Federal election 2025 leaders debate four recap: Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton face off for last time

It’s been a big night - and now we’re geting ready for the final sprint!

In an election campaign that has effectively already been running since last year, we are now into the final week.

Has Peter Dutton done enough to convince voters he’s worth a crack?

Has Anthony Albanese done enough to convince voters he deserves a second term?

We’ll find out in just six days’ time.

Scroll down to recap the final leaders debate and stay tuned to thenightly.com.au for all the latest news and updates as we head into the final week of the 2025 Federal election.

Thanks for joining us!

Anthony Albanese has won the debate with 50 per cent of the vote.

Peter Dutton won over 25 per cent of undecided voters, with 25 per cent still not swayed either way.

The results are in from the undecided voters, via Caitlyn Rintoul who is in 7’s Sydney studio.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been declared the winner with 50 per cent of the audience backing his performance.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton only received 25 per cent, while 25 per cent remained undecided.

This is just the live audience vote, we’re still yet to hear who the overall winner is.

We’re not far off finding out who won the debate, according to 7NEWS’ panel and the undecided voters in the audience.

We’ll bring you the result the moment it lands.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has spoken following the debate, claiming Peter Dutton ‘lost his cool’ during the clash.

“Tonight, we saw Peter Dutton lose his cool. We saw him drop his bundle.

“We saw him with a number of unhinged rants which are unbecoming of the alternative prime minister of this country. Volatile times are the worst time for a volatile leader like Peter Dutton.”

Coalition senator James Paterson says Anthony Albanese failed to answer the question that should have been the easiest.

The PM was asked what was going to do go down in cost if he was re-elected.

It was a question he stumbled over, before saying TAFE, childcare and income tax.

“It should have been an easy question, because at the last election, the Prime Minister promised that the cost of everything would go down if he won the election, including people’s mortgages,” Senator Paterson said.

“But that hasn’t been Australians’ experience, and maybe that’s why the Prime Minister stumbled so badly through that answer, he wasn’t able to provide any concrete answers into what is going to go down under his prime ministership if he’s elected for a second term, and I think Australians know that’s true, nothing will go down.

“If Anthony Albanese is re elected for another term, everything will keep going up, as it has in his first term.”

Mr Albanese closes the debate by telling viewers he’s “optimistic about Australia’s future”.

“What gives me hope is the resilience, the courage, the optimism of the Australian people,” he said.

He says Labor is committed to investing in the country.

“That is why we are working so hard with the Australian people to bring down inflation,” he said.

“If we get it right, the future is so bright for us because we live in the fastest growing region of the world in human history and our people are our greatest asset, including our multiculturalism of course gives us those direct links to the economies of Asia.”

Mr Dutton has delivered his closing statement.

He has again pinned himself as the best option to manage the economy in an uncertain time and posed the question to voters whether they feel better off after the past three years of a Labor Government.

“I believe we live in the greatest country in the world,” he said.

“I know that many Australians are really doing it tough at the moment.

“I don’t believe Australians can afford three more years of increased costs of everything.

“I want to make sure we can deliver support immediately through the 25 cent a litre cut in fuel tax, the $1,200 tax rebate and I want to make sure that we can transform our energy market, get more gas into the system and bring the wholesale price of gas down by 23 per cent.

“If people vote for the Liberal and National candidate at this election, we can get our country back on track.”

Peter Dutton has fired up over the ALP’s energy plan.

“Prime Minister, you will wreck the economy,” he said.

“You’re doing it now, and that’s why families are suffering.”

Mr Albanese thinks “Australia” when he sees a photo of a Medicare card

Mr Dutton sees “a great system”.

It sparks a bit of a stoush over Medicare, with Mr Albanese reaching into the ‘Mediscare” playbook.