Federal election 2019: Experts rate Scott Morrison, Bill Shorten’s week one strategy

Bill Shorten has travelled a whopping 13,000km in one week revealing an ambitious election strategy, while the PM had a laser-like focus on certain seats. HERE’S WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY.

Bill Shorten has crisscrossed Australia travelling a whopping 13,000km in the first week of the election campaign in an ambitious play for the The Lodge.

Despite the quirky photo ops from both sides — eating oysters, digging up carrots, hosting bingo nights — political analysts say the Opposition leader seems to be staging a “more aggressive” campaign while Prime Minister Scott Morrison appears to be in “seat-preservation mode”.

Mr Shorten has hit Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin in just eight days, targeting traditionally ‘safe’ Liberal seats as well as marginal battlegrounds in a strategic bid for election victory.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Liberal member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson play bowls at the Torquay Bowls Club near Geelong on Tuesday. Picture: AAP

Mr Morrison has stuck closer to home, visiting marginal Coalition seats and a few at risk Labor electorates in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Tasmania.

The Prime Minister will be hoping his “seat-preservation” tactic and laser-like targeting of Labor seats, such as Lindsay in Sydney or Bass and Braddon in Tasmania, will help him hold government despite polls showing the Coalition could lose 10 seats.

“The seats that both leaders have visited so far could genuinely go either way,” Australian National University politics expert Jill Sheppard said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten tries a Coffin Bay oyster while visiting Marion Westfield in Adelaide. Picture: Kym Smith

“The ALP seems more aggressive, the Coalition seems to be more in seat preservation mode,” she said.

Dr Sheppard added that voters weren’t in the mood for big expenditure announcements or for the campaign to turn nasty after Easter.

“I think with levels of trust in politicians and parties so low at the moment, the more the parties speak and the more they command our attention, the more put off voters are likely to be,” she said.

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Scott Morrison tries an ice cream at Van Diemens Land Ice Creamery in Tasmania. Picture: Getty Images

Election analyst Dr Kevin Bonham predicted the campaign would turn more negative after the long weekend, saying the Coalition had “nothing to lose” while Labor would start to target the government’s “chaos” and the leadership spills to oust Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.

Dr Bonham said Mr Shorten’s vast coverage of Australia in a single week was part of Labor’s strategy to make the Coalition unsure about which of its seats were in the greatest danger.

“So far Morrison’s choice of seats to visit suggests he’s got a pretty prosaic view of which ones are at risk,” he said.

Scott Morrison on the election campaign in Davenport, Tasmania with Michael McCormack, Liberal candidate for Braddon Gavin Pearce, and National candidate Sally Milbourne at the Premium Fresh carrot farm. Picture: Gary Ramage

Dr Bonham agreed Mr Morrison was “defending” Coalition seats, while Labor was heavily targeting marginal Liberal seats like Deakin in Victoria, Reid, Bennelong and Robertson in NSW, Boothby in South Australia and Hasluck and Swan in Perth.

Mr Shorten has also visited Cowan in WA, held by Labor’s Anne Aly on a margin of 0.7 per cent.

“(Labor’s) not completely buying that they’re home and hosed everywhere,” Dr Bonham said.

“They realise they have seats that they have to defend too.”

Originally published as Federal election 2019: Experts rate Scott Morrison, Bill Shorten’s week one strategy