Anthony Albanese puts pressure on Scott Morrison to call election

Anthony Albanese has questioned whether Scott Morrison is confident he can win the election, as the Prime Minister remains tight-lipped on when the vote will be called.

Anthony Albanese is pushing for the election to be held on May 14, declaring if Scott Morrison drags the campaign out for another week, it will show he is not confident he can win.

Sunday is the last day the Prime Minister can call the election for May 14, with May 21 the last possible date the poll can be held.

Amid speculation that Mr Morrison could officially kick off the campaign as early as Friday, he said he would call the election when he was “in a position to go to the Governor-General”.

“I said we would run a term, do the job and go to the Australian people,” Mr Morrison said on Thursday.

“I think that we’ll be calling it soon.”

The Labor leader called on him to “end this pantomime” and give voters certainty.

“The election should be held on May 14, it shouldn’t be the last possible date, that will be a sign that the government doesn’t have confidence in its own capacity going into the future,” Mr Albanese said.

Anthony Albanese called on Morrison to “end this pantomime” and give voters certainty. Picture: Dan Peled

There was another spanner in the weeks for the government on Thursday, as the High Court agreed to hold an expedited hearing on Friday afternoon to consider a last-ditch appeal to Mr Morrison’s intervention to preselect Liberal candidates in New South Wales.

Mr Albanese said it was “nonsense” to suggest the legal dispute was holding up the election.

“The Prime Minister stopped governing a long time ago. The only reason why the election hasn’t been called formally is so that he can use your … taxes to pay for advertising for the government that is promoting, essentially, his re-election,’ he said.

It came as Mr Morrison waved off a confrontation at a NSW pub with an angry pensioner who yelled at him: “You better f***ing do something … I’m sick of your bullshit.”

Mr Morrison said the man’s case was “very complicated” and that he hoped his office could help him.

“I could understand that he’s very upset about some really significant issues that have happened in his life,” he said.

Mr Albanese said it was a reminder that “we need to show more respect in our discourse and discussion”.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese puts pressure on Scott Morrison to call election