Federal election 2025 leaders debate four recap: Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton face off for last time
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are making their final pitches to voters less than a week out from polling day in their fourth and final leaders debate.
The pair will be hoping to sway the few undecided voters and avoid any live television blunders just days before Australians head to the polls.
Follow the debate, blow by blow, live with us below.
Key Events
Albo asked if we can trust Trump
Riley invokes Diana’s infamous interview to ask about Donald Trump: There’s a third person in this marriage and his name is Trump.
Can we trust him to be our protector? The PM says he’s got a good relationship with the US president.
“I start with people on 100 per cent trust, but he has different views, different values, and I support free and fair trade - he does not,” he said.
Dutton says Welcome to Country is ‘overdone’
The leaders have been asked about the recent Anzac Day clashes over whether Welcome to Country should be used in official ceremonies.
Both Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agree the scenes at dawn services in Perth and Melbourne involving far-right protesters were in poor taste.
But they’ve offered their thoughts into whether the Welcome to Country is overused at official events and how much they would plan to use them.
Riley introduced the issue by asking why the veterans who don’t agree with the Welcome to Country need to be welcomed to the land they fought for.
Mr Dutton said he would only use the Welcome to Country where he felt it necessary.
“I want to unite our country. I want every Australian to be equal. I want our country to be one,” he said.
“In relation to the Welcome to Country otherwise, I think it is, and people have said to me as we had moved across the country, that there is a sense across the community that it is overdone.
He said for things like the opening to Parliament, it makes sense to host but he didn’t agree it should be used for the start of every meeting at work “or the start of a football game”
“I think… Australians think it is overdone and cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do,” he said.
Albo defends Welcome to Country, Voice, Australia Day
Mr Albanese says it’s up to people to determine whether they have a Welcome to Country or not, but from his perspective for major events “it is of course a sign of respect”.
Mr Dutton is then asked whether he will continue to do them at selected events, to which he says events like the opening of Parliament would warrant a Welcome to Country.
He then attacks the PM about the doomed Voice to Parliament referendum.
Mr Albanese is asked why he dropped it “cold” afterwards” and responds by saying he respects the outcome because we live in a democracy.
Does he still believe in it? Mr Albanese says: “it is gone”.
“We need to find different paths to reconciliation,” he said.
“That process was not successful, and does that mean you should not consult with Indigenous people about matters that affect them? Of course, and that is what we are doing.”
Mr Albanese is then asked if we should change the date of Australia Day. The PM says no.
‘I won’t let him get away with this nonsense’: Albo
Mr Albanese has hit back at Mr Dutton’s offensive, delivering one of his best lines of the debate so far.
“Peter can attack me, but I won’t let him attack the wages of working people. I won’t let him attack the changes we’ve put in place for cheaper childcare,” the PM says.
“I won’t let him abandon free Tafe… I won’t let him get him away with this nonsense about economic managements.
“The Australian people have worked hard in order to get (inflation) under control, and they deserve better than this pretence that everything was hunky dory in 2022.”
Mr Dutton swiftly cuts in, accusing the PM of lying because if that was true people would be feeling better.
He cites a figure of groceries having gone up by 30 per cent. Mr Albanese asks where that number has come from, Mr Dutton doesn’t tell him where, but repeats it.
He adds that electricity has gone up by 32 per cent and gas is up 24 per cent.
Mr Albanese hits back: “That’s not right”.
Dutton blasts PM, says he should be ‘ashamed’
There’s been a tense back and forth between Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over cost of living measures, inflation and slashing tax.
The PM had accused Mr Dutton of planning to increase taxes for Australians if the Coalition was elected on May 3.
“He’s going to increase it. He’s going to this election campaign saying that he will increase the income tax of all 14 million Australians, and the changes that he’s spoken about will disappear in 12 months’ time. That is the difference (between parties),” Mr Albanese said.
His response fired up Mr Dutton and prompted him to turn to the PM directly and accuse him of being a liar.
Mr Dutton said “But that is just...I mean that is not true, Prime Minister. Honestly, this whole campaign, it’s hard to believe anything you say.
“You should be ashamed, frankly, over the past three years.
Riley put that to the PM, asking: “You should be ashamed and you’re a liar?”
‘Crazy, brave… or just crazy?’
Riley has asked Opposition Leader Peter Dutton if he’s “crazy” around his plans to repeal tax cuts.
“You say you have an aspiration to index the tax rates to alleviate the problem with bracket creep.
“Yet at the same time you’re going to this election… promising the people you will repeal a tax cut. I don’t know of any leader who’s ever done that. Is that crazy, brave… or just crazy?
“We’re reducing that overall tax burden on the family but we’re providing that as an interim solution until we can fix up Labor’s mess,” Dutton said.
“The biggest issue at the moment - and the Reserve Bank Governor has pointed this out - that the home-grown inflation under this Government, the massive spending, has led to inflation staying higher for longer.”
What difference will Labor’s tax cuts make?
Mr Albanese is asked about the $5 a week tax cuts, due to come into effect from next July, and what difference they’ll make given they’ll barely cover a cup of coffee.
The PM argues it’s a “top up” to add to the revamped stage three tax cuts.
“We’re also delivering a $1,000 instant tax deduction, which will make a difference, particularly for low and middle-income earners,” he says.
And he’s cut off before he can say anything else of note.
Dutton promises suite of measures for housing crisis
Both leaders insist they’re acting on fixing the barriers that stop young Australians from getting into the housing market.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has opened this section of the debate and argued that the Coalition is trying to shake up the market to let people get a foot on the property ladder.
“What we’ve seen is Australians being displaced from home ownership, and our young Australians now, saving harder than ever, paying more rent than ever. They’re locked out of the market,” he said.
“It looks like a nightmare.
“So, what we’ve said is we want to work with councils to bring 500,000 blocks of land online through a $5 billion scheme for first home buyers, a $650,000 mortgage or up to that amount, you can deduct the interest off your taxable income, which will give you about $1,000 a month, which will help you with your application to the bank.
“But also, it will help you meet the monthly repayments.
“We’re going to put a two-year ban in place for foreigners from competing against young Australians in the housing market, and we’re going to cut migration by 25 per cent.”
He used his turn to slam Labor for allowing young Australians to lose the dream of home ownership.
Negative gearing ‘off the table’: Albo
Mr Albanese is asked, again, to categorically rule out any changes to negative gearing.
Changes to negative gearing was recommended by the Labor Party in 2016 and 2019, and Treasury has done work on it in this term.
Mr Albanese says: “it was, and we moved on”.
“Because the key is supply, and that measure will not boost supply. That is what we have been concentrating on.”
Mr Dutton says he doesn’t believe Mr Albanese because the PM “said before the last election that there’d be no changes to superannuation, and the Prime Minister’s introduced a tax which taxes an unrealised capital gain”.
Albanese describes his Australian dream
Mr Albanese says the housing crisis has been a decade in the making, taking aim at the former Government for not doing enough.
He says Llabor has developed a solution, namely expanding the five per cent first home buyer deposit scheme while also tackling housing supply.
“That’s why our measures whether it be increased private rentals through our incentive for build-to-rent programs, or first home buyers scheme or whether it be the increased support for social housing, we are concentrating on supply, not just demand, because we know that’s the key going forward,” he said.
