Federal election 2022: How Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese fared in week four of the campaign

Back from Covid-19 isolation, the fourth week of the campaign was Anthony Albanese’s for the taking. Here’s what went wrong.

In the midst of a bruising major party stalemate pushing swing voters away in droves, the defacto winner of the fourth week of the federal election campaign can only be the “other” names on the ballot paper.

The Climate 200-backed “teal” candidates and minor parties from One Nation to the Greens were the only beneficiaries of a policy-light tussle between Labor and the Coalition, with polling confirming there’s been a “softening” of voter support for the major parties two-thirds of the way into the campaign.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese pours a beer at the Boag's Brewery, Launceston. Picture: Liam Kidston

Back from a week in isolation with his official campaign launch in Perth, the week was really Anthony Albanese’s for the taking.

He ultimately fared better than Scott Morrison, who was pummelled by external factors like an interest rate hike and the ongoing fallout from the Solomons’ security pact with China, but he still didn’t secure a clear-cut win for Labor.

The Prime Minister sharpened his attack on Mr Albanese, who has been hoping to woo undecided voters with the promise of being a safe change worthy of their support.

Capitalising on the fact Mr Albanese only announced one key policy and forgot another, Mr Morrison argued his opponent doesn’t have what it takes to govern.

But Mr Morrison’s week was also policy-light, with the Coalition mostly focused on hyper-local funding commitments rather than sweeping national reforms as it relentlessly pursues an increasingly narrow “goat track” seat-by-seat path to victory.

His failure to secure a win was borne more out of circumstance than misstep, with the first rate hike in an election since 2007 driving home the reality that the cost-of-living was going up, while real wages went backwards.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull weighed in on the campaign..

The re-emergence of his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull highlighting the merit of independents only added to Mr Morrison’s woes, and again had the country talking about “teal” alternatives.

Though Mr Morrison repeatedly warned of the “chaos” of a hung parliament held hostage by independents, his avoidance of the inner-city Liberal seats spoke louder than his words.

Unlike Mr Morrison, Mr Albanese’s immediate problems were much more of his own making.

He limped from a fraught housing policy announcement on the weekend, only to finish the week unable to answer a basic question about the headline points of his own National Disability Insurance Scheme policy.

Despite corners of the internet decrying another “gotcha” question, Mr Albanese’s gaffe was chalked up as a win for Mr Morrison by the Coalition.

The Opposition Leader’s inability to detail one of his party’s centrepiece policies likely reaffirmed suspicions in the minds of swing voters that Mr Albanese was not across his brief.

Given Labor has previously been quick to capitalise on Coalition ministers being unable to recall figures relevant to their portfolios, such as the number of aged care deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, the opposition left itself open to similar criticism where it too falls short of the mark.

Both leaders left themselves exposed due to a lack of policy depth, though Mr Morrison clearly demonstrated he is more adept at wrangling an unruly press pack than his Labor counterpart.

The resulting impact of these errors – unforced or otherwise – was the dedication of significant airtime to the alternatives to the two major parties.

Enough Australians remain undecided that any result is still possible, but another week like this is only going to drive the nation further into minority government territory.

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Originally published as Federal election 2022: How Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese fared in week four of the campaign