Australian news and politics recap May 2: Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese make final pitches to voters

Both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are out early today, making their final pitches to voters ahead of polling day tomorrow.

The Prime Minister has started the day in the Brisbane seat of Longman. It’s held by the LNP with a 3.1 per cent margin, and shows Labor still believes it can pick up some seats this election.

He’s expected to make one last stop in Brisbane before heading south, likely to Tasmania and Victoria.

The Opposition Leader has meanwhile started the day in Adelaide, in the safe Labor seat of Makin. The Coalition’s chances of winning that seat are slim, but pictures tell a thousand words.

He’s up to seat 16 of his 28-seat final blitz.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is next up on ABC’s AM to give his final pitch to voters.

He’s asked where the Coalition’s campaign has gone wrong, to which Mr Dutton says he’s hopeful of a 2019 result.

“I think we’re seeing a 2019 situation, where you’ve got a lot of interesting contests playing on the ground, where we’ve had a very significant effort by great candidates,” he said.

“I think there will be some big surprises on election night, because people have had enough.”

He says the Coalition is “in for the fight of our lives”.

“If you look at the seat-by-seat analysis, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can win this election. That’s exactly what happened in 2019 when quiet Australians went into the polling booth and said ‘I’m not going to reward the PM for the previous three years’. I think Australians are in that frame of mind,” he said.

Anthony Albanese says he has a “mountain to climb” and can’t rule out a 2019-style election day shock result.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has this morning said he believes Saturday could produce a 2019 Scott Morrison-style miracle for the Coalition thanks to “quiet, angry Australians”.

Asked on ABC Radio whether he was worried the polls could be wrong, the Prime Minister said he “certainly take(s) nothing for granted”.

“I think 2019 shows the folly of pretending that you know the outcome of an election before the ballots are counted,” he said.

Stopping by a box of Western Australian’s iconic Bravo apple, Mr Dutton made some remarks about the stop and his last full day on the campaign trail before polls open tomorrow.

“Nice fresh start to the day,” he said.

He urged voters to reject three more years of Labor at the ballot box due to rising costs, including electricity and gas prices.

He argued that only a Coalition government can manage the economy effectively, reduce inflation, and alleviate the cost of living crisis.

“Australians will make a decision,” Mr Dutton said.

“Right up until polls close, people are contemplating ‘what does our future as a country look like?’

“We can’t afford three more years of Labor.

“We can’t afford three more years of higher costs, higher electricity prices, higher gas prices, young people being locked out of the housing market.”

Labor’s Minister for Education, Jason Clare predicts an election result will be known “late” on Saturday night.

“With all of the chaos happening overseas, Australians want stability here,” he told Sunrise.

“They want a Prime Minister like Anthony Albanese who has a positive plan for the country, whether it is cutting taxes, making it easier to see the doctor for free or cutting HECS debt by 20 per cent.”

Mr Clare went on to explain that the election result will ‘go down to the wire’ due to small fights in seats around the country, like seen with the growing support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.

“Tomorrow night, when people tune in to Channel 7 for results, they are going to see.

“They will see how close it is and the result will go down to the wire.”

As multiple polls project a Labor victory in either majority or minority, Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley has brushed off concerns for a Coalition victory.

“The only poll that counts is the poll on election day,” she told Sunrise.

“We have a positive plan for Australia’s future to cut the fuel tax by 25 cents a litre, to give up to 10 million Australians up to $1,200 in cost-of-living relief to address the cost of living crisis..

Asked if she was happy with how the campaign had unfolded, Ms Ley said: “I have been around the pre-polls and communicating with so many Australians over the past few weeks, and look, they are telling many how tough it is out there.”

“We have seen the biggest drop in living standards in Australia’s history.

“We have to get this country back on track and turn things around.”

Anthony Albanese is starting his final day of campaigning in, you guessed it, a Medicare urgent care clinic.

He started his election campaign in an urgent care clinic in Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson.

This one is in neighbouring Longman, held by Liberal Terry Young with a margin of 3.1 per cent.

Labor’s Rhiannyn Douglas is contesting it this time.

Mr Albanese has made healthcare central to his campaign, both in terms of his offering to voters and his attacks on Mr Dutton.

Peter Dutton has started his morning in the Adelaide seat of Makin.

He will be joined by Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston and the local Liberal candidate Irena Zagladov.

Makin is a safe Labor seat held by Tony Zappia.

It marks the 16

time the Opposition Leader has visited in the past week on an ambitious 28-seat blitz.

But on the last full day of campaigning, it’s questionable whether he’ll reach his target.

The Liberal leader is expected to tour the South Australian produce market to talk about the cost of energy and fuel.

Australians could soon have a hung parliament, a closely watched election poll has revealed.

The final AFR/Freshwater Strategy poll, released on Thursday night before voting day on Saturday, shows Labor ahead of the Coalition 51.5 per cent to 48.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

Labor’s primary vote sits at 33 per cent, while the Coalition’s is at 37 per cent.

Independents, meanwhile, are on track to secure 18 per cent of the vote, while the Greens look set to nab 12 per cent.

The poll shows a 0.6 per cent swing towards Labor from the 2022 election, and if that swing holds across all electorates, the firm estimates Labor could jag a slim majority of 76 seats.

But when the polling company ran simulations taking in demographic and regional variations, it expected Labor to win 74 seats and the Coalition to finish with 64 seats.

The results come in below other polling that shows Labor on track for majority government.

The final Redbridge polls shows Labor ahead of the Coalition 53-47 on the two party preferred vote.

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