Who won the leaders debate? Scott Morrison or Anthony Albanese

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have squared off in the first leaders debate of the 2022 election. Here’s who won, according to voters.

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have squared off in the first leaders debate of the 2022 election – so who won?

The Prime Minister and the Labor leader answered questions from an audience of 100 undecided voters at the Sky News-Courier Mail People’s Forum in Brisbane on Wednesday night, with topics ranging from the economy to China’s recent deal in the Solomon Islands.

Voters were encouraged to quiz the candidates about the issues that matter most to them, with the winner of the debate decided immediately after.

Forty votes went to Mr Albanese, 35 to Mr Morrison and a further 25 remained undecided.

Several punters in the crowd admitted they were still on the fence at the conclusion of the debate. Mr Albanese was criticised by members of the audience for failing to pounce on openings provided by Mr Morrison, especially on the topic of debt and economic waste.

However, political commentator Andrew Bolt said the Opposition Leader played to his strengths and kept his campaign alive.

“This was the debate that could’ve ended Albanese’s campaign if he stuffed up like he’d stuffed up the first week of the campaign,” Bolt said.

“I think he did very well. He was warmer. I think Albanese won the battle for the future a lot more.

“The Prime Minister was very on top of his facts. He couldn‘t help but tell us loads of facts, it was a blizzard of facts. That will have gone over some people’s heads, but it did give the impression he was in command.”

The columnist and Sky host compared Mr Albanese, favourably, to former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd, saying: “I don’t think he scares people.”

He went on to praise Mr Albanese for being “passionate and compassionate”.

“There’s always going to be a doubt he could fall over… but he did pretty well,” he said.

Sky host Peta Credlin said it was hard to split the pair at the end of the evening.

Voters were encouraged to quiz the candidates about the issues that matter most to them, with the winner of the debate decided immediately after.

“I don’t think there was any major stuff-ups from either of them… there wasn’t any knockout blows either,” Credlin said. “For me the biggest turning points was the boat turn back issue and the response from Albanese ... and the other one was the China point.”

The first question from the audience was on the issue of housing affordability and foreign ownership.

“What is the government going to do about foreign ownership?” the audience member said.

“We all know that foreign investment into the country, especially in the housing market is actually driving the prices up, which is making it unaffordable. If we lived in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Fiji, as a non-citizen, we wouldn‘t be able to buy property there.”

Mr Morrison agreed that it was getting harder to buy a home, and pointed to his government‘s various programs including HomeBuilder and the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

On the issue of foreign ownership, the PM said it was a “very good point”.

“Not only have we toughened the laws on foreign ownership in this country for residential real estate, but more importantly, I increased the resources for the Australian Taxation Office to make sure they‘re being complied with,” he said.

Early assessment: @ScottMorrisonMP’s strategy is to smash @AlboMP with numbers, to prove his competence after the OL’s first week. @AlboMP’s strategy is to dial into community frustration and sentiment, and convince voters the nation could do better. #auspol#peoplesforum

— Jonathan Lea (@JonathanLea10) April 20, 2022

@AlboMP seems to be missing his moments. Morrison talked about coalition always having to pay for Labor’s big ideas. Was perfect time for Albanese to zing him on Gov debt, waste and mismanagement but instead went into talk about other Labor programs it implemented #Peoplesforum

— Jonathan Lea (@JonathanLea10) April 20, 2022

Immortal quote from audience member: "I thought it was going to be a lot more boring." #LeadersDebate

— Ben Westcott (@Ben_Westcott) April 20, 2022

Both leaders come out of the debate relatively unscathed, which is what will matter to both leaders heading into the coming weeks of the campaign. #auspol#LeadersDebate

— courtney gould (@heyycourtt) April 20, 2022

Mr Morrison cornered Mr Albanese on the issue of boat turnbacks in the first really awkward moment of the debate.

As Immigration Minister, Mr Morrison points out he designed Operation Sovereign Borders which “ended deaths at sea” and saw the closure of offshore detention centres ”that the Labor Party opened”.

“We ended all of that, and it‘s a very hard thing to do,” he said.

“Now I can tell you it‘s not easy, and you have to believe in it, you have to understand it. You have to understand how to do it safely. You have to understand how it works with all the other areas of your border protection policy, which is temporary protection visas and offshore processing. Other countries around the world have said Australia got that right. Now all I’m simply saying is you know I’ll do it, because I’ve done it.”