As it happened: PM pledges health funding in Perth after edging ahead in poll; Dutton visits NSW and flood-hit Queensland

Thanks for reading our rolling federal election blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.

To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:

• Anthony Albanese was in Perth today and announced a $355 million hospital upgrade in Labor’s latest health pledge.
• Peter Dutton visited a NSW mining manufacturer in the Hunter Valley and flood-hit parts of south-west Queensland, pledging $10 million for a new weather radar in the outback.
• The prime minister mocked the opposition leader’s penchant for the harbour after Dutton said today he would relocate to Kirribilli House in Sydney if elected, rather than the Lodge in Canberra.
• In NSW, the tactics of political pressure groups hoping to punish Labor over Israel’s war in Gaza have divided Muslim communities in Sydney’s west.
• In Victoria, Richard Marles led a contingent of Labor MPs who today spruiked the federal government’s plan to tip in $300 million for a new road interchange in western Melbourne. Follow the Victorian hot seats live blog here.

Our live coverage will resume before 7am tomorrow.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed hopes of a second successive interest rate cut, mirroring market expectations that a new monetary policy board will stick with the status quo.

The new board, which met for the first time on Monday, includes Australian National University professor Renee Fry-McKibbin and former Bendigo and Adelaide Bank boss Marnie Baker.

Jim Chalmers during a press conference on March 27.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

They are tipped to join other board members in keeping the cash rate on hold at 4.1 per cent when the two-day meeting concludes.

“Almost nobody in the market expects there to be an interest rate cut tomorrow, so we’re up front about that,” Chalmers said in Brisbane today.

AAP

More than $40 billion was wiped from the value of the Australian sharemarket today as Donald Trump’s vow to reveal more tariff details looms on the horizon, possibly upending the federal election campaign.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped by 138.6 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 7843.4 points at the close of trade today, following heavy falls on Wall Street last week.

The plunge means the ASX 200 has lost more than 4 per cent since the start of this year, and it comes as investors worry about what Trump trade policies may announce on April 2 US time (April 3 AEDT) – a day he has dubbed “Liberation Day.”

Thursday could alter the federal election campaign too, as Trump has been urged to target Australia for its regulation of beef, social media, and medicines.

Read more about today’s market movements ahead of Trump’s announcement here.

When Anthony Albanese couldn’t name the cash rate, or the unemployment rate on day one of his last campaign, it was a moment that could have lost him the election.

But, as associate editor Tony Wright says, he was up against Scott Morrison, who was “on the nose” across the nation. And that was before Morrison spear-tackled a child at a soccer match.

Campaigns can win, and lose, an election, and Wright has seen a few since his first campaign covering Bob Hawke in 1983.

Wright speaks to columnist Jacqueline Maley in the latest episode of our election podcast, Inside Politics. To find episodes as soon as they drop, follow Inside Politics on Apple, Spotify or anywhere else you listen to your podcasts.

To listen to today’s episode, click the player the below.

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack has defended Peter Dutton’s confirmation at the weekend that the Coalition, if elected, would ditch Labor’s bid to co-host a United Nations climate change meeting with Pacific nations.

Appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing today, the shadow minister for the Pacific was asked if it was a bad message to send to the region, given it has become increasingly important geopolitically.

Shadow minister for international development and the Pacific Michael McCormack in 2022.Credit: DFAT

“The Pacific knows full well that we are the best friends, and we will continue to be so,” McCormack said.

He refused to say whether Dutton had misspoke when the opposition leader said hosting a UN Conference of the Parties (COP) would cost “tens of billions of taxpayers’ dollars”. In 2022, a preliminary study had estimated that hosting the COP would have cost the Swiss government about $470 million.

“I’m not expert on what it might cost,” McCormack said. “But let me tell you, it will cost a lot of money. And a lot of taxpayers out there think that money could be better spent elsewhere.”

Jason Clare hopes Australia’s election campaign continues to avoid the violence that has marred others overseas, but believes “temperatures will be elevated” in the coming weeks.

On the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program today, the education minister was asked about his condemnation yesterday of a video that “basically threatened” his colleague Tony Burke over the federal government’s position on the war in Gaza.

Minister for Education Jason Clare.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

When asked if the temperature felt particularly elevated in this campaign, Clare said:

I think over the next few weeks, temperatures will be elevated in different parts of the country, particularly when the pre-polls start and people are handing out how-to-vote cards and asking people for their support.

The important thing here is [that] democracy should be allowed to take place in our country in the way it always has. We’re lucky in Australia that we have not seen the sort of violence or threats of violence we have seen recently in America, or in recent times in the UK. And I hope that continues in Australia.

Most of the time – just speaking for myself – when I am standing at the front of the shops and talking to voters, people who like me come up and say hello. And people who don’t might give me a piece of their mind or mumble under their breath. But there is no violence, or threats of violence, and I hope that continues.

Education Minister Jason Clare has labelled the Coalition’s new gas proposal an attempt to distract from its nuclear power push.

On the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Clare was asked if Labor regretted promising at the last election to reduce electricity prices by $275, which it has failed to do.

“These nuclear reactors are about as popular as a snake in a sleeping bag”: Education Minister Jason Clare.Credit: Rhett Wyman

In response, Clare avoided answering the nub of the question and instead addressed Peter Dutton’s similar pledge to lower prices after he unveiled an unprecedented scheme to keep more gas supplies in Australia.

“It’s a distraction to hide the fact that these nuclear reactors are about as popular as a snake in a sleeping bag,” Clare said. “He knows that and the Australian people know it.”

Clare also attacked the opposition leader’s comments earlier today that he would live at Kirribilli in Sydney instead of The Lodge in Canberra if the Coalition wins the election.

“He should not be thinking about where he will live, he should think about what he will do,” Clare said.

Peter Dutton has promised $10 million for a new weather radar in western Queensland if he wins the upcoming election.

As the opposition leader toured flood-hit Thargomindah with Nationals Leader David Littleproud, the commitment was announced in a press release sent to media.

Floods in western Queensland today.Credit: James Brickwood

In the statement, Dutton said the new radar would significantly improve confidence in the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather forecasts after the region was hit with devastating floods.

“This $10 million funding announcement is yet another reflection that a Dutton-Littleproud government would once again prioritise the needs of regional Australians after the neglect of the Albanese government.”

Peter Dutton and David Littleproud meet Bulloo Shire Mayor John Ferguson at Thargomindah.Credit: James Brickwood

At least 50 people in Thargomindah, in Queensland’s south-west, were evacuated on Monday morning as the flood threat spread in the sodden state.Credit: James Brickwood

Rainfall has finally eased after days of downpours in central and south-west Queensland, but floodwaters may plague the region for weeks.Credit: James Brickwood

Richard Marles and Adam Bandt were among the scores of politicians campaigning today in Victoria, where several key seats appear poised to shape the federal election result.

In Melbourne’s north-west, a contingent of Labor MPs spruiked the federal government’s plan to tip in $300 million to build a new road interchange at Calder Park Drive for the Calder Freeway.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles (fourth from right) was in Melbourne’s north-west to announce more road funding.Credit: Luis Ascui

Closer to the city, Bandt held a press conference with Samantha Ratnam, the former Victorian Greens leader, who is now contesting the inner-north seat of Wills.

Over the next five weeks, this masthead will take an in-depth look at several Melbourne seats – including Wills, Goldstein, Kooyong and Bruce – via a rolling blog launched today.

All will be crucial in shaping the national result.

Sonya Semmens, Greens candidate for Macnamara (left), Adam Bandt, Greens leader (centre), and Samantha Ratnam, Greens candidate for Wills (right).

These seats – with distinct demographics and local challenges – promise to be unique contests.

Follow the Victorian hot seats live blog here.