The Daily Telegraph and Sky News to host first election debate as 100 undecided voters put Albanese, Dutton to the test

The Daily Telegraph and Sky News will host incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton for their first debate.

An undecided voter asks a question of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese at the 2022 People's Forum in Woolloongabba, Brisbane. The event has been an election staple since 2010. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The Daily Telegraph and Sky News will host incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton for their first debate of the 2025 federal election campaign.

The two leaders will duke it out in the pressure cooker of the “People’s Forum”, to be held in Western Sydney on Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30pm and designed to get to the heart of the issues that will sway undecided voters.

Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese will be forced to answer questions from 100 undecided voters under moderation by Sky News chief news anchor Kieran Gilbert, and the results of the debate will be revealed the same night at 9pm.

The unscripted, unpredictable and potentially election-defining first debate will be streamed live on the Sky News channel, the Sky News website (SkyNews.com.au) and The Daily Telegraph website.

As the first debate between the two contenders for the Prime Ministership since the five-week election campaign officially began on Friday, moderator Gilbert said the event would be a “a high stakes moment” for both Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton.

Kieran Gilbert, Chief News Anchor for Sky News, will moderate the debate.

“The beauty of the Sky News / The Daily Telegraph People’s Forum is that the power is in the hands of the people,” he said.

The Daily Telegraph editor Ben English said it would be a “pivotal” debate.

“The People’s Forum has set the tone and often the direction of campaigns for more than a decade now,” he said.

Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison last faced off in the People’s Forum of 2022. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“The live format of the People’s Forum tests even the most seasoned politicians, delivering some of the best and most iconic election moments,” Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker added.

At the last federal election the People’s Forum delivered a victory for Anthony Albanese, who won over 40 per cent of the audience and went on to win the Lodge for Labor. Then incumbent Scott Morrison convinced 35 per cent of the crowd while the remaining 25 voters left the debate still undecided.

The Sky News / The Daily Telegraph People’s Forum will be available to stream on SkyNews.com.au or via the Sky News Australia app.

The People’s Forum will also be available for The Daily Telegraph subscribers at dailytelegraph.com.au.