Federal election 2025: The good, the bad and the ugly of the campaign unpacked

You can hardly blame Australians for being late to the party when it comes to elections.

Many people don’t tune in until the last minute because, let’s face it, who really wants to watch two men in suits talking themselves up while sticking knives into their opponent.

How many times can they really bang on about the cost of living, housing, energy prices and Medicare without seeing voters’ eyes glaze over?

But as much as politicians can try and talk us into a state of lethargy, there are factors outside of their control that have made this election one to watch.

A supposed Chinese “spy ship”. Russian war planes. A seemingly innocent fall off a Newcastle stage. And the ever unpredictable US President, who has emerged as the third candidate in this election.

Here are some of the defining moments of the past five weeks.

WEEK ONE

THE GOOD

The Coalition started the campaign on a competitive footing, with opinion polls pointing to a narrow gap in the two-party preferred vote and a likely outcome of a hung parliament. If the pollsters are to be believed, it’s the high point for the Coalition before Mr Dutton’s campaign unravelled . . . or failed to get off the ground, depending on which way you look at it.

THE BAD

Labor is given a free kick in the first week when Mr Dutton said he wouldn’t live in The Lodge if he becomes prime minister, telling Sydney radio hosts he would “take Sydney any day over living in Canberra”. Labor seized on the comments, accusing the Opposition Leader of “measuring the curtains at Kirribilli House” while having no respect for the people of Canberra.

Mr Albanese experienced his roughest day of the campaign, copping the fallout from Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs before literally falling off a stage at a Mining and Energy Union conference while in Cessnock in NSW. The simple mishap turned bizarre when the PM tried to claim he “didn’t fall . . . just one leg went down, but I was sweet.”

THE UGLY

Extremist gatecrashers made their presence known early in the campaign. A climate protester was able to get within an arm’s reach of Mr Dutton on his first day campaigning in Queensland, triggering heightened security that limited spontaneous interactions with the general public. The PM was also targeted by alleged neo-nazis who gatecrashed his press conference in Brisbane.

WEEK TWO

THE GOOD

Many — including from within the Coalition’s camp — have found it difficult to crack Mr Dutton’s “hard man” persona and convey a softer side to voters. But the Opposition Leader spoke personally on a range of issues at The West Australian’s Leadership Matters event in Perth, including how politics is a “brutal business” after a Brisbane boy was charged over an alleged terror plot targeting his home. In another moment of emotional candour, he described his family and his experience on the beat as a police officer in the 1990s as a driving force behind his ambition for the top job.

THE BAD

Just when the PM thought he was done with Chinese ships, a sea-floor research vessel appeared off the South Australian coast. Mr Albanese said he would “prefer” it wasn’t there but admitted he couldn’t do anything about it. He said Australia conducts similar moves in the Taiwan Strait, sparking a furious reaction from the Opposition who said it was equating the behaviour of the Australian Defence Force to the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr Dutton admitted the Coalition’s plan to force public servants back into the office was a “mistake” in his first major backflip of the campaign. Polling shows both leaders are on the nose with female voters but Mr Dutton doesn’t say whether this impacted his decision. He also walks back plans to axe 41,000 government jobs over the next five years through forced redundancies.

THE UGLY

The first blood is spilled after a cameraman is hit in the head by a footy following a stray kick from the Opposition Leader in Darwin. Mr Dutton apologised to the man, who was later seen sporting a bandage around his forehead and joking with colleagues after the accident.

WEEK THREE

THE GOOD

The leaders held their campaign launches with party faithful on the same Sunday (April 13), with the PM in Perth and the Opposition Leader in Western Sydney. Both unveiled last-ditch appeals to voters and sweeteners on tax cuts and mortgage relief. It’s good to see first-homebuyers and young people finally getting some attention, but it’s also clear this election has become a spendathon.

THE BAD

Mr Dutton made another blunder, jumping on a report that Russia was trying to base military aircraft in Indonesia — which would put fighter jets about 1400km north of Darwin — and incorrectly claiming the country’s president had publicly announced Russia’s request. While neither the Australian Government nor Indonesia categorically ruled out the request from Russia, Mr Dutton admitted during the second leaders’ debate he wrongly claimed Indonesia’s president had first made comments on the issue.

Housing is apparently fine to talk about as a policy issue — just don’t ask what goes on behind closed doors. Both Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton dodged questions around whether they would help their own children with housing deposits after announcing policies to help more Australians crack the market. Mr Dutton, who brought his son Harry on the campaign trail and spoke about how first-homebuyers shouldn’t have to rely on “the bank of Mum and Dad”, eventually said he would help him “at some stage”. The PM argued “families don’t have a place in these issues”.

THE UGLY

There’s nothing more embarrassing than going in for a hug and being snubbed — except for when that moment is caught on national TV. The PM appeared to block a hug and a kiss from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek as he greeted members of his frontbench during his campaign launch. A number of others were also given the cold shoulder including Resources Minister Madeleine King, Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman and Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh. They insisted they weren’t offended, but a post-election cabinet reshuffle could reveal otherwise.

WEEK FOUR

THE GOOD

The Coalition gets some serious momentum this week. Its pledge to inject $21 billion into Australia’s defence is the shot in the arm the it needs in the penultimate week of the campaign. Mr Dutton has vowed to increase defence funding to 2.5 per cent of GDP within five years, if elected prime minister, before lifting that figure to the Trump administration’s 3 per cent target. He also delivers his strongest performance yet in the third leaders’ debate.

Labor also manages to cut through with its pledge to spend at least $1.2 billion buying critical minerals to stockpile, which will form part of Australia’s response to Mr Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs and is tipped to be particularly beneficial for WA.

THE BAD

The world is rocked by news of the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Campaigning is briefly suspended out of respect for the late pontiff.

Another confusing backflip by Mr Dutton, this time on scrapping Labor’s tax breaks for electric vehicles. The Opposition Leader pledged not to repeal the fringe benefits tax exemption for electric vehicles, which has soared in popularity since it was introduced by Labor in 2022. However, he has since confirmed the Coalition would axe the scheme, describing it as “wasteful spending”.

THE UGLY

The stage saga refuses to go away. Just when we think Mr Albanese has finally admitted his blunder — confessing his worst moment of the campaign was when he fell off a stage in the first week of campaigning — he backtracked at a press conference later by saying he “stumbled” off the stage and “didn’t fall over on my backside”. Of all the hills to die on, this one hardly seems worth it.

Disruptions during Indigenous acknowledgements at Anzac Day dawn services in Perth and Melbourne left crowds stunned and were slammed as an “act of low cowardice” by Mr Albanese. Mr Dutton echoed his sentiments.

WEEK FIVE

THE GOOD

Western Australia received yet another visit from both leaders as they made their final pitches to voters before polling day, cementing the State’s status as a crucial battleground. Voters in a handful of WA electorates could decide the fate of Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton, with Bullwinkel, Tangney, Curtin and Pearce among the seats to watch.

THE BAD

Mr Dutton gets the price of a dozen eggs wildly wrong during Channel 7’s Leaders’ Debate. He says a carton costs $4.20, which is about half of the average price in supermarkets at the moment. We know the leaders don’t do their own shopping, but Australians expect them to be across the cost of living — which has been the foundation for both campaigns.

The wheels all-but fell off the Coalition’s campaign when one of its buses broke down in the middle of central Sydney traffic. Fortunately the bus is carrying the travelling media, who are able to capture the hiccup before their muscles are needed to help push. The one saving grace is that the bus wasn’t branded with the Coalition’s campaign slogan pledging to get Australia “back on track”.

THE UGLY

The Brisbane electorate office of Mr Dutton is vandalised for the third time in two weeks, with litres of red paint splashed across its windows. An 18-year-old woman has since been arrested and charged.