Australian news and politics recap April 7: Dutton hopes turning to cost of petrol will fuel path to victory

Voters are running out of time to make sure they’re able to cast their ballot in the upcoming federal election.

The electoral roll will close at 8pm on Monday, with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) urging people to update their details.

The May 3 federal poll will have a record high number of voters on the roll, but electoral commissioner Jeff Pope said the deadline is fast approaching for people to ensure they are eligible.

“The fastest way to enrol is by completing the online enrolment form on the AEC website. Don’t delay and join the 18 million Australians currently on the roll,” he said.

“This federal election will have the best democratic base for participation our country has ever had.”

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has used the ASX bloodbath as an opportunity to spruik the Coalition’s economic management skills.

“In uncertain times, our country needs strong economic management,” Mr Dutton wrote on X, addressing the global hit to markets.

“The Coalition has the proven track record for handling global shocks – from September 11 to COVID.

“Ahead of the Global financial crisis, the Coalition delivered 10 surpluses and paid off all Commonwealth debt.

“Before Covid, the Coalition tackled Labor’s reckless spending to balance the budget.

“Just over a week ago, in their fourth budget, Labor announced 10 straight years of deficits. This has to change - for this generation and the next.

“In this campaign, the choice is about who can better manage our economy to help you get ahead.

“That is the plan I’m putting on the table, it’s our plan to get Australia back on track.”

The Prime Minister has wasted no time in capitalising on the Coalition’s backflip on its work from home policy for Canberra-based public servants.

Anthony Albanese attended the family home of Matthew Delaney and Milly Muhrer, who live in the Melbourne suburb of Wallan, in the seat of McEwen, held by Labor on a 3.3 per cent margin.

They work in finance and education, respectively - and are not public servants - so would not have been impacted by the Coalition’s proposed policy, but said working from home saves their family hundreds of dollars a week and means they can spent quality time with their children Winifred, 8, and Laurance, 4.

“Yeah, the main thing for me is the cost, petrol and then 20 bucks to park at the other end. It just saves so much money,” Matthew said.

“And also, to be able to do after school activities - it makes such a big difference.”

“I wouldn’t be a teacher without it (work from home),” Milly said.

“It’s really important that we have that flexibility, because so much of our life would have been completely different.”

“I’d have to do shift work again, I worked night shift before this.”

The AUKUS deal with the United States and United Kingdom will “underpin our security for the next century,” Coalition Leader Peter Dutton says.

Mr Dutton takes credit for the previous Coalition government landing the $368 billion AUKUS submarine program, which was unveiled in September 2021.

It aims to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine capability for Australia with the help of the US and the UK, as well as boosting trilateral defence cooperation on cyber and artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.

Mr Dutton says the country is safe in his hands.

“When I was home affairs minister, I took the decision to deport 6000 criminals from our country, people who have committed rape and sexual offenses against children.

I’ve spent my entire adult life as a police officer, as immigration minister, as Home Affairs Minister, working to keep our community and our country safe.”

Peter Dutton is talking up the Coalition’s “positive plan for this country” and the Opposition’s economic plans for getting Australia back on track.

“We’re going to do it by dropping the price of petrol by 25 cents a litre from the first day. And that will help families, it will help small businesses, it’ll help trainees, it’ll help pensioners and with our gas reservations,” he says.

Mr Dutton is on the attack over Labor’s economic management, especially at a time of global uncertainty.

“At the moment, families who have seen 12 interest rate increases under Mr. Albanese, who have seen their household budgets go back in seven consecutive quarters, where effectively they’ve gone back.

Families are $50,000 worse off. People are not insuring their homes or their cars at the moment, just to save money. People are pulling their kids out of low-fee paying schools to just make sure their budgets can be balanced,” he says.

He turns to the future, amid fears of a global recession under Washington’s new trade regime and ongoing crises in Europe and the Middle East.

“If there is a global recession, if the United States goes into recession, if there is a broader war in Europe, if there is an attack by Iran in the Middle East, if we see uncertainty in trading routes in the South China Sea, then Australia is going to have an impact from all of that.

“And Australians need to know that they’ve got a government in Canberra that can deal with uncertain times economically and in the national security sense as well. That’s what a coalition government is.”

Coalition Leader Peter Dutton is talking up his economic and housing policies in Sturt, South Australia, slamming Labor’s economic management of the country.

The Coalition has spruiked a plan to free up more homes and tackle the country’s housing crisis by slashing migration by 25 per cent.

On Sunday, it also laid out a proposal to cut international student numbers that has been strongly criticised by the universities sector, who say it risks financial ruin for educational institutions.

But Mr Dutton doubles down on his policies, telling reporters that: “I want to be a prime minister to restore the dream of home ownership, and we’re cutting migration by 25 per cent because we want young Australians to get into housing.

“I don’t want Australians to be locked out of housing, which is what’s happened under this Labor government,” he says.

Peter Dutton has sidestepped a question about why the Coalition has backflipped on its work-from-home policy, blaming a “scare campaign” from Labor.

The Coalition did a U-turn on Sunday, dropping its demands that public servants return to the office.

Asked at a press conference in Sturt, South Australia, how bad the polling was on the Coalition’s WFH policy, especially with women, Mr Dutton switched to attacking Labor.

“The objective for us is to make sure that we can win the next election, so that we can manage the economy well, that we can support families get through what’s been a really difficult period. People can’t afford three more years of Labor,” he said.

“We strongly support flexible workplace relay arrangements, and they’ve never had any application to any part of the economy, except for public service in Canberra,” he continued.

“But that’s not how Labor’s portrayed it. I think you see a lot of scare campaign from Labor in this election campaign because they don’t have a good story, a positive story, to talk about.”

Anthony Albanese has crept into majority government territory based on the latest polling.

The Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, shows Labor has picked up one point for a 52-48 per cent lead on a two-party preferred basis.

Labor won a single-seat, majority government at the last election with 52 per cent of the vote once preferences had been dished out.

However, Labor’s underlying support sits at 33 per cent of the primary vote, trailing the Coalition’s 36 per cent forecast primary vote, the Newspoll shows.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has fronted the media with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan as her State Government continues to suffer diminishing popularity.

Last week, a Resolve Political Monitor poll found support for Ms Allan’s Government had fallen to just 24 per cent.

Mr Albanese wouldn’t be drawn on how much Victorians like the Labor State Premier, however, Ms Allan was happy to shut down the conversation.

“What I know Victorians are focused on is a choice, a choice between a prime minister and the Labor Government that’s backing Medicare, that’s backing the infrastructure projects our city and state needs and wants, as opposed to a Dutton Government and a Liberal offering that is all about cuts,” Ms Allan said alongside the PM.

“That’s what Victorians are focused on. And I can tell you quite clearly, that’s also what I’m focused on, and I’ll be fighting for Victorians every single day.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has admitted the Coalition “made a mistake” in having a policy that was going to force public servants back into the office full time.

Mr Dutton has now reversed the policy and apologised.

“We apologise for that and we’ve dealt with it,” he said on Nine.

Although Mr Dutton apologised, he’s accused Labor of “twisting this into something it wasn’t”.

“Our intention always was to make sure that we’re getting... taxpayers are working and their money is being spent to pay wages... that it’s being spent effectively,” Mr Dutton said.

“And that, of course, will always be the case. We want to spend taxpayers’ money efficiently, but I think Labor’s been able to get away with twisting this into something it wasn’t.

“We never had any intention for work from home changes that we were proposing in Canberra to apply across the private sector, but the Prime Minister was out there saying that.

“It was just a lie.

“But we’re not going to be framed up by a Prime Minister who’s got a real problem with the truth.”