Undecided voters have backed Anthony Albanese as preferred in the first debate of the federal election.
In Brisbane on Wednesday night, both leaders went head to head in a bid to convince voters why they would be the best fit for the next leader of the country.
The Sky News/Courier Mail debate kicked off with both men making a pitch for their vision to a room full of undecided voters, with Labor winning the first battle of three scheduled for the six week campaign.
Results from Sky News' People Forum showed 40 per cent of undecided were swayed by Labor's leader, while 35 per cent were convinced Scott Morrison was their preferred leader.
25 per cent of people among the audience following the debate said they were still undecided.
The cost of housing
The first question off the rank centred around the rising housing costs in Australia.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government through its first home buyer and HomeBuilder schemes had put more people in homes.
"We introduced a range of programs, the Home Guarantee Scheme, the HomeBuilder program, which gave people grants to support the building their own home and there was also the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation that was loaning to community housing organisations so they could build more affordable dwelling units," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Albanese responded by saying housing affordability was an issue felt across the country, with Labor promising more social and public housing and dedicated for essential workers.
Is aged care at risk?
The leaders were then probed on fixing staffing problems within the health sector, particularly aged care.
Mr Morrison said Labor's pledge to staff all aged care facilities with a registered nurse at all times would cause a number of facilities across the country to close down.
"If you go and make a standard of 24/7 nurses - because you asked me about rural and remote areas - if you make that the standard in aged care facilities right across Australia right now, then you will be closing aged care facilities in rural and regional communities right across the country," he said.
How will you ensure anti-corruption commission has teeth?
A question from an audience member asked both leaders what they would do to ensure any future anti-corruption commission had the "teeth" and power to make change.
Mr Albanese on the third question hit back on the Coalition's inability to implement a federal integrity commission, labelling the Liberal version toothless.
He said the spending of taxpayers needed scrutiny and faith needed to be restored in government.
"What we need is a national anti-corruption commission with teeth," Mr Albanese said.
"One which is able to control its own investigations. Their governance model would have ministers determine whether they can be investigated or not.
"I want an anti-corruption commission that will hold the political system to account because I believe in our democracy."
Another question poised to the leaders also focused on bringing faith back into the political process.
"There is so much disillusionment with our political processes in our political system," Mr Albanese said.
"That's one of the reasons why we do need a strong national anti corruption commission to restore that faith."
Mr Morrison tried to pivot his response to economic management saying its response during the COVID-19 had saved hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Scare campaigns and blame games
Duelling scare campaigns were also brought up, with Labor saying its claim the Coalition would seek to move pension payments to the cashless debit card system has not been ruled out.
Mr Albanese also said Labor would support turning back boats illegally coming to Australia, prompting a rebuttal from Mr Morrison who said the opposition did not back the policy in 2013.
"When you were deputy Prime Minister, why didn't you support turn backs then," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Albanese responded by saying the Coalition never proposed the turn back policy when Labor was last in government, prompting the prime minister to say he had designed it while shadow immigration minister.
"Turn backs were our policy ... I was the shadow immigration minister. I designed the policy," Mr Morrison said.
Questions on electric vehicles and funding for the National Disability Insurance Scheme were also raised by the audience.
Mr Albanese boasted previous Labor governments had been the ones which had instigated major reforms, with Mr Morrison responding it had always been Coalition governments which have had to try and pay for the programs.
Labor also claimed the government would seek to remove the 'better-off overall test' in the Coalition industrial relations reforms.
Hot topic: 'A Pacific stuff up'
China's assertion in the South Pacific was also brought up, with both parties claiming the super power's posture had changed.
However, Mr Morrison sledged Labor as pandering to China despite the question relating to the current government's deteriorating relationship with South Pacific partners.
"This has happened because China is seeking to interfere in the Pacific," Mr Morrison said.
"But what I don't understand is that when something of this significance takes place, why would you take China's side."
Mr Albanese said this was an "outrageous slur" made against Labor.
"The truth is that we all know that China has changed. China has changed its posture. It's more aggressive. It's more active in the region, and we need to understand that and respond to it," he said.
"They're not really stepping up, this isn't so much a Pacific step up. It's a Pacific stuff up. This is a major foreign policy failure by Australia."
ELECTION UNDER THE MICROSCOPE:
- Opinion: Plenty of Australians won't be winners this election campaign, writes Nicholas Stuart
- Analysis: Gotcha! Bushfires still burn PM but Albo knows the price of milk, writes Steve Evans
- Analysis: Albanese's gaffe gift to the government, writes Karen Barlow
- Opinion: Even the Coalition's 'strengths' are overblown, writes Crispin Hulld
