Federal election 2025 penultimate week: Faith and fighting words fuel subdued campaign for Albanese, Dutton

As the election campaign reaches its pointy end, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have kept the faith in the face of Easter celebrations and a papal death.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Both leaders followed in the footsteps of many Sydney families and took a pilgrimage to the Royal Easter show on Saturday.

The Opposition Leader came face-to-face with an alpaca and a slightly nervous cow, while the prime minister - donning an Akubra and a polo - cuddled a goat and sang the praises of Vegemite after Canada lifted its ban on the yeasty substance.

However, Pope Francis’s death on Monday evening put a damper on the holiday period as millions of Catholic Australians, including the prime minister, went into mourning.

Mr Albanese, who often declares Labor, the Rabbitohs and the Catholic church as his three faiths, offered a teary tribute to the pontiff before attending mass in Melbourne.

The Opposition Leader also took part in a service at a Sydney cathedral as both parties agreed to a campaign truce on Tuesday.

But the mudslinging restarted that evening when they took to the debate stage for the third time.

Asked by the moderator to drop talking points and “speak from the heart”, Mr Dutton continued to call the prime minister a liar as Mr Albanese accused the opposition leader of “not being fair dinkum”.

The campaign quickly returned to its usual scheduling as a Liberal politician was confronted over old comments about women.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie, who has been missing from the campaign for weeks, was asked about his 2018 remarks that the “fighting DNA of a close combat unit is best preserved when it’s exclusively male” when he re-emerged alongside Mr Dutton on Wednesday and said the coalition’s policy was open to women in frontline defence positions.

And for the third week in a row, the Opposition Leader was forced to clean up campaign missteps.

Mr Dutton clarified the coalition would axe an electric vehicle tax break after mishearing a question and saying they would not repeal the incentive, and also picked up after his immigration spokesman, who confused the coalition’s permanent migration target with skilled visa numbers.

The week ended on a sombre tone with both leaders attending Anzac Day dawn services, Mr Dutton in Queensland, and Mr Albanese at Canberra’s war memorial.

Mr Dutton also attended an Anzac Day eve ceremony alongside Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart and former prime minister Scott Morrison.

WHERE THEY WENT

The Prime Minister returned to the wild west to don the high-vis at a power station and grain centre, though he spent most of the public holidays in his home state, Victoria and the ACT.

Mr Dutton also took to WA, Victoria and NSW, but added the Apple Isle to his itinerary late in the week.

WHAT THEY PROMISED

Liberal will shore up an extra $21 billion on national security while Labor spruiked a $1.2 billion plan to stockpile critical minerals ahead of the May 3 election.

WHAT THEY SAID

• “Prime minister, you couldn’t lie straight in bed. Honestly, this is unbelievable,” Mr Dutton said.
• “It’s just abuse - that’s a sign of desperation, Peter,” Mr Albanese replied.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

With the exception of Wallabies captain-turned-senator David Pocock, politicians and sports do not mix.

Who could forget John Howard’s infamous half-tracker while visiting troops in Pakistan in 2005, Bob Hawke being smashed in the face by a cricket ball or Scott Morrison bowling over a child during a game of soccer during the last election campaign?

But Mr Albanese smashed stereotypes when he picked up a Steeden.

After showing off his detailed knowledge of rugby league history on the Sunday Footy Show, the Prime Minister excelled at Freddy Fittler’s pass-off challenge.

Shedding his blazer and rolling up his sleeves, the prime minister successfully passed the footy through the bullseye five times in a row, winning the approval of rugby league royalty like Mr Fittler and Andrew Johns, who were in attendance.