Anthony Albanese plans to call federal election date on Friday
Anthony Albanese is finalising plans to call the federal election on Friday. It comes amid an embarrassing incident for bureaucrats who hastily deleted a tweet.
Federal Election
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Anthony Albanese is finalising plans to call the federal election on Friday in a move that would likely distract from Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s budget in reply address.
The Prime Minister is understood to be considering making the trip to Government House to speak to Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Friday morning, however the plan is not finalised and could change depending on a range of factors.
In an embarrassing incident for bureaucrats, on Thursday the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet posted on social media platform X announcing the government was “now operating in accordance with caretaker conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election”.
The post, which appeared to be a premature accident, was deleted a few minutes later.
The government only goes into caretaker mode once the Prime Minister has called the election officially, which as of Thursday had not occurred.
After legislating Labor’s surprise tax cuts for most working Australians on Wednesday night, the thinking inside the party is that it is an optimal time to start the official campaign.
The Coalition on Thursday morning confirmed it would repeal the tax cuts, which is viewed by Labor as a major strategic mistake and highly unusual for an opposition to go to an election promising to raise income tax.
May 3 has emerged as the favoured election date, despite the fact this timeline means pre-poll voting would be significantly disrupted by the Easter and Anzac Day public holidays in April.
Mr Albanese is scheduled to do an interview on ABC Insiders on Sunday, which had prompted speculation he would prefer the earlier option of calling the election on Friday or Saturday.
He could also wait as late as Monday to still hit the May 3 poll date.
If plans change, May 10 and May 17 are the two remaining options for the election.
Mr Albanese was spotted making an impromptu visit to the “Aussies” cafe inside Parliament House around midday on Thursday, where he appeared relaxed as he spoke casually with journalists, staff and other surprised onlookers.
He was joined by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, with the pair sitting down for a coffee and a tea.
The PM was coy about his plans for the following day.
More to come
Originally published as Anthony Albanese plans to call federal election date on Friday
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