Federal Election 2022: PM makes first election campaign pit stop; Anthony Albanese promises a ‘better’ vision for Australia
Scott Morrison chose a marginal Labor-held seat for his first campaign stop but found some friends, including one who was vocal in her love for him.
Federal Election
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Last week, he copped a grilling from an angry pensioner, but Scott Morrison was welcomed by an adoring fan while campaigning on the NSW south coast.
“We love you Scott,” yelled one woman from her car as the Prime Minister prepared to conduct TV interviews in Nowra on Sunday night.
But she wasn’t exactly a local of the area, later telling an excited Mr Morrison she was “from The Shire” – referring to the Sutherland Shire region south of Sydney, where the Prime Minister’s roots are firmly planted.
Nowra is about a two-hour drive south of the Sutherland Shire.
Scott Morrison has launched his federal election campaign on the offence, touching down in the coastal NSW town of Nowra, targeting the marginal Labor-held seat of Gilmore.
The Prime Minister landed near Nowra on the south coast just before 4pm on Sunday after officially calling the election for May 21 earlier that day.
Mr Morrison is expected to have a low-key evening on Sunday, before hitting the hustings around the electorate on Monday morning.
Gilmore is traditionally considered a Coalition seat, but Labor’s Fiona Phillips snatched the seat at the 2019 election amid a messy campaign that saw Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis quit citing “backstabbing” and “bullying” by party colleagues.
Ms Phillips, who holds the electorate with a 2.6 per cent margin, is expected to hinge her campaign on regional housing affordability and health issues, while infrastructure and investments to improve the region’s deteriorating roads will form a key pillar of Mr Constance’s campaign.
This year, former NSW state government minister Andrew Constance is the Liberal candidate for the seat, which also covers the areas of Jervis and Batemans bays.
ALBANESE SAYS AUSSIES ‘DESERVE BETTER’
A Labor government would “end the climate wars” once and for all with a “better” vision for Australia, Anthony Albanese has declared in his first pitch to voters in the official election campaign.
The Labor leader spoke from Sydney on Sunday after Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Australians would go to the polls on May 21.
Mr Albanese said Australians “deserve better” than what the Coalition has offered, arguing Mr Morrison’s government “doesn’t have an agenda for today, let alone a vision for tomorrow”.
“We are a great country, but we can be even better if we have a better government,” he said.
“We have had a difficult couple of years. Australians have been magnificent in making sacrifices to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, the floods, the bushfires.
“It has shown the strength of our society but it has also shown our vulnerabilities of our economy and where we need to make improvement.”
Mr Albanese said Australia could be a renewable energy superpower that uses cheap, clean energy, declaring he would “end the climate wars”.
“Today, I say to my fellow Australians, this is our time, our time to seize the opportunities that are before us, our time to create a better future where no-one is held back and no-one is left behind,” he said
“I ask for your support on the 21 May for my team.
“I am ready, we are ready, and Australia is ready for a better future.”
Mr Albanese said he would announce more detail about Labor’s plan to ensure multinational corporations pay a fairer share of tax during the campaign.
He said the policies Labor had announced to date were all “fully costed,” including the party’s net zero, aged care and national reconstruction fund plans.
Mr Morrison said his team was “experienced” and he had personally shown in his own previous roles, including the minority Labor government between 2010 and 2013, he was capable of working collaboratively with others.
“If you look at my record, you don’t have to theorise whether I can work with people or not,” he said.
Hitting back at claims the election is a choice between a known Coalition and unknown Labor team, Anthony Albanese says Australians “do” know who he is.
Asked if he believed the public knew who he was and what he stands for, the Labor leader responded: “”Absolutely they do”.
“They know what my record is,” he said.
“They know that I have a long record of public service.”
Mr Albanese said he had been leader of the party for three years and on “most days” he was available to “talk to anyone who wants to talk to me”.
Mr Albanese also confirmed his partner Jodie Haydon will join him on the election campaign trail, but only when and where she wants to.
Ms Haydon visited the Royal Easter Show in Sydney with Mr Albanese on Sunday morning.
“I told (Jodie) I was going to the Easter show and she was keen to come,” he said.
“She is an independent woman, she will come to some things on the campaign but I have to say, it was really enjoyable, mixing with people (at the show).”
MORRISON VOWS TO ‘SERVE FULL TERM' IF RE-ELECTED
If the Coalition is re-elected Scott Morrison has vowed to serve as leader for the full term rather than hand over the reins to a successor midway through the next government.
The Prime Minister said he would lead the Coalition for the full term when asked at a press conference on Sunday to announce the federal election for May 21.
“Because there’s a lot to do,” Mr Morrison said.
“There’s a lot to do, and I’m pleased that I’m standing here again before you today, after coming and standing before you three years ago.”
Mr Morrison said this government had been “laying the strong foundation to ensure that Australia can prosper in the years ahead, but it cannot be taken for granted”.
“This election is a choice between a Government that you know, and that has been delivering and a Labor Opposition that you don’t,” he said.
Meantime, Mr Morrison declared that there is “so much at stake” for the nation this federal election.
The Prime Minister visited Governor-General David Hurley on Sunday morning to ask him to dissolve the federal government and bring on an election in just under six weeks time.
Speaking from parliament in Canberra later in the day, Mr Morrison said he knew Australians had been through a tough time, but the Coalition had saved lives during the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s economic recovery was “leading the world”.
“But we’re not out of the woods yet … there’s still a lot of uncertainty,” he said.
Mr Morrison said he understood “people are tired of politics as we go into this election”.
Mr Morrison said he understood “people are tired of politics as we go into this election”.
“But this election, and this campaign is incredibly important because there is so much at stake for Australia, and our future,” he said.
“This election is a choice. It’s a choice between a strong economy, and a Labor opposition that would weaken it.”
Mr Morrison said the election was a “choice” between a “government you know” and a Labor opposition “that you don’t”.
“Our government is not perfect – we’ve never claimed to be, but we are upfront and you may see some flaws, but you can also see what we have achieved for Australia in incredibly difficult times,” he said.
“You can see our plan. Our plan will deliver more and better jobs and the lowest unemployment seen in some 50 years.
“Our plan does deliver tax relief and it does deliver that for workers and for small businesses, to help you get ahead and ensure that you can deal with the cost of living pressures right here, right now.”
Mr Morrison also confirmed Australians would know who the next Coalition health minister would be later this week should he be returned to government.
Current Health Minister Greg Hunt is retiring at this election.
Mr Morrison avoided a question about if internal fighting within the NSW Liberal party that severely delayed preselections in key seats would “hobble” the Coalition’s re-election chances.
“My strong united team I led for the last three years, sitting around that Cabinet table in there, which has seen Australia through the worst health crisis and economic crisis we’ve seen through 70 years on economy and 100 years on health, has seen Australia lead the world with its recovery,” he said.
“That’s what we’ve delivered.”
Mr Morrison is the first prime minister since John Howard to make it through a full term in office without losing the leadership.
He could have called the election for the earlier option of May 14, but with the Coalition behind in the polls the longer campaign time is designed to give him time to catch up to Labor.
The 41-day campaign includes several significant days where campaigning is expected to be scaled down or paused entirely, including Good Friday and Anzac Day.
In an opinion piece on Sunday, Mr Albanese wrote that he wanted a “better future” for Australia.
“A better future means being able to find a doctor when you need one … it means older Australians being able to access affordable, safe aged care.
“We want a better future where jobs are plentiful and secure and where strong and prosperous businesses reap the rewards of their enterprise and create even more jobs.”
Previously, Mr Albanese has urged Mr Morrison to “just get on with it” and accused him of stalling an election announcement so ministers could continue making plum appointments to government bodies.
Labor’s campaign video introduces Mr Albanese, who refers to his upbringing, his economics degree and the time he spent as infrastructure Minister in the former Rudd and Gillard governments.
Mr Albanese promised to get government debt and spending under control and to work with business to increase Australian manufacturing. He said he had a fully costed plan to make childcare and power bills cheaper and to strengthen Medicare.
Where do both major parties stand?
Mr Morrison will be hoping he can repeat his “miracle” 2019 election victory and become the first person in more than 14 years to have served a full term as prime minister.
As in 2019, the Coalition starts the campaign behind in the opinion polls but Labor will be hoping Mr Albanese will fare better with the electorate than former leader Bill Shorten did.
Support for Labor dropped slightly in the latest Newspoll, though it maintained its lead over the Coalition 54-46 on a two party preferred basis.
However, a drop in the opposition’s primary vote from 41 to 38 — only slightly ahead of the government’s 36 — will be a cause for concern for Labor as it heads into the campaign proper.
Mr Morrison remains in front in the polls as preferred Prime Minister as Mr Albanese continues to struggle to define himself in the minds of voters.
Punters are likely to be sceptical to trust pollsters considering nearly every survey conducted before the 2019 election over-estimated support for Labor.
Where the election will be won
All MPs in the House of Representatives and half the Senate will face re-election.
The magic number either side need to form a majority government is 76.
Notionally the Coalition is heading into the election with 76 seats, down one from the 2019 election after the abolishment of the Western Australian seat of Stirling.
After the creation of a notionally Labor seat of Hawke in Melbourne’s west, Labor starts with 69 seats.
It will require a uniform 3.3 swing to gain the seven seats it needs to govern in its own right. But statistically the Coalition is better placed than they were in 2019.
Labor has 12 MPs with slim margins who will be fighting for their political life, compared to the Coalition’s three.
But the unknown is how big a factor the independents challenging traditional Liberal held seats like Wentworth and Goldstein will be.
If the balance of the crossbench increases, we could be heading for a minority government, and then like in 2010, it’s anyone’s game.
What happens next?
While both Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese have been in campaign mode since before Christmas, the formal election trigger will mean Australians can expect to see more corflutes in front yards, billboards and pitches to voters.
If you have moved in the past three years or are unsure if you are enrolled to vote you should check your details with the Australian Electoral Commission, as voting is compulsory.
According to the AEC the deadline for enrolment is at 8pm seven days from the issuing of the writs.
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