What we learned, Monday 21 April
Thanks for spending your long weekend with us – that’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Here is what we learned on day 25 of the campaign trail:
Anthony Albanese began the day in the seat of Gilmore, where Labor is facing a tough battle to hold on to its seat on the NSW south coast.
The PM said there was “more to do” to tackle gambling advertising, as reports emerged that he overrode his cabinet to shelve reforms.
Albanese was also scathing of the Coalition’s continued calls for a briefing on Russia’s request to station aircraft in Indonesia, which the Indonesian government has ruled out.
Peter Dutton, meanwhile, visited his 12th petrol station of the campaign in the Melbourne seat of Dunkley.
The Coalition continued its campaign on crime, pitching a promise for a national child sex offender registry scheme and a commitment to bolster border protection against illegal drug imports.
The health minister, Mark Butler, argued that Peter Dutton promised a public register as minister for home affairs but “didn’t deliver it.” Meanwhile Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie accused the Coalition of “running through the same narrative” on crime.
Dutton said he would have “more to say” about the Coalition’s domestic violence policy soon.
The AEC is investigating the distribution of 47,000 unauthorised pamphlets opposing Allegra Spender, the member for Wentworth. She told reporters the pamphlet “spreads false, misleading and offensive claims about me” anonymously, and is “designed to undermine me and to benefit my political opponents”.
Labor has promised to provide greater oversight of the nation’s export abattoirs if re-elected.
Former PM Malcolm Turnbull argued that “nobody in their right political mind would ever make changes” to the capital gains tax. He also accused Dutton of being “Trump-like” and said the Coalition’s nuclear policy was a “really bad idea.”
Early voting will officially open tomorrow, ahead of the 3 May poll.
Krishani Dhanji will be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning. In the meantime, take care and enjoy your evening!
Updated
Liberal candidate for Wentworth says it’s important all election material has ‘appropriate authorisation’
Ro Knox, the Liberal candidate for Wentworth, has issued a statement amid the AEC investigation into flyers targeting independent MP Allegra Spender.
The statement reads:
We’re running a properly authorised campaign and strongly believe it’s important for all election material to have the appropriate authorisation.
Updated
Image of pamphlet distributed in Wentworth, targeting independent MP Spender
Here is a copy of the unauthorised pamphlet distributed through the Wentworth electorate, targeting independent MP Allegra Spender.
As we reported earlier, the Australian Electoral Commission is investigating after more than 47,000 of the pamphlets were distributed.
Spender told reporters the pamphlet “spreads false, misleading and offensive claims about me” anonymously, and is “designed to undermine me and to benefit my political opponents.”
Wentworth is Australia’s smallest electorate by area, and includes Darling Point, Double Bay, Rose Bay, Vaucluse, Paddington, Centennial Park, Bondi Beach, Waverley and Bondi Junction.
Updated
Coleman says Coalition proposal for national sex offender register ‘common sense’
David Coleman was also asked about the Coalition’s plan to trial a national register for child sex offenders if elected.
Under the plan, it would provide the option for parents and carers to check with police about whether individuals who interact with their children have prior convictions.
Coleman told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing this was a “disclosure scheme” rather than a publicly available register.
It’s about if a parent is concerned about perhaps someone who is involved with their kids in some way or in contact with their kids, they can go to the police and seek information about that person if that person does have any relevant convictions. It’s up to the police to determine whether or not that information should be provided … We think it’s common sense.
You can read an explainer about the Coalition’s plan below:
Would a Coalition government cut foreign aid?
David Coleman was also asked if he could guarantee no cuts to foreign aid under a Coalition government.
He said the Coalition would have “more to say about foreign aid in the days ahead”.
It’s a very important part of our foreign affairs policy. We spend about $5bn a year on foreign aid, so it’s a substantial amount of expenditure and it’s particularly crucial in our region, the Pacific … We will have more to say on that in the future. Obviously very conscious of the importance.
Updated
Coleman continues call for briefing on prospect of Russian aircraft in Indonesia
The shadow foreign minister, David Coleman, was also up on ABC Afternoon Briefing this afternoon – asked why there is an obligation on the government to provide a briefing on the prospect of Russian aircraft in Indonesia, when Indonesia has ruled this out?
Coleman accused Anthony Albanese of being like a “magician that says ‘look over there, don’t look at me’”.
This is a really serious matter. The prospect of Russian military expansion in our region is chilling. If Russia has sought access to a military base on a permanent base in Indonesia, that is a very significant issue for our national security.
Coleman argued that “all we’re getting from the government is evasion” and it was important for the Coalition to understand “the status of this issue” if elected.
He was asked about Malcolm Turnbull’s comments on the program earlier, that it was not normal to provide a briefing like this during caretaker mode. Coleman was asked if he accepted this, but responded:
No, I don’t actually. As I said, there were briefings provided in the last election campaign … The government can put up any technical argument but plainly, it is reasonable for the opposition to be briefed on this.
Updated
Turnbull says nuclear a ‘really bad idea’ that ‘never had legs economically or in legitimate policy terms’
Malcolm Turnbull also pointed to the Coalition’s nuclear power policy, citing one poll that suggested it was the largest turn-off to voters.
Peter Dutton has faced questioning from reporters in recent days as to why he has appeared to distance himself from nuclear power, neglecting to visit any sites of proposed power stations and instead clocking up a dozen visits to petrol bowsers.
Turnbull told the program:
To be honest, I’m not surprised [about the poll]. It’s a really bad idea. It has never had any legs economically or in legitimate policy terms. It is a fact that no private sector energy company would contemplate undertaking nuclear generation. It doesn’t make sense for Australia.
Our future is renewables, wind and solar backed by batteries and hydro … Nuclear was designed as a wedge issue. It played well in the rightwing media, a way to say … ‘you don’t like renewables, neither do I’.
Updated
Turnbull accuses Dutton of being ‘Trump-like’
Just circling back to Malcolm Turnbull’s interview on ABC Afternoon Briefing, where he said Peter Dutton’s leadership is an “issue” for his former party and that he has poorly aligned himself with Donald Trump.
Turnbull has been a strong critic of the Trump administration and told the National Press Club this month that Australia’s leader needed to stand up for the country’s own national interests.
Asked why the Coalition was struggling according to opinion polls, Turnbull said he thought it was “clear”.
Dutton is an issue. His personality … perception of being close to Trump or Trump-like is clearly an issue.
The latest Newspoll, published in the Australian, showed a lift in Labor’s primary vote to 34%, with the Coalition on 35%. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is at 52%, ahead of the Coalition’s 48%.
The survey’s 1,263 respondents also judged Anthony Albanese to be better able to handle the fallout of the Trump presidency.
Updated
Spender says pamphlet campaign ‘designed to ensure Liberal win in Wentworth’
In a written statement issued after her press conference, Allegra Spender alleged the pamphlet is “clearly designed to ensure a win for the Liberal party in Wentworth.”.
I have faith that the AEC will get to the bottom of who is behind this document and hold them accountable. The public deserves to know who is behind this cowardly attack and what their motivations are …
My team and I will be cooperating fully with the AEC investigation. I encourage people in Wentworth to alert the AEC if they identify people distributing this illegal material.
Updated
Spender says distribution of unauthorised pamphlets “unlawful”
Allegra Spender said there was a “variety of false and misleading and offensive claims in this pamphlet” but didn’t want to “spread them further”.
But she claimed it was “unlawful.”
Tomorrow is when pre-poll opens. Tomorrow is when Australians start to vote, and to distribute this sort of material – which is unlawful under the act for very good reason – the day before we start pre-polling, just shows what sort of approach whoever is distributing them is trying to take.
Updated
Spender takes aim at ‘misleading and offensive’ unauthorised pamphlets targeting her
Allegra Spender, the independent member for Wentworth, is speaking to reporters after the electoral commission revealed it’s received complaints on the distribution of unauthorised pamphlets opposing her.
You can read more about this earlier in the blog here. Speaking just now, Spender said:
I welcome today’s announcement that the AEC are taking action against 47,000 illegal pamphlets being distributed in Wentworth. This pamphlet spreads false, misleading and offensive claims about me, and does so anonymously. This anonymous and misleading campaign is designed to undermine me and to benefit my political opponents.
I urge anyone who has any information about the production or distribution of these campaign materials to get in touch with the AEC. I expect all my political opponents to condemn this sort of behaviour and to also provide any information that they may have as well … in terms of how this campaign was produced.
Updated
Turnbull says Russia-Indonesia briefing would be unusual during caretaker mode
Malcolm Turnbull was also asked about the Coalition’s ongoing call for more answers, in regards to Russia’s reported request to base aircraft in Indonesia.
Peter Dutton has been calling for a briefing on the matter, and what the government knew, and when. Turnbull argued that it’s “not normal to do briefings of this kind during caretaker [mode].”
During caretaker, the government is not able to make any new policy decisions. If they were planning to … then they would normally have to bring in the shadow minister and say ‘we are considering making this decision, we want you to be aligned with it’. But we are less than two weeks out from polling day, so no one is going to be making any big changes, so it’s not normal to give a briefing.
Turnbull said it would be “a big departure” were the Indonesian government to decide to allow a Russian military base in their territory.
Updated
Turnbull weighs in on negative gearing, capital gains tax
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is speaking with ABC Afternoon Briefing this afternoon about the current debate surrounding Medicare.
As Labor ruled out changes to negative gearing, and the Coalition took aim at Labor for previously commission modelling on negative gearing changes, Turnbull tweeted on Thursday:
OK to save time – negative gearing is examined by every government. It is a major tax concession and always contentious and so it is always looked at … There are many pages in my memoir describing the detailed consideration of negative gearing that went on in my government, in which Peter Dutton was a cabinet minister.
Speaking just now, Turnbull said he wrote the tweet because journalists were calling him and “I thought it was easier to state the fact in that tweet”.
He went on to say that governments have “always got to look at everything” and “keep an open mind”.
But both sides have ruled out any changes to negative gearing as I understand it and so it is not going to be a matter of the next parliament.
Turnbull said his government’s conclusion at the time was that repealing negative gearing would improve government revenue, but “we didn’t believe it would have anything other than a very short-term effect, or even then a negligible one, on housing affordability”.
On the capital gains tax concessions, Turnbull argued that “nobody in their right political mind would ever make changes to that”.
Updated
Street Side Medics announcement – in pictures
Here are some photos from the Street Side Medics announcement in St Kilda today, including Anthony Albanese with founder, Dr Daniel Nour:
Updated
Labor pledges $2.6m for free mobile GP service for rough sleepers
Labor has announced that a re-elected Albanese government would deliver $2.6m over four years for “Street Side Medics” – a free mobile GP service for people experiencing homelessness in NSW and Victoria.
Since 2022-23, the organisation has delivered 902 clinics, over 5000 GP consultations and had 11,780 total patient interactions.
The funding would allow the service to continue providing mobile medical services across Woolloomooloo, Manly, Parramatta, Hornsby, Blacktown, Surry Hills, Marrickville, Wollongong, Melbourne CBD and St Kilda – as well as new locations.
Anthony Albanese said in a statement:
So much stems from the barriers that stand between homeless people and access to medical care. Barriers that span the spectrum from cost, to lack of awareness, to mistrust of the medical system.
Street Side Medics erase those barriers. I am so proud to announce Labor will deliver $2.6m to ensure these vital services continue.
Updated
Hello everyone! Emily Wind here, I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon here on the blog.
Thank you all for joining me on the blog today, and hope you enjoy the rest of the long weekend.
I’ll leave you with the wonderful Emily Wind, and will catch you here bright and early tomorrow morning.
AEC receives complaints after unauthorised pamphlets distributed in Wentworth
The Australian electoral commission says it’s received complaints on the distribution of unauthorised pamphlets, opposing Allegra Spender, the member for Wentworth.
More than 47,000 pamphlets with no authorisation have been distributed across Wentworth, according to the AEC, meaning voters have no way of identifying the source of the information.
The commission says it’s worked quickly to identify and make contact with the entity responsible for the pamphlets, and an investigation is ongoing.
It says the pamphlets breach the Commonwealth Electoral Act, which can attract civil penalties that would be determined by a court.
Updated
Albanese in wafer-thin Melbourne marginal seat of Menzies
Albanese has also travelled down to Melbourne this afternoon, and he’s in the seat of Menzies.
Menzies is a traditionally blue ribbon area that’s been held by the Liberals for several decades.
But after a large swing against the Liberals in 2022, and a recent redistribution across Melbourne, the seat is now notionally Labor on an oh-so wafer thin 0.4% margin.
Albanese, joined by foreign minister Penny Wong, is out having lunch in Box Hill.
Box Hill was previously in the neighbouring seat of Chisholm, held by Labor’s Carina Garland.
That seat is in the Liberals’ sights, with former Higgins MP Katie Allen running against Garland. (Allen lost the seat of Higgins to Labor in 2022, and it has now been abolished under the Australian Electoral Commission’s redistribution.)
Updated
Coalition not going to reduce visas for migrant parents, Dutton says
The final question goes to whether the Coalition is planning to cut parent visas.
Reporter Sara Tomevska asks Dutton three times if he’ll cut visas for migrant parents.
Twice Dutton says generally the Coalition will cut migration, and that migration is a “significant contributor to young Australians [being] locked out of housing”.
On the third attempt, Dutton says:
In relation to parents, I’ve been clear about this, it’s an important part of the migration program. And we’re not going to reduce those. We’ve been clear in relation to it. And I believe very strongly we’ve got the best migration program in the world, but only if it’s well managed.
He then ends the answer with a final pitch to voters ahead of early voting opening tomorrow, mentioning the petrol excise cut, cutting migration, and the promise to build more homes.
Updated
Coalition opposed to hybrids not being part of fringe benefits tax exemption
Dutton confirms he won’t repeal the fringe benefit tax exemption for electric vehicles, but has said his party is opposed to hybrid vehicles not being included in that exemption.
We said that what we’re opposed to is the government’s big tax on hybrids, for example on a Toyota RAV4. Almost $10,000 additional that people will be paying if Albanese is re-elected. It’s $14,000 on a Ford Ranger …
The government whacking a new tax on those people in the market to buy a house, to buy a car, a lot of Australians would be shocked to know that Anthony Albanese is proposing a $14,000 tax on a Ford Ranger.
The current fringe benefit tax exempts battery EVs, hydrogen fuel cell EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs (not including hybrid vehicles that are only fuelled by liquid petrol).
Dutton has also announced this fortnight that the Coalition would scrap the penalties under the vehicle fuel efficiency standards, which they say would make heavy emitting cars cheaper. The government says scrapping the penalties is “nonsensical”.
Updated
Dutton says tobacco black market is ‘a huge concern’
Dutton brings up the tobacco wars when addressing the increase in crime that he says has been felt across Victoria.
Asked a follow-up on that, as to what the government should do about tobacco and the increase in black market sales, Dutton says it’s a “huge concern”.
I think it’s a huge concern for our country. Because there’s a loss of revenue. I want to see the smoking rates decline in our country but they’re not, because people are just buying chop-chop or tobacco from, you know, under the counter, or from a crime gang, that’s the reality. The taxpayer is missing out on revenue and the smoking rates haven’t gone down.
Dutton accuses the government of having “taken its eye off the ball” on stopping illegal tobacco at the border.
Asked whether the Coalition would consider decreasing the excise – to bring down the price of legal cigarettes and stop Australians buying more illegal cigarettes – Dutton says:
We don’t have any proposal to change the excise.
On whether the new money is something the police and security agencies are asking for, Dutton promises the $350m announced today is “additional money that we’ve got on the table. We’re very serious about it. We have spoken with police and agencies, there’s a very real concern.”
Updated
Dutton says PM has ‘ducked and weaved’ on Russia and Indonesia
Dutton is asked about Russia and Indonesia, which Albanese was also pushed on this morning.
He says the PM has “ducked and weaved” on the issue, and the Coalition has asked for a briefing.
I think the prime minister has ducked and weaved on this question today. The government’s language keeps changing. That seems strange. And we have asked for a briefing. It’s still not forthcoming from the government. What do they have to hide?
The government hasn’t made it clear whether Russia did ask Indonesia to base its military aircraft in the Pacific nation.
Albanese derided the opposition leader this morning for asking for a briefing, saying, “I’m waiting for them to ask for a briefing on who faked the moon landing.”
Updated
James Paterson denies dumped candidate Britton was adviser
The next question goes to James Paterson over his connection to former Liberal candidate Benjamin Britton, who was dumped by the party over his controversial views.
That story was broken by my colleague Sarah Basford-Canales, and you can read it here:
Sky News revealed leaked emails and documents suggest Britton sent advice to Paterson, but Paterson says that Britton never worked for him.
Asked again, Paterson says:
If every person who sent me unsolicited policy advice was adviser in my team, I would have hundreds of advisers ...
I stand by everything I said to Andrew Clennell. I never employed Mr Britton in any capacity. Anything he sent me was his own initiative; as he was a party member, I politely thanked him for his correspondence, at no stage has he advised me on any matter.
Updated
Dutton says Albanese ‘loose with the truth’ about Coalition child sex offender register
Dutton accuses Albanese of being “loose with the truth” over his response to the Coalition’s announcement of a child sex offender disclosure scheme.
Albanese and other senior Labor members have said the child sex offender register already exists.
Dutton says information can’t be disclosed to members of the public, and his scheme would work in a similar way to a scheme in WA.
[It] allows parents or guardians to make applications to the police, if they’ve got concerns about a particular individual that has contact with their child.
I don’t understand why the prime minister wouldn’t be supporting this on a bipartisan basis.
Asked whether this is a state responsibility, Dutton says it needs to be coordinated.
Updated
Coalition will have ‘more to say’ on domestic violence policy, Dutton says
The first question to Dutton goes to the scourge of family and domestic violence in Australia, and what the Coalition is proposing on that.
Dutton says he’ll have “more to say about our domestic violence policy”
The incidents of domestic violence in our country is an abomination. We’ll have more to say about our domestic violence policy. I wanted it to stand alone, I didn’t want it to be part of today’s announcement.
Dutton adds there is “no more egregious crime in our community than harming a woman or harming a young girl”.
Updated
Crime as election issue ‘underestimated’, Dutton says
The Coalition has been increasing its focus on law and order issues throughout the election and, as mentioned earlier, it’s an issue it’s focused on in Victoria.
Dutton says:
I think Australians underestimate how big an issue this is at this election. People feel unsafe.
The Commonwealth government has a particular role to play because we have border protection and those services are meant to be stopping drugs coming into our country.
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson is with Dutton, and uses the issue to also attack the state government under Jacinta Allan.
Paterson drums the Labor is “weak” line:
Weak Labor governments who are soft on crime make communities less safe. Here in Victoria they are suffering under not just one weak Labor government but two weak Labor governments.
Updated
Dutton speaking to media
Peter Dutton is now up speaking to reporters, and he starts on that pledge of $750m for the so-called Operation Safer Communities.
A little earlier, Dutton held a roundtable with members of the Dunkley community.
Families that have been affected by all sorts of criminal activities, people had homes broken into over 12 months. The crime rate here in Frankston is up by 21%. That is dramatic increase in just 12 months.
Updated
Labor vows to consider strengthening animal welfare body if re-elected
Labor has promised to provide greater oversight of the nation’s export abattoirs if re-elected.
Guardian Australia on Saturday revealed shocking animal welfare breaches that went unpunished and “profound” failings in the agriculture department’s oversight of export abattoirs, which relies largely on its workforce of veterinarians placed inside slaughterhouses.
Whistleblower vets have made a series of internal and external complaints about the failures of the system in recent years, including failures to report welfare breaches, an understaffing crisis that has allegedly left facilities unmonitored, and new restrictions on the inspection of animals up-close.
Prior to the Guardian’s revelations, Labor had promised to use the independent Inspector-General for Animal Welfare to “promote greater transparency and accountability in the reporting of animal welfare breaches”, according to the Australian Alliance for Animals.
Labor told the Alliance: “If re-elected, Labor will expand the role of the Inspector General to include export abattoirs to provide additional assurances to our trading partners, noting the responsibility of states in managing these sites.”
Labor confirmed to the Guardian it would consider such changes if re-elected.
Updated
Peter Dutton makes campaign’s 12th stop at petrol station
Peter Dutton is due to stand up in a moment, after visiting yet another petrol station, this time in the Melbourne seat of Dunkley.
It’s held by Labor’s Jodie Belyea on a fairly safe 6.8% margin, but it’s a target for the Liberals.
Liberal candidate Nathan Conroy is contesting the seat for a second time – the first was in a byelection against Belyea in 2023, following the death of Labor MP Peta Murphy, who had held that seat from 2019.
This was the 12th stop at a petrol station on the campaign.
Updated
Dutton in Melbourne
Peter Dutton is in Melbourne today – with several seats on the line across the city, it’s must-win territory for the Coalition.
The Coalition has pitched crime as a key issue for Victoria, so it makes sense Dutton is selling his policy there today.
Here’s a recap of that policy here:
Updated
More details on the latest polling numbers
AAP has more details on the latest polling numbers for Labor and the Coalition.
The Newspoll, published in the Australian, showed a lift in Labor’s primary vote to 34%, with the Coalition on 35%. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is at 52%, ahead of the Coalition’s 48%.
Peter Dutton was favoured as preferred leader in areas such as defence and the economy, but Anthony Albanese was preferred on the electorate’s dominant concern, the cost of living, along with housing and health.
The survey’s 1,263 respondents also judged the Labor leader to be better able to handle the fallout of the Donald Trump presidency in the US.
Meanwhile a Resolve Strategic poll, published in Nine newspapers, has shown voters are not entirely convinced by Labor’s cost-of-living promises, with 47% saying it is a stumbling block to voting the prime minister back into power.
But that has not translated into an automatic boost for Dutton, with 45% of those polled citing his personality as the number-one reason they would not elect him to the top political job.
Updated
Spender weighs in on report PM overrode online gambling reforms
Continuing from our last post: the independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, has also weighed in on those reports Anthony Albanese overrode his cabinet to shelve online gambling ad reforms. She wrote on X:
We can’t keep abandoning good policy for safe politics. The government should have acted to ban gambling ads already. It’s clear they will only have the courage if there are strong independent voices in the next parliament.
Updated
Report PM overrode online gambling reforms ‘disturbing’, Greens say
Members of the crossbench have jumped on reports that the prime minister overrode his cabinet to shelve reform on online gambling advertising.
The reports from Nine newspapers say Anthony Albanese decided to put the reforms developed by communications minister Michelle Rowland on hold late last year.
The Greens have called the report “disturbing”, and senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the minor party will push Labor to act.
Today’s news that the prime minister personally intervened to protect the gambling lobby is disturbing. The prime minister may not have the guts to stand up to the gambling lobby – but the Greens will act.
The Albanese government has failed to act on the scourge of gambling ads, despite the pleading of their own backbenchers and even their own communications minister.
Independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, took to X (formerly Twitter) and said “we can finally fix this” under a “balanced parliament”.
Gambling ads are everywhere – even during the footy. It’s not normal, and it’s not OK. I’ve written the bill to ban them. It’s ready. The major parties stalled. In a balanced parliament, we can make it law. Independence works.
Updated
Early voting opens tomorrow – here’s what you need to know
The Australian Electoral Commission is opening some voting centres across the country tomorrow, and you can see where your nearest booth is on their website here. Voting centres won’t be open on Friday for the Anzac Day public holiday.
The electoral commission reckons around half of voters will vote early – including via in-person early votes, mobile and postal voting.
Mobile voting is where the commission will spend two weeks from tomorrow to set up temporary voting sites in some of Australia’s most remote areas.
The AEC says there will be 70 mobile teams that will use light aircraft, 4WDs, helicopters and boats to travel around 200,000 to get to nearly 500 different remote locations. Some hospitals and residential aged care centres are also visited by mobile teams.
The AEC says more than 1.8 million people have applied to put in postal votes, and for those overseas, more than 111 embassies, consulates and high commissions will also open their doors to early voting tomorrow.
There’s more info from the AEC here.
Updated
The Greens’ federal election fight
While there’s been plenty of focus on the major parties homing in on their pitches to voters, we know that primary votes have gone down for Labor and the Coalition, while support for minor parties and independents has gone up.
The Greens have been positioning themselves as the kingmakers in a potential minority government with Labor, but they need to win their own battles first come 3 May.
Dan Jervis-Bardy has taken a look what they’re fighting and who they’re fighting for.
Updated
Albanese says Dutton’s team MIA as he goes on defensive about Labor’s defence record
While the polls are looking increasingly favourable towards Labor, a reporter asks why the latest Newspoll shows voters trust Dutton more than Albanese to defend Australia.
Albanese says he’ll let people “make their own judgment” on issues such as the response to Russia and Indonesia, but plugs his own record, mentioning Australia’s standing among Asean nations, and bringing home Australians like Cheng Lei.
Asked as well whether he’s getting complacent or taking some of the polling for granted, Albanese says “elections in Australia are close” and are decided by “a handful of votes”.
He then goes on the attack, taking aim at Dutton’s senior leadership team.
I think one of the things that is emerging very clearly is that the other team aren’t so much a team, there is chaos on their side. They have senior shadow ministers who haven’t been sighted. I don’t know where Andrew Hastie has been. He’s the shadow defence minister. Angus Taylor – not quite sure what he’s doing as the shadow treasurer.
Updated
Albanese takes aim at Dutton over bringing back Mike Pezzullo
The Coalition has said that Mike Pezzullo, the sacked former public servant, should have a “role” to play under a Coalition government.
Albanese is asked to weigh in on whether he’s “concerned” about this. His answer is short:
Peter Dutton confirmed that he wants to sack 41,000 public servants but wants to bring one back. That’s what he’s confirmed.
Updated
PM scathing of Coalition request for Indonesia briefing, says he won’t promote ‘Russia’s propaganda message’
Albanese has been scathing of the Coalition’s request for a briefing for more detail on whether the Russians did make a request to Indonesia.
The government has consistently said they were told by the Indonesian government that no Russian aircraft would be based in their nation.
Over the weekend Murray Watt said there was “no proposal” from Russia, and Albanese is asked if he misspoke?
I tell you who misspoke – he [Dutton] didn’t misspeak, he just straight out said something that was completely wrong, which was to say that the president of Indonesia had made a statement. He has not.
They raised issues about briefings. I’m waiting for them to ask for a briefing on who faked the moon landing. The truth is that the Indonesian president made no statement. The alternative prime minister of Australia verballed the Indonesian president.
Albanese is pushed again on whether there was a request made by Russia, and whether Russia does want a stronger presence in the region. Albanese says:
I have no wish to help promote Russia’s propaganda messages and I would suggest that that is not in Australia’s national interest either.
Updated
Labor has ‘more to do’ to tackle gambling advertising, Albanese says
Turning to gambling, the PM is asked whether he’ll commit to doing more to bring down online gambling advertising on TV.
It’s an issue that has seen internal and external pressure piled on the PM to do more, since the late Labor MP Peta Murphy released her committee report making 31 recommendations, that was tabled back in June 2023.
Albanese has consistently said “my government has done more to tackle problem gambling than any other government”.
But he adds:
There’s more to do, I’ve said that. And we will do more.
The government still hasn’t provided an official response to Murphy’s 2023 report.
Albanese won’t outline exactly what more it will do to tackle gambling advertising.
Updated
PM asked about national sex offender disclosure scheme and Russian military request
To questions, Albanese is asked about whether he’d match the Coalition’s promise to establish a national sex offender disclosure scheme.
He says:
There is a national system right now that my government has put in place. He never put it in place. It’s in place now, that enables cooperation across-the-board between jurisdictions.
Asked whether the government needs to do more to crack down on crime, he says:
Of course, you’d be aware, of course, that those responsibilities primarily of the police, state police, jurisdictions. But my Government provides whatever support is required when it is requested.
Pushed again, separately, on what the deal is between Russia and Indonesia and whether Russia made a request to base military aircraft in Indonesia, Albanese is asked whether his government is underplaying the seriousness of the issue.
Over the weekend, Russia said it wanted to have a greater presence in the region.
Albanese turns the question back to Peter Dutton:
The Russians want propaganda to be promoted by Australians ... I know that last week, the opposition leader verballed the prime minister of Indonesia by saying that he had made a statement that he had not.
Updated
PM says Oscar Piastri a ‘great ambassador’ for Australia
The PM starts marking the drownings over the Easter long weekend, and on a happier note gives a shoutout to Oscar Piastri.
Piastri is the dead set Australian legend who won the F1 Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Albanese calls him a “great ambassador” for Australia.
He then goes to the Coalition’s nuclear plan, and the well-worn line from Labor that the Coalition still hasn’t revealed how they’ll pay for it:
When Peter Dutton cuts, Australians will pay. And we know because he can’t now, when polling booths open tomorrow, say where the money is coming from for this $600bn nuclear plant. And he also can’t explain why it is that he and others, senior members of his team, have said consistently that the money that has been invested in things like urgent care clinics is waste.
Updated
PM in electorate of Gilmore
The PM is in the seat of Gilmore this morning, where Labor is facing a tough battle to hold on to its seat on the NSW south coast.
Fiona Phillips is on a super slim margin of just 0.2%, and it’s former NSW Liberal minister Andrew Constance’s second go to win the seat off Labor.
No surprises here, the press conference is at a Medicare urgent care clinic in Bateman’s Bay, so cue the bright green Medicare background.
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Sacked public servant Mike Pezzullo would provide ‘insight and value’ to any Coalition government, Paterson says
Paterson was also asked about a story in the Nine papers, that Peter Dutton would give sacked public servant Mike Pezzullo “a role to play” under a future Coalition government.
Pezzullo was sacked in 2023 for misconduct and later stripped of his Order of Australia honour.
Paterson told News Breakfast “no decisions” have been made about personnel issues, but said Pezzullo is “someone who’s given great service to our country”.
We’ll make sure anyone who’s got something to contribute including Michael Pezzullo a role which they can contribute.
Paterson wouldn’t confirm what that role would be, but said again when pushed by host James Glenday, that Pezzullo had “insight and value”.
[It] doesn’t make sense to me that someone of value like that is not being utilised adequately.
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James Paterson says federal government should take ‘lead’ on tackling crime
Earlier this morning, the shadow home affairs minister and Coalition spokesperson James Paterson was on ABC News Breakfast, selling the “drugs and thugs” crackdown.
Paterson, when asked why the Coalition was spending $750m to fight crime, which is tackled by the states, Paterson laid the blame on the federal government for not taking the “lead”.
We’re going to lead from the national level with this new package to make our community safe again. It’s absolutely critical that we give police the resources they need at the federal level to work with their state counterparts, particularly to tackle crime which is across the state borders and which is transnational in nature, like serious organised crime and drug trafficking.
On the national child sex offender scheme, Paterson – like Michaelia Cash – says it’s modelling on similar programs operating in WA and the UK.
He’s asked about the timing of the announcement, just a day before early voting opens, but says it’s been “in the work for some time”.
This is a plan that’s been in the work for some time. We have been carefully examining other models around the country and around the world to see what will work best and we’re responding to what our candidates are hearing in the field.
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Lambie: Coalition ‘running through the same narrative’ on crime policy
Jacqui Lambie isn’t buying the Coalition’s “tough on crime” promises, saying the party had nine years to do something, and insisting more needs to be done on early intervention.
Lambie was on Sky News a moment ago and was also sceptical on the timing, saying, “This is always in the second week [before an election], stuff on defence, stuff on crime.”
These guys [Coalition] had nine years in [government], nine years in, only just three years ago, and they certainly weren’t tackling crime that they should have been doing it. The problem is here it is all about a change in a generation. It’s all about early intervention. It’s all about teaching kids critical thinking …
So as much as he’s doing ‘tough on crime’, but we see this is always in the second week – stuff on defence, stuff on crime. You’re running through the same narrative, and I think that’s why people have switched off.
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Labor promises to protect penalty rates if re-elected
Over the weekend, Labor promised to legislate to protect penalty rates, which would scuttle applications by employer groups to the Fair Work Commission to reduce entitlements for some workers in exchange for higher pay.
The employment minister, Murray Watt, joined RN Breakfast a little earlier this morning and said the move would help as families continue to deal with cost-of-living pressures.
If we’re re-elected, we will go one step further and introduce legislation to protect penalty rates from being stripped by awards.
So what happens to those cases that are currently being considered by the Fair Work Commission? Watt says it depends on the timing:
If this legislation is passed prior to the Fair Work Commission making its decision, then those workers would not lose their penalty rates, and I think that’s a good thing. It won’t be retrospective this legislation, we won’t be dealing with anything that’s already happened, and if the commission were to make a decision before the legislation’s passed, then the commission’s decision would stand.
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Cash quizzed on whether Coalition ‘drugs and thugs’ crackdown includes domestic violence
Cash keeps says the policies will tackle drugs and thugs, but Sally Sara asks her: what is the Coalition doing about family and domestic violence?
Cash says, “We’ve already made huge announcements in relation to that. But Sally, this one today is specifically about crime.”
Sara pushes back, citing the Queensland police union that says police are called to family and domestic violence incidents every three minutes. Cash says:
Sally, this particular announcement is all about drugs and organised crime, and in particular, attacking that across Australia. Families and business owners are fed up [with] break-ins, burglaries, arson, they drive up the costs of doing business. They mean that people feel less safe in their communities.
Are domestic violence offenders “thugs” Sara asks?
“Of course they are,” says Cash.
She adds she has spoken to families whose children have become addicted to drugs, and says Australia needs an “integrated” and “truly national” response.
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Coalition policy getting ‘drugs and thugs off our streets’, Cash says
The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, has been tasked with explaining more detail on what the Coalition is announcing on crime this morning.
Speaking to ABC RN Breakfast, she’s boiled the announcement to establish a national sex offenders disclosure scheme, and a commitment to bolster border resources as a crackdown on “drugs and thugs”.
She repeats that line several times across the interview.
Cash says the scheme would work in a similar way to similar schemes operating in Western Australia (Cash’s home state) and in the UK:
What it’s done is unmasked thousands of paedophiles to worry parents and guardians…
The disclosure scheme allows the public, let’s just say it’s mum or dad … to request information from the police about whether an individual who interacts with their child is a convicted sex offender.
Cash says that information can’t be shared with anyone else, but host Sally Sara asks what that means if a convicted sex offender is talking to multiple children, and one of their parents finds out that information from the police.
Cash doesn’t say what parents would do in that scenario, but says the scheme has been working in the UK.
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Butler reiterates need for Australia to establish a Centre for Disease Control
On his health portfolio, Butler is asked whether Australia really needs to press ahead with a Centre for Disease Control, which the Coalition has said it would not continue with.
Butler says the country must go through with a CDC because “we got the clearest possible report on our experience through the last pandemic”.
We didn’t have a plan, we weren’t prepared, there was poor coordination and poor transparency about our advice. And that’s why that independent inquiry recommended in the strongest possible terms that we put in place a Centre for Disease Control … We’re currently the only OECD country that doesn’t have an agency like that.
Butler’s also challenged on accusations from the Coalition that Labor has “lied” about claims a Dutton government would scrap 90 existing urgent care clinics.
Butler says he’s “going on this party’s record” to make that claim, and says the opposition has “bagged” the urgent care clinics.
They call them a disaster and a failure. Anne Ruston called them a “smoke screen”. But most tellingly, Angus Taylor for the best part of the last three years has described them as wasteful spending, along with other investments in health that we’ve made
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Butler weighs in on Coalition plan for national sex offender register
Sticking with Mark Butler on ABC News Breakfast, the health minister was taken through a few issues, and is asked to weigh in on the Coalition’s plan for a national sex offender register.
Butler says there is “already a national child sex offender system” that ensure jurisdictions and policing agencies can share information.
There is, of course, already a national child sex offender system, which ensures that jurisdictions, policing agencies across jurisdictions, can share information. That’s a critically important ingredient in keeping children safe. We’re open to any good idea that improves our chances of keeping every Australian child safe.
I do note, of course, that Peter Dutton when he was the minister for home affairs, promised a public register, but didn’t deliver it.
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Labor ministers pressed on whether Russia requested to use Indonesian aircraft base
Labor cabinet ministers have been pressed this morning for more details on whether Indonesia received a request by Russia to base its military aircraft.
Last week Peter Dutton was forced to admit he made a mistake when he had claimed the Indonesian president had made an announcement about a proposal from Russia.
The government has said the Indonesian government has confirmed there will be no Russian aircraft on its bases, but whether a request was ever made has been a bit murkier.
Over the weekend, the opposition asked for more clarity on that question.
This morning, the health minister, Mark Butler, was asked the question on ABC News Breakfast, who repeated previous government lines.
As I understand things, our defence minister had a discussion with his Indonesian counterpart, and was assured that the reports that there was any prospect of a Russian air base in Indonesia were simply not true.
We were given the clearest possible assurance from our Indonesian neighbours that there was no prospect of a Russian air base in Indonesia.
Over on RN Breakfast, the employment minister, Murray Watt, was asked the same, and had the same answer:
Indonesia has made really clear that this is not happening. They couldn’t have made that more clear, and I think that was an incredibly embarrassing moment for Peter Dutton to have to withdraw that statement made about the president of one of our nearest neighbours and most important nations in our region.
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From ‘border to the back yard’: Dutton’s crime crackdown
Parents would be able to check whether they’re living near a child sex offender under an election promise by Peter Dutton to stamp out crime from the “border to the back yard”, AAP reports.
Should the Coalition win the 3 May election, it will spend more than $750m to improve community safety by tightening laws and the nation’s borders, in addition to extra resources for policing and intelligence agencies.
Under Operation Safer Communities, $355m in extra funding would go to national law enforcement authorities to crackdown on illegal drugs.
A pilot national sex offenders disclosure scheme would be set up to give parents more information about criminals in their communities.
The Coalition plan would see new laws introduced to disrupt organised criminal syndicates, including strengthening proceeds of crime and unexplained wealth laws.
Drug laws would be streamlined across the country to close gaps and improve cross-border police cooperation.
Dutton claimed safety had been compromised by Labor’s “weak leadership and bad decisions”.
I have the experience and determination to stand up to the outlaw motorcycle gangs and organised crime syndicates which are wreaking havoc on our streets and in our communities …
I will strengthen laws and provide more funding for our police and intelligence agencies to stop the crime gangs, protect our borders, and protect our community.
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Good morning
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, as we get closer to the pointy end of this federal election campaign, with just under a fortnight to go.
But many will be voting before 3 May, with early voting centres opening tomorrow.
This morning, the Coalition is continuing its campaign on crime, pitching a promise for a national child sex offender registry scheme and a commitment to bolster border protection against illegal drug imports.
We’ll follow all of that as it comes.
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