PM Anthony Albanese set to call election for this April date

The cancellation of planned budget meetings suggests the March 25 budget had been scrapped - which can only mean one thing.

EXCLUSIVE

Anthony Albanese is locked and loaded to call a federal election this Sunday or Monday for April 12 and appears to have scrapped plans for a March budget after cancelling this week’s planned meetings of the expenditure review committee.

Senior cabinet sources have confirmed they expect the Prime Minister to visit the Governor-General, straight after the WA state election on March 8.

News.com.au has also confirmed that while the cabinet did meet as planned today, members of the budget razor gang or ERC have been informed that this week’s meetings have been cancelled.

One government source said they now believed the budget process was “over”. A shorter budget statement or update may be released instead.

News.com.au reported in early January that Labor insiders believed that a surprise April 12 federal election is firming.

However, the Treasurer’s office stressed that the meetings were “contingencies” and while they were in diaries and had been cancelled, they didn’t need the meetings this week.

As such, it was denied that the cancellation was confirmation the March 25 budget had been officially scrapped.

By calling the election this Sunday for April 12 Mr Albanese avoids the need to hand down a budget as planned on March 25.

In other signs an election is imminent, the Prime Minister’s office has also sent out a note to all media outlets on Monday requiring registrations to join the campaign plane which will commence operations shortly after the election is called.

There was also a mass exodus of Labor staff from Canberra on Monday as they were ordered to relocate to the party’s HQ in Sydney.

PM’s message on Medicare

Mr Albanese invited the cameras into cabinet this morning where he delivered a stump speech criticising Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s record on Medicare.

“Another busy day today, as we’ve said, in the work that you have before us, and the work of government continues each and every day, and I want to thank everyone for the efforts that everyone is making,’’ he said.

“In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had big announcements on Medicare, three big ones.

“Firstly, the more than half a billion dollars to assist women’s reproductive health, and on Saturday – March 1 – came in the first new listings of contraceptive pills in some 30 years, making an enormous difference as well.

“Secondly, of course, we had the big announcement of Medicare bulk billing, the tripling of the bulk billing incentive for all 27 million Australians on top of the 11 million Australians who received the tripling of the bulk billing incentive.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler, and the Member for Parramatta, Andrew Charlton, during a visit to the Westmead Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Sydney on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Picture: Nikki Short

“We don’t need an Americanisation of our health system. We should be proud that Australia has created Medicare, and as much as Peter Dutton tried his best to undermine it, of course, wanted to abolish bulk billing when he was Health Minister by bringing in a GP tax.”

Speaking on ABC TV Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was grilled on whether the budget would be dumped in favour of a budget update.

“Well, we’re planning for a Budget on the 25 March,’’ she said.

“That’s the decision that was taken last year, we’ve scheduled it. As to when the PM might call an election, that’s entirely a matter for him. The Treasurer and I do our jobs, which is to make sure we’ve got the books in order and all of those decisions have been taken.”

Peter Dutton warns PM ‘running scared’ on budget

Mr Dutton has repeatedly warned that if the PM fired the starting gun before the March 25 Federal Budget, it would prove he was “running scared” because “he doesn’t have a good story to tell”.

“If he’s running to an early election to get away from delivering a budget, you know that he’s hiding the numbers,” Mr Dutton said.

Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton presumed the election would be called before the March 25 Federal Budget. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

“You know that he has no good story to tell about the achievements of this Government over the last three years.

Public servants preparing to enter caretaker mode

The caretaker period begins at the time the House of Representatives is dissolved.

Once dissolved, the House no longer exists and elections for the full membership of a new House are held at a general election.

Under caretaker conventions the government must cease taking major policy decisions except on urgent matters and then only after formal consultation with the opposition.

The government must also cease making major appointments of public officials.

The caretaker period continues until the election result is clear or, if there is a change of government, until the new government is appointed by the Governor-General.

Can you smell the democracy sausage? Picture: Dan Proudman

Why April 12?

News.com.au reported in early January that Labor insiders believed that a surprise April 12 federal election is firming with the Prime Minister considering firing the starting gun straight after the WA election.

The option allows the Prime Minister to avoid a clash with the WA state election on March 8.

By calling the federal election in early March, the Prime Minister would also avoid the need to bring down the federal budget which is set down for March 25.

The 2025 Australian federal election must be held on or before May 17, 2025.

Originally published as PM Anthony Albanese set to call election for this April date