mr Howard disagreed, saying in 2007, people were seeking change and took a close, hard look at Mr Rudd but that this was not the same with Mr Albanese.
“I find a marked lack of interest in Mr Albanese as prime minister,” Mr Howard said.
“There is a growing feeling he is not quite up to the job.
“I hope we win. I think the trend is to us.”
Ms Deves said cost of living, housing affordability and jobs were among the top issues facing voters she talked to, though she said she had plenty of support for her stance in trying to keep transgender men out of women’s sports.
Mr Howard said he believed it was a ‘no brainer’ that people born male should not be able to compete in girls or women’s events.
Mr Abbott said he believed 90 per cent of Australians supported Ms Deves views.
When asked if she would be happy to meet with a transgender person to hear their views, Ms Deves said she had gay and LGBTI people among her friends and in her family so she was aware of their views.
She said she was ‘feeling very confident’ about Saturday’s election, despite independent Zali Steggall holding the seat with a 7.2 per cent margin.
Ms Deves questioned what Ms Steggall had achieved in the past three years, saying she had claimed credit for things Mr Abbott had pushed through during his time.
Mr Abbott said he was doing ‘everything he could to ensure Katherine Deves gets in’ because Warringah deserved to be represented by one of the major parties.
Ms Deves has promoted herself as a working mum, raising her three daughters in Manly Vale.
“I understand the challenges faced by local families. I will fight to continue cost of living relief and to make sure our kids have the opportunities, services and support they need to succeed,’’ she said in a profile published by the Manly Daily.
Zali Steggal, an Olympic medallist and a former barrister, promised to stand up for locals and campaign for climate change action, rather than follow the party line.
ALBO SLAMS PM’S PLEA TO CHANGE
Anthony Albanese has seized on Scott Morrison’s eleventh-hour rebrand, accusing the Prime Minister of pretending to be someone else to woo undecided voters.
“He’s promising to change his personality. He’s been the devil you know. He’s been a bulldozer,” Mr Albanese told the National Press Club on Wednesday.
“And now Scott Morrison, who’s been in this Government for nearly 10 years, is telling Australia that’s not enough.
“He wants another term as Prime Minister – not because it’s a great deal for you – but because he says, to quote him, he’s ‘just warming up.’
“Seriously. After four years as Prime Minister. What a concise concession of failure.”
His comments come just hours after Mr Morrison told reporters in Geelong his bulldozer approach had “served Australia well”.
Mr Albanese’s address was focused on his future plan for Australia, and checked off the issues of cost of living, emerging from the pandemic and the role of a “good government”.
The Labor leader used his speech to stress the urgent need for reform.
“There is a cost-of-living crisis, now. Fair work and fair wages are under attack, now. The security dynamic in our region is changing, now. There is a crisis in aged care, now. Climate change is happening, now, “ he said.
“Australia cannot risk or afford three more years of more of the same.”
Mr Albanese told the room that he would be a leader that looked for “solutions, not arguments” and again vowed to work constructively with the state and territory leaders.
“The Prime Minister’s most remarkable statement though was that his biggest flaw is that he is 'too quick' to solve problems,” he continued.
“The bloke who said: ‘I don’t hold a hose, mate’ on bushfires. ‘It’s not a race’ to get vaccines. ‘That’s not my job’ on every issue he was confronted with.
“The only thing Scott Morrison does quickly in a crisis is blame someone else.
“The Liberals won’t change. The Prime Minister can’t change.”
His speech hit much of the same talking points the Labor leader has repeatedly used in addresses throughout the campaign.
The Labor leader again committed to reducing the “waste and rorts”, and vowed to reduce the uncommitted funding in the Community Development Grants Program by $350 million and return the $400m Regionalisation Fund back to the Budget.
“These two decisions alone will repair the Budget by three quarters of a billion dollars,” he added.
“If I have the honour of serving as Prime Minister, it will be my mission – and my responsibility – to ensure that every dollar spent in the Budget is used to drive the productivity growth we need to pay down Liberal debt, and to deliver meaningful quality of life improvements for all Australians.”
He concluded by saying his priority as Prime Minister will be serving Australians.
WILL HE PICK UP THE PHONE TO CHINESE LEADER?
On foreign policy, Mr Albanese said his strategy would focus on the US alliance, deepening regional relationships and support for multilateral relations.
“I won’t leak text messages to international leaders,” he joked.
“I will engage in an upfront way, in a mature way, and I look forward in particular to some of the policy changes that we’re putting forward, increasing our standing globally.”
He did not specifically mention the Quad alliance, despite being asked about the leaders meeting scheduled for next Tuesday. On China, the Labor leader said he would “maintain an absolute consistency in that position in standing up for Australia’s values.”
Mr Albanese declined to say if he would pick up the phone to President Xi Jinping should he be elected. Instead, the Labor leader said he would “cherish relationships”.
“China has changed its position under Xi. Australia has had to adjust to that. And I think that the relationship and China will remain a challenging one regardless of who wins the election,” Mr Albanese said.
He then used the question as an opportunity to lash the Prime Minister for “damaging” Australia’s stance on the world stage.
In response to if he would be considered “weak” on the world stage, the Labor leader said it was Mr Morrison who should be considered weak.
“You know what weak is? Weak is leaking a private text message with an ally,” he said. “That's weak. That's what that is.”
ALBO SAYS GOVT HAS ‘STENCH ABOUT IT’
Asked whether he would govern with the same set of standards he set as opposition leader, Mr Albanese said he would “govern with integrity”. “For a start, a national Anti-Corruption Commission would be a good idea,” he replied.
“We have, I think, less confidence that I feel from the Australian public in the national Government than has been there for a long period of time.”
He said while he had criticisms of the John Howard-led government, it did not have the “stench and taint this government has around it”.
“John Howard, when ministers did the wrong thing, stood them down and stood them aside.
These guys are a revolving door, where they step down, like Stuart Robert or Sussan Ley and they're back,” he said.
“Barnaby Joyce is back as Deputy Prime Minister. The truth is that we need to build confidence in Government, and in the integrity of Government.”
STAFF SHORTAGES TO HIT VOTING ON ELECTION DAY
Some regional Australians may be unable to vote in their local area on election day, with the Australian Electoral Commission warning staff shortages could cause a reduction in regional polling centres.
The AEC alerted voters on Wednesday that “recruitment difficulties may lead to a relatively small number of planned polling places being unable to open on election day”.
Localities affected include Capricornia, Flynn, Kennedy and Leichhardt in Queensland, Barker and Grey in South Australia and Durack and O’Connor in Western Australia.
Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said staff have “made well over 1 million phone calls” and “sent more than half a million emails” in a bid to recruit the 105,000 polling staff required on election day.
“Short of handing out blank cheques for work, or accommodating thousands of single-day workers in interstate locations, there is not much more we could have done so far,” Mr Rogers said.
“While the impact will likely be limited, and limited to certain areas, voters in identified regional locations who have not accessed an early voting centre, or postal vote, may not have a polling venue in their town on election day.
The AEC is alerting voters that recruitment difficulties may lead to a relatively small number of polling places being unable to open on election day.
— AEC âœï¸ (@AusElectoralCom) May 18, 2022
- Plan your vote: pre-polling is open until Friday night
- Sign up now: visit https://t.co/Vyh4IJQYB9pic.twitter.com/hQjf9K40r7
“The list of affected areas will reduce as we get closer to Saturday, and many local residents will have already accessed the alternative forms of voting available in the Australian system.”
Mr Rogers said the AEC was continuing to engage with local residents in the hope they’ll put their hand up to work.
“For some people it may mean that if you want to vote at a polling place in your town on election day, you may have to sign up to work as well,” he said.
The AEC has urged people in the areas listed to register for a position by the end of Wednesday, so polling places are staffed to open on Saturday.
Mr Rogers said the vast majority of the nation’s planned 7000 polling places will be in operation.
PM WARNS OF DROPPING ‘ECONOMIC SHIELD’
Voters face a choice between the Coalition which believes in the power of Australians being in the “driver’s seat of our future” or the Labor Party and its belief in the “power of government”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
Mr Morrison, at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch in Melbourne, delivered an off-the-cuff speech about the government’s economic record during the pandemic and the ideological difference between the Coalition and Labor.
His thesis, against the frame of the pandemic, was that governments needed to know what it can or cannot do and “more importantly what it shouldn’t” and that re-electing a Coalition government would keep Australia’s “economic shield” up.
Mr Morrison, in a bid to underline that global forces were causing economic pressures and rising cost of living, said the International Monetary Fund’s estimate of inflation had doubled in the last 12 months.
He acknowledged the Australian Bureau of Statistics had released the Wage Price Index data just hours ago, spinning the annual increase of 2.4 per cent as “slightly above the 10-year average”.
Wages on average going up 2.4 per cent annually against an inflation rate of 5.1 per cent means the cost-of-living is rising twice that of salaries.
“You got to know the things you can't control global events, global forces, oil prices, wars in Europe, disruptions of supply chains with the pandemic shutdowns in China,” Mr Morrison said.
“All that's happening after May 21. One way or the other. That's not going to change.
“When it's raining and you go outside, you still get wet. The election won't change whether it's raining or not, when it comes to the economic pressures that Australia's face … but what I'm saying is there are things you can do.”
Mr Morrison said this involved voting for the Coalition on Saturday, to keep the “economic shield of strong financial management”.
“If you drop your shield, if you hand over the financial management reins and economic management reins to a Labor Party that doesn't know how to manage money then you’re dropping your shield,” he said.
“And Australia will be fully exposed to the full force of these global financial pressures and economic pressures that are impacting so more severely in other parts of the world.
“It's a choice between a government that knows how to manage money and a Labor Party that won't even tell you what their policy costs are and run away when asked.”
PM BLASTS TEAL INDEPENDENTS CLIMATE CHANGE DEMANDS
The “teal” independents call for more ambitious climate targets is “not sensible economic or environmental policy” according to Mr Morrison.
Answering a few questions after his speech at an Australian-Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch, Mr Morrison said the country had met every one of its climate targets and was on track to meet its 2030 goals.
He then slammed some “teal” independents for wanting a 60 per cent emissions reductions target by 2030.
“Let's just turn the lights off now and all go home,” Mr Morrison said.
“I mean, that is not sensible economic policy. It's not even sensible environmental policy.
“It doesn't achieve the sort of transition of technology and develop precious technologies that won't just change Australia's emissions, but will change the world's efficiency.”
PM ACCUSES ALBO OF RUNNING
Mr Morrison has accused his opponent of being “a bit presumptuous” and thinking the election “is already done” after Mr Albanese suggested Labor would move quickly to get them to a meeting of the Quad in Tokyo if the election result is clear on Saturday evening.
"He seems to be getting a bit presumptuous, he seems to think this election is already done, and we saw this last time, when we had the last election, do you remember, we had Bill Shorten now with the Addams family photo before the last election, all they're pretending they were already in their jobs,” Mr Morrison said.
“We are seeing a lot of that again from the Labor Party and when, I was asked about this the other day, when it came to what we were, what the arrangements would be for the Quad meeting after the election, and I said I would not be presumptuous about that, there are conventions in place to deal with those issues and its depending on the outcome of this. "
Mr Albanese seems to be getting a bit ahead of himself and Australians will make this decision, you don't get to make it before the election.”
It comes as Mr Morrison also compared Mr Albanese to classic movie character “Forrest Gump” after the latter fled a press conference amid hard questioning on what Australia’s debt and deficit levels would be under Labor.
“I mean, yesterday, Anthony Albanese did the full Forrest Gump when it came to being asked about his costings,” Mr Morrison said.
“Off he was running, run Forrest run. That's what we saw him from yesterday when he was asked the simple question, how are you going to pay for your policies?”
The Coalition has been more forcefully pushing its wedge on Labor on the economy after releasing its own policy costings on Tuesday.
The government’s money men Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister Simon Birmingham revealed the Coalition’s election promises would cost $2.3bn but the budget bottom line would be $1bn better off over the forward estimates.
This will be done by increasing the public service efficiency dividend — or the percentage a department must cut annually from its running costs — to 2.0 per cent until 2025.
Mr Morrison’s re-election campaign will on Wednesday attempt to focus on housing policy for the third day in a row, with the Prime Minister hitting the ultra-marginal Labor-held of Corangamite in regional Victoria.
WAGE RISES STILL FALLING BEHIND INFLATION
Australian workers’ wages continue to be outpaced by the price of everyday commodities, new figures show.
Wages are growing at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent according to the nation’s wage price index (WPI) from the March quarter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the figure on Wednesday morning, three days before the federal election and after a six-week campaign dominated by the debate over how to ease the cost of living.
The WPI was expected to fall further “backwards” behind the rate of inflation, which is running at 5.1 per cent.
The Coalition has centred a significant chunk of its election campaign on its narrative that it is the superior choice to Labor when it comes to managing the economy.
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Mr Morrison has blamed international pressures such as the war in Ukraine and supply chain disruption for rising inflation.
The Prime Minister has painted Anthony Albanese’s promise to lift wages if Labor is elected as a fantasy, telling voters on several occasions the opposition leader does “not have a magic pen” to make pay “go up”.
Mr Morrison has said wages will increase because more people are getting into work. The official unemployment rate is tipped to hit a historic low later this year.
But Mr Albanese and Labor have blamed the Coalition for “undermining wages and job security” that has culminated in a “cost of living crisis” after its nine years in government.
“Real wages are going backwards and are expected to go backwards even further today, when the new numbers for wages are released,” Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the ABC on Wednesday morning.
“What really matters is whether people can feed their families in this cost of living crisis when their real wages are going backwards.”
The release of the WPI comes as the Fair Work Commission holds its final consultations for its annual wage review.
The industrial umpire is considering whether to raise the national minimum wage for Australia’s lowest paid workers from $20.33 per hour.
UNIONS SLAM ‘HANDS OFF’ APPROACH TO WAGES
Meanwhile, in a push to increase wages by 5.5 per cent, union boss Sally McManus has criticised the Coalition's "hands off" approach, suggesting that it is time for the government to "use some of the levers'' that they have.
"The submission this government put in actually says that low wages are a good thing. It's a stepping stone to high wages," Ms McManus told Sky News on Wednesday.
"Scott Morrison has come out and said that it's fine for people to have a real wage cut."
On Wednesday, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will be speaking at the Annual Wage Review hearing at the Fair Work Commission.
"We'll begin now arguing for a 5.5 per cent increase, and that's for one in four workers," said Ms McManus, who said the move would have an effect on overall wages, making it "a really clear, easy, straightforward, direct thing the government would do."
"But unfortunately, they're refusing to."
If the ACTU were successful in persuading the FWC to increase wages by 5.5 per cent, the hourly rate for the minimum adult wage would be lifted from $20.33 to $21.45, the weekly rate from $772.60 to $815.09 and the annual rate from $40,175.20 to $42,384.84.
The ACTU Secretary denied that small businesses would struggle to stay afloat if the minimum wage were to increase, claiming that "the statistics don't bear that out."
"The number of new business entrants is at the highest level it has been for a decade, the number of bankruptcies as the lowest level it's been for a decade, and sales are up between 10 and 15 per cent," she said. "There's a recovery happening, but it's just not happening for workers."
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SCOMO RAMPS UP MESSAGING IN LAST DITCH PITCH
With just under three days until millions of Australians head to the polls, and as all sides of politics prepare for a media blackout to begin at midnight tonight, Mr Morrison has ramped up his campaign messaging on Wednesday.
On his fourth day of spruiking his plan to give first home buyers access to their superannuation in order to purchase a house, Mr Morrison was in the Labor-held marginal seat of Corangamite.
Mr Morrison said home ownership was “the great aspiration of Australians”, and his government wanted to give people “every chance to realise” that aspiration.
But, questions continued to be thrown Mr Morrison’s way regarding the cost of living, especially as petrol prices once again surpass $2 a litre.
The government had halved the fuel excise two months ago, but any bowser relief has been dissipated – and there’s no chance the fuel excise cut will continue past September.
“We will watch closely over this period of time on what happens with petrol prices,” Mr Morrison said.
With official wage figures to be released later on Wednesday, Mr Morrison said under his government “wages are going up”, but rather inflation was the “challenge”.
Mr Morrison quoted the Reserve Bank, who say wages won’t keep up with inflation until the end of 2023.
“Wages are going to go up because employment is coming down,” he said. “It will take even longer if you have policies as the Labor Party propose which means not managing money, not being able to afford the promises they are making, that only puts further pressure on inflation and more upward pressure on interest rates.”
PM RULES OUT MORE COVID LOCKDOWNS
Questioning then moved to his own claim that he was a “bulldozer”, with Mr Morrison doubling down that while his approach may not always have been popular, it was often the right thing to do.
“In the roles I have had it has served the country extremely well,” he said.
The press conference then moved to Covid-19 – arguably the most Mr Morrison has spoken about the health impacts of the pandemic since well before the campaign began.
Amid high transmission rates and a rising death toll, Mr Morrison ruled out sending Australia back into lockdowns and said the country “was learning to live” with the virus.
“We will continue to follow the medical advice,” Mr Morrison said.
“(But) we are not going back to those daily press conferences of people talking about Covid every day, and putting the threats of shutdowns and lockdowns and interfering in people’s lives again.
“That is not what I’m going to do if I am re-elected on Saturday. I will not drag Australia back to those times again. “I believe we need to move on.”
FAIR WORK COMMISSION SHOULD DECIDE WAGES
Mr Morrison has revived claims Labor would be a “loose unit on the economy” ahead of new data being released which will reveal if Australians wages are going up.
Mr Morrison said he supported wages, including the minimum wage, go up but this needed to be “done carefully and done by the Fair Work Commission”.
“Because they will be thinking carefully about all the forces that are there in the economy,” he said.
“The economy has so many moving parts at the moment, and you’ve got to be careful otherwise all you end up doing is pushing interest rates up even higher, pushing the cost of living up even higher, which leaves people worse off.
“That’s why you’ve got to under the economy, you can’t be a loose unit on the economy.
“You can't be loose with public finances as Labor have and it seems from Jim Chalmers, they're happy to be again, because that only pushes up inflation which makes that real wage challenge even more difficult.”
ALBO SAYS CHINA CONCERNS ON MARLES ‘NONSENSE’
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Albanese has discussed a potential Cabinet shuffle, including the possibility of his deputy Richard Marles taking on a national security portfolio.
“What I’ve said is that my starting point would be that people who are in their current positions, that is our starting point,” he said. “But we will examine the structure of the government as well and there may well be some changes in some departmental structures as well,” he said.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, though. I’ve been very clear about that.”
Mr Albanese declined to be drawn on when asked directly if Labor would dismantle the Home Affairs merger that was announced by Malcolm Turnbull in 2017.
The new Home Affairs portfolio brought together Australia’s immigration, border protection, law enforcement and domestic security agencies in a single portfolio.
At the time, Mr Marles noted that neither ASIO nor any other agency had called for the change.
However, Mr Marles has been plagued during the campaign with questions over his relationship with China. Asked if Mr Marles had told him every time he was meeting with the Chinese ambassador since Mr Albanese became leader he dismissed the question.
“I think all of those comments and some of that commentary are complete nonsense,” he said.
“I have absolute faith in Richard Marles. He is a very good deputy leader and he will make a fine deputy prime minister.”
Asked if Labor had been warned by ASIO about meeting with the Chinese ambassador Mr Albanese said he didn’t plan to discuss national security briefings.
“You and I both know that I can’t comment on briefings from national security agencies,’’ he said.
“But you and I both also know that when issues were raised earlier this year, I sought permission from the director general of ASIO to say publicly that he has confirmed that there are no issues with any Labor member of parliament or any Labor candidate.”
Asked if it was unusual that Richard Marles has had 10 meetings with the Chinese Embassy and Penny Wong had far less during the same period, Mr Albanese said there was no issue. “
“I’m not going to comment about issues which have been an attempt to smear someone who has also had significant numbers of meetings with the United States and with other embassies,’’ he said.
“The fact is that I have absolute faith in Richard Marles and he has at all times acted entirely appropriately.”
‘BIZARRE’: DUTTON’S SWIPE AS ALBO PLANS TO TAKE REINS
Anthony Albanese will have himself sworn in as prime minister and Penny Wong as foreign minister as soon as Sunday or Monday in order to attend the Quadrilateral meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, if Labor wins the election, The Australian reports.
In an exclusive final-week interview, the Labor leader accepted there would be no time for the Labor caucus to meet in Canberra to elect ministers, as is required under party rules, ahead of the Quad meeting with leaders from the US, Japan and India, according to the newspaper.
“We are not pre-empting the outcome (of the election) but, clearly, we have been asked by Australian officials what our intention would be and we have indicated that if we are successful, the intention would be to go,” Mr Albanese said.
“I will visit the Quad and renew my acquaintance with (US) President (Joe) Biden but also meet, very importantly, with (Japanese) Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida and (Indian Prime Minister) Narendra Modi who are important friends of Australia … The Quad is an important organisation.”
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has hit out at what he said was Mr Albanese’s “bizarre” decision.
Speaking to 2GB on Wednesday morning, Mr Dutton said Mr Albanese had his priorities all wrong.
“It sounds a lot to me like he’s taking people’s support for granted … packing his bags and getting his passport ready before the final votes have been counted reminds me of Bill Shorten,” Mr Dutton said.
“ (Mr Shorten) had the truck booked, ready to take his furniture to the lodge.
“At the moment, I would have thought his focus would be on releasing the Labor Party’s costings.”
Mr Dutton added that while it would be one thing for Mr Albanese to have himself sworn in on Sunday, but to have Senator Wong accompany him was “bizarre” and a telling sign Mr Albanese is underprepared for all the responsibility that comes with the Prime Ministership.
“He has his L plates on quite clearly … it’s a statement of what he knows to be his own deficiencies,” Mr Dutton said.
“It goes to people’s hesitations about whether Mr Albanese is up for the job.”
NEW POLLS SHOW CONTEST TIGHTENING
The Coalition’s primary vote has slightly increased while nearly half of voters prefer Mr Morrison as prime minister, according to new polling conducted by Resolve Strategic for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Coalition’s primary vote went from 33 to 34 per cent, while Labor saw a small drop from 34 to 31 per cent.
In two-party-preferred terms the results would give Labor a lead of 51 to 49 per cent — a significant narrowing from 54 to 46 per cent two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the contest has tightened in Scott Morrison’s favour, according to a Guardian Essentials poll.
Labor leads 48 per cent to the Coalition’s 46 per cent (with seven per cent undecided) on two-party preferred – its lead contracting compared to two weeks ago when Labor was on 49 per cent and the Coalition was 45 per cent.
The Coalition is one point ahead of Labor on primary vote – 36 per cent to 35 per cent while the Greens are on 9 per cent (down one point compared to two weeks ago), One Nation is on 4 per cent (up one point), independents on six per cent (up one point) and United Australia Party on 3 per cent (down one point).
ALBANESE UNDER PRESSURE ABOUT COSTINGS DELAY
In a stunning rejection of transparency, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has declared Australian voters only need to know if Labor will deliver a higher deficit than the Coalition 48 hours before polling day.
Mr Albanese repeatedly refused to say what the budget bottom line would look like under a government he led even as he was continually pushed to answer after abruptly ending a press conference in Western Australia on Tuesday.
Despite campaigning heavily on transparency and integrity in government, Mr Albanese shut down suggestions voters deserved more time to digest the economic impact of his policy platform, instead committing to release his “costings” details on Thursday.
Mr Albanese said he was embracing the model used by former prime minister Tony Abbott, who also only controversially released costings two days out from the election in 2013.
With Labor refusing to release its policy costings until Thursday, the Coalition has seized on the vacuum and completed its own analysis of the opposition’s costings, claiming there would be a $20 billion deficit in Mr Albanese’s numbers.
The figure was based on $25bn worth of spending promises, compared to only $5bn in revenue or savings measures.
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said it was “astounding” the Labor leader wouldn’t answer questions about the budget bottom line.
“Whilst our Government is improving the budget bottom line by $104 billion, Anthony Albanese is splashing cash all over the place,” he said.
“Labor’s reckless spending will add extra pressures that mean Australians pay via higher taxes and interest rates.”
The Morrison Government released its independently assessed figures on Tuesday, while in the 2016 and 2019 elections former Labor leader Bill Shorten released his opposition costings six and eight days ahead respectively.
Speaking to reporters at MetroNET manufacturing facility in the Liberal-held seat of Hasluck in Perth’s east, Mr Albanese refused to outline if his policies would cost more than the Coalition, or if his deficits will be higher.
“Our costings will be out on Thursday,” he said.
“They’ll be released at the same time that the last time that there was a change of government occurred.”
Asked if it was fair to voters given his stance on boosting transparency, Mr Albanese sought to turn the tables back on the government.
“The costings and expenditures which we have made have been responsible,” he said.
“They pale into insignificance compared with the waste and the rorts that are riddled through this budget.”
Labor’s Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC News Breakfast concern about a delay in the costings was “confected outrage from the government”.
“[It’s] designed to distract from the fact we got a full-blown cost of living crisis in this country, real wages are going backwards and are expected to go backwards even further today when the numbers for wages are released. And there’s a trillion dollars of debt in the budget for not enough to show for it. The Government wants to be focused on the political minutiae whether costings are released on a Tuesday or Thursday, when what really matters is whether people can feed their families in this cost of living crisis, when they real wages are going backwards as a deliberate outcome from a Government that has spent the best part of the decade undermining wages and job security.”
PM ADMITS HE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE ‘SENSITIVE’
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has admitted he could have been more “sensitive” during the pandemic to bring Australians closer together.
Days out from the federal election on Tuesday night, Mr Morrison spoke to A Current Affair.
Host Tracy Grimshaw grilled the Prime Minister – who refers to himself as a “bulldozer” – about what he could have done differently over the past three years.
“Sure, I have my critics; not everything that we did worked perfectly,” Mr Morrison said.
“I think I could have certainly been more sensitive at times, there is no doubt about that.”
The Prime Minister added in terms of policy, the country would have benefited from a “militarised” vaccine rollout earlier on.
“We were doing it through the health department first; if we’d done it earlier, I think that would have made a difference,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison also said he would have chosen different language rather than claiming he didn’t “hold a hose” during the Black Summer bushfires.
“Certainly that wasn’t a comment at the time that was helpful,” Mr Morrison said.
With the worst of the pandemic appearing to be over, Mr Morrison said there would be more time for discussions and taking Australians forward into the future.
The Prime Minister rejected suggestions he should have acted differently during the women’s march in Canberra, when he refused to meet with protesters outside Parliament House.
He said he would have been happy to meet with organisers privately in his office – an offer the group rejected.
“I did the right thing on that day. I would have welcomed the opportunity for the top of a discussion in my office,” Mr Morrison said.
He also listed the efforts of the Coalition on improving gender equity in Australia, including seeing the pay gap shrink from 17.4 to 13.8 per cent, investing $2 billion to end violence against women and women’s health initiatives.
“I accept that at times people may not have liked my language, but the actual policies that we put in place have been getting very strong results,” he said.
Mr Morrison also defended the outcome of a botched deal to buy submarines from France, which cost the taxpayer an estimated $5.5 billion with nothing to show for it.
He said he had no regrets and at the time made a decision that was in the national interest to tear up the contract, potentially souring Australia’s relationship with the French.
“This was one of the most difficult agreements that Australia has ever been able to secure and there is no easy way to tell a partner in the French government that they are no longer going to have a $90 billion submarine contract,” he said.
Mr Morrison again defended his government’s election promise of allowing Australians to use their superannuation to buy a first home.
“A lot of the critics of this policy already own a house; I am on the side of those who want to buy one,” he said.
TEAL CHALLENGER CALLS IN LAWYERS
Teal independent Zoe Daniel has formally threatened her Liberal opponent Tim Wilson with a defamation suit, accusing him of making comments implying that she and her campaign are “anti-Semitic” and “racist”.
The Assistant Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction has hit back, accusing her of trying to “use the law to silence her critics”, reports The Australian.
Mr Wilson is battling to hold onto his bayside Melbourne seat of Goldstein, with a YouGov polllast week showing he was trailing Ms Daniel 48-52 after preferences.
It also follows controversy over Ms Daniel’s signing of an open letter accusing Israel of maintaining an “apartheid regime against Palestinians”, and revelations that senior members of her campaign team have publicly called for Jewish advocacy groups to “shut up”, and compared Scott Morrison with Adolf Hitler.
Dated last Friday, a strongly-worded legal letter penned by Michael Bradley of Marque Lawyers on Ms Daniel’s behalf states that Mr Wilson has “been observed by many people to be actively campaigning at pre-polling centres in the Goldstein electorate during the past week”.
“In the course of this, you have been observed and heard to make frequent and repeated comments regarding ‘anti-Semitism’ and ‘racism’, unmistakeably (sic) directed at Ms Daniel and her campaign,” the letter said.
ALBO WALKS OUT OF PRESS CONFERENCE
Mr Albanese abruptly ended the press conference, but was pursued by journalists repeating the same questions he had refused to answer while WA Premier Mark McGowan waited behind to take local questions.
“I will just wait until this madness finishes, this is very odd,” Mr McGowan said describing the press pack following Mr Albanese.
Earlier Mr Albanese addressed a room of WA business and community leaders, including media magnate Kerry Stokes and Mr McGowan to make his pitch to the west where Labor is hoping to secure up to three seats.
Asked win or lose, what would his “legacy” be, Mr Albanese said “acting on climate”.
But he also said he would not push for higher emissions reductions targets than currently announced.
During the speech, Mr Albanese referred to Mr McGowan a total of seven times in an effort to highlight the connection with the extremely popular state leader.
Without once naming Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mr Albanese repeatedly took aim at his management of the Covid crisis.
“As we begin to emerge from the Covid pandemic, we reflect on what we’ve been through – and who rose to meet the challenge,” he said.
“What we saw from Premier McGowan was true character and true leadership.
“A responsible Government that balanced social good and economic need.
“A clear demonstration of how investing in the health, safety and wellbeing of people underwrites a robust and growing economy.”
He also drew comparisons to former WA prime minister John Curtin and recalled a story of a 17-year-old Bob Hawke’s motorbike accident in Perth that lead him to reconsider his life and dedicate himself to public service.
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Originally published as Election 2022: PM trips, brings down child during soccer practice
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