Australian news and politics recap March 31: Albo says revamped Nature Positive laws to return to Parliament

Health Minister Mark Butler recalls that it was then-prime minister Kevin Rudd who first promised to build the hospital in Midland.

“We built this hospital together, the Commonwealth and Western Australia government, and I’m so delighted that we’re here today to say that together, we will extend this hospital to meet the growing needs of the north-eastern suburbs of Perth and right into the Wheatbelt as well,” he says.

He also praises Labor candidate for Bullwinkel Trish Cook, who is a nurse, saying it would be terrific to add another health worker to Labor’s caucus.

Peter Dutton is determined to make this election a choice between alternative energy policies, telling voters they will be better off under the coalition despite not yet releasing analysis to prove his claim.

Taking his fight on Monday to the marginal Labor-held electorate of Paterson, in the Hunter region, the Opposition Leader visited a mining equipment manufacturer where he described the May 3 poll as a moment for Australians to ask themselves: “who do you trust to manage the economy” and deal with the cost of living.

He said people in the region had “a much higher energy IQ” than their city counterparts as he talked up his plan to build a nuclear power plant in the area.

But asked for the third day in a row how much Australians would be better off under his East Coast gas reservation policy, Mr Dutton still would not provide a figure.

“We will have, in terms of our offering at the next election to the Australian people, a definite plan about how we can reduce prices,” he said.

“Not just to keep downward pressure, but I want to reduce power prices, I want to reduce power prices because that is how we’re going to bring grocery prices down.”

Pressed again for a dollar figure, Mr Dutton said: “We will provide you with more detail as we said, but the point I make is there is a choice for Australians to make”.

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Anthony Albanese is now standing up in front of his giant “strengthening Medicare” banner which he has carted over to the St John of God Midland public hospital, in the seat of Hasluck.

Tania Lawrence won the seat for Labor in 2022, and is expected to hold onto it after the redistribution last year gave her a safer margin.

Mr Albanese starts by reminding West Australians he promised to visit WA 10 times a year – and this is his 30th trip.

“I’ve met that KPI, and I’ll exceed it, because chances are … I’ll be back over the next over the coming weeks,” he says.

He’s announcing a $200 million contribution towards the $355 million upgrade and expansion of the hospital.

Prime Minister Anthony Abanese will be speaking from WA in the next few minutes.

We’ll bring you all the latest from his press conference as it happens.

The Coalition has made much of its plans to cut 41,000 jobs from the public service, which is the biggest direct saving it has so far identified in its budget plans.

Mr Dutton is asked if he would follow the lead of his political mentor John Howard and seek to privatise elements, as Howard sold off Telstra.

“We’re not privatising the public service,” he says.

Last night, Mr Dutton visited a western Sydney mosque where he promised $25,000 for upgraded security. However, leaders from the mosque told The Daily Telegraph they didn’t want to see the Liberal leader’s presence there as them endorsing him.

Asked about this and whether he would publicly apologise for past comments that Malcolm Fraser made a mistake in allowing high levels of immigration from Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries, Mr Dutton says people should be able to live peacefully in Australia.

“I don’t tolerate attacks on mosques, not on churches, not on temples, not on any place of worship,” he says.

“So I don’t care where the acts of violence come from, I’ve consistently condemned them for a long period of time.”

Over the past year he has stridently condemned anti-Semitism and accused the Government of not doing enough to stamp it out.

Liberal senator Dave Sharma – a former ambassador to Israel – in December described Islamophobic incidents in Australia as “fictitious”.

Mr Dutton said on Monday he would take advice on whether to keep both the roles of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia envoy the Government has created to help stamp out religious hatred.

Peter Dutton is facing questions on the details, timing and likely public support of his plan for nuclear power.

He brings it back to Labor’s proposal for offshore wind – which faces local opposition – and support of the nascent and troubled green hydrogen industry.

“I want to make sure that we can have a strong energy market, because if we do that, we can create jobs and economic activity,” he says.

He accuses Labor having to “over-build” the system and repeats his claim it plans to build 28,000km of new electricity poles – which would nearly double the size of the east coast grid.

Labor says it only needs to build or upgrade about 5000km of poles and wires.

Peter Dutton is speaking at a mining equipment factory in the NSW town of Tomago, which is in the Labor-held marginal seat of Paterson.

The Liberal leader has long painted himself as the successor to John Howard, and he’s using the former prime minister’s successful lines from the election 20 years ago in this campaign.

“The next election really is about who do you trust to manage the economy,” Mr Dutton says today.

“Managing the economy is the way in which you’ll deal with the cost of living.”

He goes on to be quizzed about how much he plans to reduce people’s power prices. He promises details soon.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says Labor are not taking the polls for granted, remaining focused on telling Australians how the Party has helped them over the last three years.

“The (poll) results are still very close, so we take nothing for granted,” Ms Plibersek told Sunrise.

“That is why we will be super focused on making sure we tell people about all of the things that we have done to try to make their lives easier.

“Lower taxes, higher wages, cheaper childcare and medicines, more bulk-billed visits, university debt relief, free TAFE.

“Our whole focus is trying to make life a little easier for people.

“As the election approaches, people are looking at Peter Dutton and saying, ‘You have opposed all of this stuff and the cupboard is bare. You have nothing of your own to help us’.

“That is focusing people’s minds.”

Mr Joyce said he believes the new polls are accurate, however, added the election campaign has some way to go before May 3 and that Australians have a choice to make.

“I don’t doubt the polls, right. The polls would be correct,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise.

“The campaign is a long time.

“People have a chance to think.

“Do they think Mr Anthony Albanese, if issues with China start to ramp up, will be the person who has the strength to be able to deal with them?

“Do they believe the debt is something that the Labor Party has the capacity to control?

“These are the sort of questions that are constantly in the front of everyone’s mind.”