Election 2022: PM rejects reporters suggestion he has lost the election

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has scoffed before firing back at a reporter who asked him: "Has your government just lost the election?"

Welcome back to our coverage of the federal election campaign.

We're past the halfway mark now, which is some solace perhaps as we observe another day of politicians politicking (though of course, Scott Morrison claims he isn't viewing the issues through a "political lens").

All eyes are on the reaction to the Reserve Bank's cash rate hike.

Read on for all the latest updates.

Updates

3:54 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

'Have you lost the election?': Morrison scoffs at reporter's question

Rohan Smith

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected a question from a reporter suggesting the cost of living crisis facing Australians will cost him the nation's top job.

"Has your government just lost the election?," a reporter asked the PM at a press conference in Canberra after the RBA announced its decision to raise interest rates by 0.25 per cent.

Mr Morrison scoffed before telling the reporter faintly: "Of course not".

He went on to say that what today is about is "the result of our economy coming out of the pandemic".

Another reporter asked the PM if he had "sympathy for mortgage holders" just as former Prime Minister John Howard did when Australia's interest rates last went up.

"Well, a 25 basis point increase on the average new home loan, that's close to $85," the PM said.

"So of course I have sympathy with that. It's why we've reduced taxes, it's why we've cut fuel taxes in half, it's why we've assisted pensioners.

"We've taken practical action to ensure the impacts of these decisions have been addressed before they've even occurred."

It was hard enough to make ends meet under Scott Morrison and today it got even harder for millions of Australians. Everything is going up except wages and now interest rate rises are part of the pain.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 3, 2022

The prime minister was asked by another reporter if he wanted to "say sorry to Australians for what they're about go through".

"I sympathise with Australians who are about to face higher payments on their homes. Of course I do," the PM said.

Mr Morrison said Australians understood the emergency assistance offered during the pandemic could not last forever and "Australians have been preparing for this for some time".

He cites wages growth and an unemployment rate of 4 per cent as indicators that the economy was in good shape.

Mr Morrison said Labor "doesn't have an economic plan" three weeks away from the election.

Earlier, Labor's treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers said Australians were facing a "full blown cost of living crisis on Scott Morrison's watch".

3:21 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Labor compares Scott Morrison to Homer Simpson

Rohan Smith

Labor's treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers has come out swinging after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 0.25 per cent to 0.35 per cent.

Mr Chalmers said Australians had Prime Minister Scott Morrison to thank for the hit to their wallets.

"This is a full blown cost of living crisis on Scott Morrison's watch," he told reporters.

"This prime minister has an excuse for everything and a plan for nothing. When things are going well in the economy he takes all of the credit and when times are tough with the economy he takes none of the blame.

"Scott Morrison will try and wash his hands about the outcomes today."

He then went on to compare Mr Morrison to Homer Simpson.

"Scott Morrison saying he's not focused on the politics of this (interest rates) is like Homer Simpson saying he's not focused on the donuts."

3:05 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Ominous inflation forecast

Samantha Maiden

There's also bad news on inflation in the RBA statement.

The Reserve Bank is forecasting headline inflation for 2022 of around 6 per cent.

"Inflation has picked up significantly and by more than expected, although it remains lower than in most other advanced economies,'' the RBA statement says.

"Over the year to the March quarter, headline inflation was 5.1 per cent and in underlying terms inflation was 3.7 per cent.

"A further rise in inflation is expected in the near term, but as supply-side disruptions are resolved, inflation is expected to decline back towards the target range of 2 to 3 per cent.

"The central forecast for 2022 is for headline inflation of around 6 per cent and underlying inflation of around 4¾ per cent; by mid 2024, headline and underlying inflation are forecast to have moderated to around 3 per cent. These forecasts are based on an assumption of further increases in interest rates."

Labor's treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers leapt on that detail today.

"It was hard enough to make ends meet under Scott Morrison and today it got even harder for millions of Australians,'' he said.

"Scott Morrison's economic credibility is now in tatters, it's completely shredded.

"Everything is going up except wages and now interest rates are part of the pain."

However, wage growth is starting to improve.

"The Bank's business liaison suggests that wages growth has been picking up,'' the RBA says.

"In a tight labour market, an increasing number of firms are paying higher wages to attract and retain staff, especially in an environment where the cost of living is rising.

"While aggregate wages growth was subdued during 2021 and no higher than it was prior to the pandemic, the more timely evidence from liaison and business surveys is that larger wage increases are now occurring in many private-sector firms."

"The Board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time. This will require a further lift in interest rates over the period ahead. The Board will continue to closely monitor the incoming information and evolving balance of risks as it determines the timing and extent of future interest rate increases."

2:36 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

RBA raises cash rate by 0.25 per cent

Sam Clench

The Reserve Bank has decided to increase its cash rate target by 25 basis points, raising the rate to 0.35 per cent.

"The board judged that now was the right time to begin withdrawing some of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help the Australian economy during the pandemic," Governor Philip Lowe said.

"The economy has proven to be resilient and inflation has picked up more quickly, and to a higher level, than was expected. There is also evidence that wages growth is picking up.

"Given this, and the very low level of interest rates, it is appropriate to start the process of normalising monetary conditions.

"The board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time. This will require a further lift in interest rates over the period ahead."

He's going to hold a press conference at 4pm AEST. We're expecting to hear from both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor's Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers before then.

This is the first rate rise since 2010, and the first during an election campaign since 2007.

2:12 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Plibersek denies she's been sidelined

Sam Clench

Senior Labor MP Tanya Plibersek – who was deputy leader at the last election – has brushed off suggestions she's been sidelined by her party.

"I've been campaigning in more than 20 seats," Ms Plibersek said today, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

"I'm not really sure why we're talking about this, rather than talking about the fantastic plan that Labor has to make sure that every kid, in every school, in every part of Australia gets a great education."

She said her relationship with Labor leader Anthony Albanese was "terrific".

This comes a day after The Daily Telegraph's federal political editor, James Morrow, wrote a column wondering why Labor was "putting the popular and likeable Tanya Plibersek on the sidelines".

2:01 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Albanese confirms $7 billion cost

Samantha Maiden

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has responded to questions about revelations that taxpayers will need to borrow $7 billion to help keep that home ownership scheme ticking over.

News.com.au revealed this morning that while the ALP says the "cost" of the scheme is $329 million that's just the interest and admin costs.

The Commonwealth's stake in the housing market will be around $7.28 billion by 2026.

In other words an Albanese government – AKA taxpayers -will need to borrow $7 billion to fund the equity in the housing market.

That detail – which is contained in the unreleased Parliamentary Budget Office costings – was not provided by Labor when they announced the policy.

Our reporter Ben Graham asked the Labor leader about that in the press conference today and the Labor leader confirmed that figure is accurate.

Expect to hear more about that later today from the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and housing minister Michael Sukkar.

1:47 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Who will you vote for?

Sam Clench

Righto, we're more than halfway through the campaign. Some of you, dear readers, must have decided who you'll end up supporting.

Let us know which way you're leaning below.

1:46 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Unusual first for Albo since leaving iso

Ben Graham

Anthony Albanese was seen today interacting with members of the public who weren't card carrying members of his own party for the first time since exiting isolation on Friday.

Despite claiming Australians can see through Scott Morrison's "smirk and mirrors", the Opposition Leader hasn't exactly opened himself up to scrutiny from the public.

Since joining his media entourage, news.com.au had only seen him surround himself with members of his own party.

His first appearance was in Perth on Saturday where he attended a "thank you" BBQ for Labor doorknockers and was greeted by an army of supporters in red T-shirts.

On Sunday, there was the Labor launch at Optus Stadium. Not exactly a hard crowd to win over.

Then there was the Labour Day rally in Brisbane on Monday, where he was surrounded by thousands of unionists and card-carrying Labor members.

Finally, today he was seen doing something other than preaching to the converted.

He spoke to a single struggling family in Gosford on the NSW Central Coast in a prearranged meeting organised by Labor and then a handful of pharmacists down the road in Wadalba.

He had a friendly chat with staff members in the pharmacy before he was quickly whisked away into his car.

1:37 pm May 3, 2022 Highlight

Tipsters back Frydenberg to hang on

Sam Clench

Tipsters have given Treasurer Josh Frydenberg a vote of confidence in his Victorian seat of Kooyong.

Mr Frydenberg won the seat by 6.4 per cent in 2019, but is facing a challenge from independent candidate Monique Ryan.

Commentators have predicted Ms Ryan could unseat the Treasurer, but punters on SuperVoter are now strongly backing Mr Frydenberg.

There's been a 10 per cent shift towards predictions the Treasurer will win among players on the election tipping site over the weekend, the highest movement seen in any seat.

On SuperVoter, tipsters can pit their political knowledge against each other by picking the winner of each of the 151 seats contested in the election, with the first person to pick all 151 winning seats, or the highest number of correct seats declared the winner once the election results are in. You can find out more about it here.

More than three weeks into the campaign, SuperVoters now predict Labor will pick up 75 seats, the Coalition will grab 69 and seven will go to independents or minor parties.

1:15 pm May 3, 2022

Albo told to hurry up

Ben Graham

Ben Graham, our reporter in the Albanese press pack, has a bit more insight on the cranky press conference earlier.

In short, the Opposition Leader didn't really help himself.

Reporters were already grumpy before he stepped up to speak, given he was late arriving and it was unseasonably hot. At one point a reporter even walked into the home he was visiting – speaking to a family that was struggling to pay rent – and told him to hurry up.

We then witnessed the slight fiasco of the press conference itself, as outlined in a previous post.

Incidentally the Labor leader's next stop is a pharmacy, where he'll spruik his policy to drive down the cost of prescriptions via the PBS.