Federal election 2025: Albanese, Dutton campaign in Adelaide, Melbourne on day 4 of election campaign
Defence Minister Richard Marles has warned the Coalition against falling into a ‘trap’ when it comes to a Chinese vessel seen off Australia’s south coast.
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Defence Minister Richard Marles has warned the Coalition against falling into a “trap” when it comes to a Chinese research vessel seen off the coast of Australia.
The research vessel, Tan Suo Yi Hai, appears to be circumnavigating Australia, travelling close to the nation’s subsea cables. This has prompted security concerns over whether undersea data is being mapped to assist in future Chinese submarine operations.
On Tuesday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton slammed the Albanese government’s “wet lettuce” response, while the Coalition’s campaign spokesman and home affairs spokesman, James Paterson, said he was “worried the Prime Minister is again not across the details when it comes to an important matter of national security”.
Addressing reporters in Nowra later in the day, Mr Marles said the Coalition was falling into a “trap” regarding the vessel, which could hinder the work of the Australian Defence Force.
“It’s really important that we don’t fall into a trap of establishing a standard in waters near Australia which would hinder the really important work that our Navy does in waters near China,” he said.
“And this is literally the trap that James Paterson and the Liberals are falling into. In fact, there is much more often Australian ships in the proximity of China than Chinese ships in the proximity of Australia.”
Mr Marles said this was because of the location of major trade routes and the work of the Navy in the South China Sea.
“In doing that work, we rely heavily on international law, complying with it, and the rules‑based order and complying with that.
Now, this research vessel is complying with international law, so it has to be respected, but we have a right as well to make sure that we keep a close eye on it, and we’re doing that.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun warned Australia against “unfounded speculation” in a statement to the Global Times on Monday.
“As a principle, I would like to emphasize that China has always conducted normal maritime activities in relevant sea areas in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said.
“It’s hoped that Australia can view this situation correctly and refrain from being overly suspicious or making unfounded speculations.”
‘A decade’: Grim call for Aussie households
Anthony Albanese’s election campaign hasn’t received an interest-rate cut, but Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Labor’s economic policies are working.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday left the official cash rate on hold at 4.10 per cent after the meeting of the monetary policy board.
The RBA wasn’t expected to cut again at its meeting April meeting, after making its first cut since the pandemic in February,
On Tuesday, it flagged concerns about the global economy and financial markets.
Mr Chalmers told reporters he didn’t see the independent RBA’s decision to keep interest rates on hold in “political terms”.
“We’ve already seen rates start to come down this year. That’s a very good thing. It’s a reflection of the progress we’ve made together in our economy,” he said.
Mr Chalmers said global factors, hinting at the next tranche of Trump tariffs, were the bigger issue for the economy.
“The Reserve Bank’s made it really clear that one of the things that’s front of their mind is all of this global uncertainty,” Mr Chalmers told reporters in Brisbane.
“Escalating trade tensions are obviously a big part of the story, but not the whole part of this story.
“The budget was designed as well to address really two main pressures – cost of living pressures, and also this global uncertainty.”
Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor – who Mr Chalmers has accused of being missing in action during the election campaign – has hit back at Labor, saying their economic plan is the reason “Australians are losing hope”.
“We know from Labor’s own numbers and from the Reserve Bank that we’re not getting back to where we were when we were last in power until the end of the decade,” Mr Taylor told reporters.
“This will be a lost decade for Australians if Labor stays in power. That is their plan.
“That’s why Australians are losing hope. We see anxiety, not confidence.”
Mr Taylor added the Coalition’s plan to address waste, investment incentives and energy would get the country “back on track.”
“These are common sense policies to get back on track. They’re the sensible policies that this government has not pursued.
“The Reserve Bank made the point that the balance between supply and demand and the economy is still not where it needs to be in order to bring down interest rates and to raise the standard of living of Australians.”
‘Off your knees’: Turnbull mocks Trump
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says Australian governments are too “deferential” to US President Donald Trump and should consider retaliatory actions against the global superpower in response to hostile pressure against Australia.
Mr Turnbull delivered the bold call during a candid appearance at the National Press Club on Tuesday, saying both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton had failed to recognise the changed reality of global politics and defend Australia’s interests.
“The United States is a friend, but my plea to Australian politicians is get off your knees and stand up for Australia,” he said.
“Be as transactional as America is with us and remember in the imperial capital, they always regard deference at their due.
He then did an impersonation of Mr Turnbull, while delivering that message.
“You’re weak and ineffectual, you don’t know anything about China, Chii-naa,” he said, impersonating the President.
Dutton pledges $3m for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision
Rounding out day four is a funding announcement for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, a foundation set up for the late sister of St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt.
The organisation helps funds research for Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome.
Appearing alongside the Coalition’s health spokeswoman Anne Ruston and the AFL legend himself, Mr Dutton pledged $3m over three years to support the charity.
The funding will support the foundation and the Maddie’s Vision Centre for Research
Excellence in Bone Marrow Biology, and implement support services for families of patients.
Riewoldt said the foundation was “her dying wish” and would be “lit up” by its legacy.
“We’ve walked an amazing road over the past 15 years since Maddie was originally diagnosed, it was a lot of lot of darkness, a lot of isolation initially,“ he said.
The disorder affects the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow, and is most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults. About 50 per cent of people diagnosed with the syndrome die as a result.
While not significant for this event, the announcement was in Melbourne – the seat long held by Greens leader Adam Bandt.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister showed up in the Geelong-region seat of Corangamite, where he announced funding for local netball.
He was also in the Melbourne electorate of Lalor visiting the Werribee Medicare Urgent Care Clinic with Minister Penny Wong and the local Labor MP Jo Ryan.
Dutton talks crime in Bruce
The Dutton camp headed to the Labor-held seat of Bruce for a roundtable talk on crime with community members.
Julian Hill, the MP for the southeastern Melbourne seat, holds it on a 5.3 per cent margin.
About 23 people attended the round table hosted at Berwick RSL, including Mr Dutton, Liberal MP for La Trobe Jason Wood and Liberal Bruce candidate Zahid Safi.
The owner of a local menswear business Harry Hutchison said his store had been broken into and robbed nine times in the past nine months, in addition to “a couple of” attempted robberies and an assault while he was in the store.
He said he had suffered mental ill health as a result of the increased crime.
“The impact on your life is terrible. I slept in my store for six months after the last robbery,” he told the roundtable.
“Every night since the robberies, I have what I call ‘quick get on clothes,’ so when my alarm goes off… I can get back into my store in seven minutes.
“How I can get over, I don’t know. Peter (Dutton) mentioned mental health issues, I believe I’m an example of that.”
Jenny Robson, Berwick resident for more than 29 years said she felt like a “prisoner in her own home,” adding that “not even being in your own home is not safe.
“I’ve seen how this area has deteriorated, and as I’ve actually witnessed in my own street when I came out of my house where I couldn’t go to work because the police had cordoned it off because we had an intruder, and this was at 8am in the morning,” she said.
“I used to catch public transport, I don’t and come back at 10pm, 11pm at night without any fear for my safety.”
Mr Dutton also addressed the room and spoke about his former work as a police officer in the sex offender and drug squads.
“It is something that you carry with you always, as a police officer, seeing somebody in a violent situation, a victim of a crime, a homicide, a child being sexually offended against,” he said.
“For me, it’s been a lifetime passion of wanting to provide for a better outcome and try and make sure, particularly for children, that they can enjoy the sanctity of their childhood and they’re not afraid of crime.”
The reiterated the Coalition’s vow to “provide influence” for uniform bail laws and advocacy for early intervention.
‘Copycat’: Warning on Dutton ‘Trump’ policy
Labor has slammed Peter Dutton’s plan to slash public servants and question the reason for a Department of Education as a “copycat” of US President Donald Trump.
Speaking on Sky News last night at the Paul Murray Pub Test, the Opposition Leader questioned the need for public servants in the Department of Education.
“The Commonwealth government doesn’t own or run a school, which is why people ask, well, why have we got a department of thousands and thousands of people in Canberra called the Education Department,” Mr Dutton said.
President Trump on March 20 ordered the closure of the US Department of Education.
Labor campaign spokesman Jason Clare said as Mr Dutton prepares to sack 41,000 public servants, he was copying Donald Trump and the Department of Education was just the start.
“This is the thin edge of the wedge,’’ Mr Clare said.
“Peter Dutton’s bigger agenda is to cut funding from our schools. That’s what the Liberals always do.
“This time they will cut funding from our schools to pay for the $600bn of nuclear reactors.
“Labor is putting record funding into our public schools.
“If Peter Dutton wins, that won’t happen. This funding will get ripped out and our kids will suffer.”
At his press conference in the outer Melbourne seat of Calwell, Mr Dutton would not directly answer a question on whether the Department of Education would be targeted for public service cuts.
“I want to make sure our kids – whether they are at school or secondary school, for young Australians at universities – receiving the education their parents would expect them to receive,” Mr Dutton said.
“I support young Australians being able to think freely, being able to assess what is before them and not being told and indoctrinated by something that is the agenda of others and that is the approach we would take.”
The federal Education Department is responsible for administering billions of dollars in grants to state, independent and Catholic schools.
In 2025, the Australian federal government is investing an estimated $31.1bn in recurrent funding for all schooling sectors, with $11.9bn allocated to government schools, $10.4bn to Catholic schools, and $8.7bn to independent schools.
Under recent reforms, these grants are also linked to improvements in literacy and numeracy.
First leaders debate next Tuesday night
The first leaders debate will be held next Tuesday night.
The Sky News/Daily Telegraph People’s Forum will be held in Western Sydney at 7.30pm.
Undecided voters will make up the audience to ask questions of Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton, will be select
The audience members will be selected by Q&A Market Research.
“I’ll be there with bells on next Tuesday night and it will be a great debate and I am looking forward to it,” Mr Dutton told reporters.
Dutton wants to ditch ‘bank of mum and dad’
Off the back of a key housing announcement from the Coalition, Mr Dutton has said relaxing prudential lending rules would allow more first home buyers into the market, and in particular buyers who can’t get help from their parents through a boost to their deposit, or a guarantor agreement.
This would be done by lowering the serviceability buffer, currently at 3 per cent, which requires a lender to prove they could continue to service a loan at a higher rate.
“We think the prudential arrangements that are in at the moment are too, too difficult for young home buyers,” he said.
“I’m not going to be a prime minister as Mr Albanese is that is happy with a housing market where only those kids with a bank of mum and dad can buy a home.
“That’s not my dream for our country. My dream is to help every young Australian into a house to achieve the dream of home ownership.”
However Mr Dutton did not indicate his ideal buffer percentage.
The Coalition’s other housing policies include a two-year ban on foreign investors buying homes, and a $5bn fund for connecting infrastructure on greenfield builds.
Separately, Labor has also banned foreign investors from buying established homes, with the measures coming into affect on April 2.
Dutton reinforces super for housing pledge
Peter Dutton doubled down on his ‘super for housing’ policy, saying the change would set up young Australians “for life” and “provide huge opportunities” to those struggling to afford a home.
“If we allowed young people into superannuation a few years ago to take $50,000 to help them buy their first home, they would be in a net position of hundreds of thousands of dollars better off today owning a home,” Mr Dutton said at a press conference in the outer Melbourne seat of Calwell, Melbourne.
“Right now, we require them to put that money back into super when they dispose of the house, but I think that sets them up for their life and provides huge opportunities for them as they continue to have a family and go to retirement, etc.”
He added an “important” difference offered by a Coalition government was repealing Labor’s proposed taxes on unrealised capital gains and superannuation.
State ‘neglected’ by Coalition: Albo
The Prime Minister says Peter Dutton’s decision to axe funding for Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop lets down the people of Victoria, a battlefield state at the May 3 federal election.
In his first major election promise since the start of the campaign five days ago, the Opposition Leader has pledged $6.5bn to fund the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, while scrapping $4.2bn in funding for the controversial SRL.
But Anthony Albanese said the Dutton plan failed to understand how the two projects worked together to link regional Victorians to Melbourne and the airport.
Mr Albanese said it highlighted the Coalition government’s record on funding for Victoria.
“Under the former government, at one stage, Victoria was getting between seven and eight per cent of national infrastructure expenditure,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Adelaide.
“They represent one in four Australians.
“Melbourne was Australia’s fastest growing city and they got completely neglected by three prime ministers who saw themselves as the Prime Minister for Sydney.
“You might recall, we had an announcement yesterday from Peter Dutton that this Queenslander is going to be the Prime Minister for Sydney as well.”
Mr Albanese and Peter Dutton are hoping for a reset on Tuesday, after an awkward third day of campaigning for both leaders, but mortgage holders will likely be focused on the RBA’s rate announcement.
The Reserve Bank’s new monetary policy board will announce the decision at 2.30pm AEDT, where it is expected to keep the official cash rate at 4.1 per cent despite householders hoping for back to back cuts.
The Prime Minister is in Adelaide for another announcement on health, a cornerstone of his bid for a second term at the May 3 election.
Mr Dutton moved from Brisbane to Melbourne on Tuesday, becoming the first leader to campaign Victoria since Mr Albanese called the election last Friday.
He is visiting Marnong Estate Winery, in the Labor heartland of seat of Calwell which has a very safe margin of 12.4 per cent.
It borders the more marginal seat of McEwen, which Labor holds on a much slimmer 3.8 per cent.
Teal independent apologises for sex joke
A teal independent taking a second crack at a key Liberal-held Sydney seat has been banned from her local salon for making a sexualised comment toward a teenage hairdresser.
Nicolette Boele allegedly said to the teen who washed her hair: “that was amazing, and I didn’t even have sex with you”.
The salon manager banned Ms Boele from coming back.
In a statement to NewsWire, Ms Boele said she had apologised.
“It was a poor attempt at humour and I’ve apologised,” the statement said.
“Everyone deserves to feel respected in their workplace and I’ll do better.”
Ms Boele polled second on first preference votes behind Liberal MP Paul Fletcher in 2022. After preferences, Ms Boele claimed 46 per cent of the vote, versus Mr Fletcher’s 54 per cent.
The Bradfield electorate in Sydney’s Upper North Shore is as dyed-in-the wool Liberal as it gets. The seat has been held by five Liberal Party MPs since its creation in 1949.
But a border change is tipped to bolster Ms Boele’s chances. Mr Fletcher is retiring from parliament, with Gisele Kapterian contesting for the Liberal Party at the May 3 election.
Chalmers lashes missing shadow
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has taken a swipe at his Liberal counterpart, Angus Taylor, claiming the Coalition has him “in witness protection” after the shadow treasurer’s absence on the campaign trail.
“Is it any wonder that Angus Taylor has gone missing in this election campaign after his brain snap where he committed to legislating higher income taxes for every single one of the 14 million Australian taxpayers,” Mr Chalmers told reporters in Brisbane.
“No wonder he won’t debate me at the Press Club, no wonder the Coalition has him in witness protection.”
Mr Chalmers referenced the Coalition’s commitment to repealing Labor’s tax cut pledge, which Mr Taylor had previously labelled as a “cruel hoax.”
During the press conference, he repeated Labor’s line – “Peter Dutton is all about secret cuts” – before saying the Opposition Leader would “take Australia backwards and make Australians worse off.”
Local media ‘locked out’ of Dutton presser
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said it was “unusual” that no local media was allowed to attend his press conference in the seat of Paterson on Monday.
2HD host Richard King on Newcastle radio asked Mr Dutton whose decision it was to not let local media into the press conference held at Cougar Manufacturing in Tomago.
According to Mr King, some local journalists – including the 2HD news director – were able to “talk their way in”, but weren’t let.
“That’s unusual because we have a whole media pack.” Mr Dutton said.
He went on to suggest security had tightened as a result of protesters that gatecrashed two events in Brisbane on Saturday – one wearing a vest for media.
“That shouldn’t be the case for local journos,” he said.
“We’ve got a good message to tell locally … about issues which I think are important to the local community and the future of the region as well.”
Dutton to axe Suburban Rail Loop
The Opposition Leader will make the Coalition’s first major policy announcement in the five days since the election race began.
Mr Dutton has pledged $6.5bn to fund the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, while scrapping $4.2bn in funding for the controversial Suburban Rail Loop.
“A Dutton Coalition government will reinvest every dollar of the $4.2bn of federal funding for SRL and SRL Sunshine Station into other Victorian road and rail projects,” a joint statement between Mr Dutton and Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie read.
Labor has already attacked the move, with campaign spokesman Jason Clare saying the Coalition wasn’t interested in providing in infrastructure.
“I think you ask anyone in the country, do we need to invest more in critical infrastructure? And they’ll say, yes,” Mr Clare told ABC Radio National.
“I think what this tells you is that Peter Dutton was already begun the task of cutting to help fund the $600bn that he needs to build nuclear reactors.”
When asked if the commonwealth should dump the project after Infrastructure Australia said it had “low confidence” the SRL east (the first part of the project) could be delivered.
“I think what we should be doing is investing in the sort of key infrastructure that Australians need to get around their cities, to get to work, to get to where they want to get to,” Mr Clare said.
The Opposition Leader’s announcement also comes one month after the Albanese government announced a $2bn investment in a new rail “superhub” at Sunshine, which would play a key role in the Airport Rail Link.
Dutton’s latest target in housing pledge
Mr Dutton has also pledged to reform Australia’s peak banking and insurance regulator, with the battlelines drawn over housing and cost of living.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor revealed on Tuesday a future Coalition government would “make it clear” to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority that it must consider the impact of its rules on access to housing, in particular for first homebuyers.
The Coalition hopes the result would be a reduction in the “overcautious” serviceability buffer introduced when rates were near-zero but remains unchanged.
Mr Taylor says that is a one-size-fits-all rule stopping tens of thousands of first homebuyers getting a loan even when they can meet repayments with a prudent margin against rate rises.
“That’s not good regulation. It’s a barrier to aspiration,” the statement read.
“Right now, Australians without access to the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ are punished by higher borrowing costs – even when the actual risk is the same or lower.
“That’s a systemic bias in favour of inherited wealth. We will remove it.
“This is not about compromising stability or independence. APRA’s core mandate remains.”
A Coalition government would also require APRA, through the Statement of Expectations, to adjust the capital treatment of loans, backed by Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
At a press conference in Adelaide later on Tuesday morning, Anthony Albanese said it was “pretty hard to work out exactly what it is they’re promising”.
He said Labor’s recent new policies on housing would help homebuyers more.
“One of the things that we have done is to ensure that banks won’t take into account people’s HECS debt which is really important,” he says.
“In addition to that, the support we’re providing young people is to take 20 per cent further off student dealt on top of the $3 billion we reduced HECS debt by, by changing the indexation arrangements which are there.
“We’ll give every young person a tax cut.”
Albo forgives Molly the producer who put him on hold
Anthony Albanese’s first event of the day was a visit to Adelaide’s Nova 99 radio station for a chat with hosts Jodie and Hayesy.
Mr Albanese met the producer who had put him on hold a couple of months ago, thinking he was merely someone impersonating the Prime Minister.
“We felt compelled to get you in, because we had an incident. We had an incident with producer Molly in her very first week here at Nova 99,” Hayesy said while introducing the PM on Tuesday.
“She said, ‘There’s some Fringe performer impersonating Anthony Albanese,’” Jodie recalled.
They brought Molly into the studio to meet the PM in person. He greeted her with a hug.
“You’re a real person after all,” Molly quipped.
“I apologise. I have not slept since.”
“It was actually a bit of fun. It’s not surprising,” Mr Albanese assured her.
“Sometimes, I have to say to people who I ring, constituents, and they’ll say: is that really you? And I’ll say yeah, unfortunately I have a distinctive voice.
“I sound like a Catholic kid from Camperdown in Sydney.”
After his FM radio interview, Anthony Albanese popped next door for a quick unscheduled talk with 5AA’s David Penberthy and Will Goodings.
The hosts quipped that most people “popping in” normally brought cake.
“I’ve got tax cuts! Tax cuts for every listener!” Mr Albanese said by way of compensation.
“Let’s not talk about the amount,” one host quipped. To which Mr Albanese replied with the figure of $2500, which is the average tax cut amount if you include both the Stage 3 tax cuts and the little top-up Labor announced in the budget.
That top-up, of course, will be worth about $5 a week for the average worker at first, growing to $10 a year later.
The Prime Minister only hung around for maybe three minutes, but he managed to get a few of his favourite lines out.
“There’s only one bloke who’s spoken about measuring up the curtains at Kirribilli House and it’s not me,” he said, in another dig at Peter Dutton’s remark that he’d rather live in Sydney than at the PM’s residence, The Lodge, in Canberra.
Monday campaign blues
On Monday, Mr Dutton again faced questions over costings for his nuclear and gas energy policies, while being called out for “hubris” for talking about living in the PM’s Sydney of Kirribilli House if he wins the election.
Mr Albanese was sidetracked by questions on a potential Chinese spy ship off the Australian coast, which overshadowed his $200m hospital announcement during his 30th visit to Western Australia.
But he also scored an own goal, fumbling his lines on how he would not negotiating with the Greens to form government.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister will visit the seat of Boothby to announce $150m in funding for a new “state of the art” health centre, which will service Adelaide’s southern suburbs.
The Flinders HealthCARE Centre will be jointly funded with Flinders University, which will match the government’s amount to bring the total cost to $300m.
The latest polls released on Monday showed how tight the May 3 election will be, with the Albanese government just ahead.
A total of 76 seats is needed to win a majority government in the 150 seat parliament.
Following redistributions, Labor notionally has 78 seats while the Coalition sits on 57. The Greens hold four, with a the rest of the crossbench – including the Teals – numbers nine.
Greens: Albo will negotiate
Greens Senator Nick McKim has said Anthony Albanese and even Peter Dutton would be forced to negotiate with the party in the event of a minority government.
The comments come as the Prime Minister has been forced to repeatedly deny he is seeking a deal with the minor party, with most polls tipping a minority government.
The Greens have also said it will also only back a Labor government, while vowing to “keep a Dutton government out”.
Speaking on Today, Senator McKim made an “absolute prediction” that he was “very confident” Mr Albanese would negotiate with the Greens if he needs the extra numbers to form government.
“I’ve heard it time after time after time, Labor and for that matter, Liberal leaders, they always say before the election, we’re not going to deal with those terrible Greens,” he said.
“I’ll make an absolute prediction here and I’m very confident about this.
“If Mr Albanese needs our support to form government, absolutely, he will be open to negotiating with us.
“We’ve negotiated with him just in the last term of government.
“We delivered billions of extra dollars into social housing through our negotiations.”
The Greens hold four seats in the lower house with both Labor and the Coalition targeting its two marginal Brisbane seats.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie jumped on Senator McKim’s comments immediately.
She said a Labor and Greens government would result in “higher interest rates, jobs offshore and higher energy prices” and the decriminalisation of heroin.
“You heard it first on the Today Show here,” she said.
“We’re very confident there’ll be a deal with the Greens after the election.”
Speaking from Perth on Monday, Mr Albanese misspoke while trying to rule out a coalition with the Greens.
“But I make this point again, because there was some reporting of something, in spite of the 385 times that I’ve said we will not govern in coalition with anyone, including the Greens,” said Mr Albanese.
“I rule out, I rule out – just to be really clear again, if you ask me, ‘Do you rule out governing in coalition with the Greens?’ The answer to that is no. No. It’s no.”
And that was only on day three of the campaign trail.
More to come
Originally published as Federal election 2025: Albanese, Dutton campaign in Adelaide, Melbourne on day 4 of election campaign
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