Live blog: Labor, Coalition even ahead of election

ROLLING COVERAGE: The election is yet to be called, but Australia’s politicians are already geared up and whirling about, selling themselves and their message.

BILL Shorten has declared Labor is ready to fight an “education election” and accused the Liberals of gearing up for a “civil war” after a new poll puts them even on the eve of Malcolm Turnbull seeking a July 2 election.

“We know they’re going to have that fight. Let’s all make them have it from opposition,” he told reporters in Sydney today. He accused the Coalition of viewing education as a cost instead of “an investment in every Australian’s future”. That prompted this response from Deputy PM Julie Bishop: “We have increased funding for education that’s been paid for, not pie in the sky promises that Bill Shorten has made that haven’t been paid for.” A Seven-ReachTel poll — the first to rate the parties since Tuesday’s Budget — puts the two-party result at 50-50, as the Prime Minister is poised to visit Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove tomorrow to ask for a double dissolution election. While the Liberals’ primary vote of 41.4 per cent is just above its 2013 election result, Labor is expected to strongly benefit from Greens and Nick Xenophon Team preferences. Labor needs a national swing of 4.3 per cent to unseat the Coalition government after only one term. The Coalition can afford to lose 14 seats on a swing of three per cent. Follow our live coverage of events as they unfold below:

Originally published as Live blog: Labor, Coalition even ahead of election

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