Second half of election campaign marked by historic interest rate rise
As the campaign passed the halfway mark, the RBA’s decision to lift historically low interest rates on Tuesday put pressure on both major parties to outline their plans to keep cost of living expenses under control as Australians face rising mortgage costs.
The Labor campaign continued it’s focus on inner-city suburban seats and the PM’s high-energy campaign criss-crossed the country visiting key marginals on the east and west coasts. The week ended with the second televised Leaders Debate last night. From defence to tourism to health, catch up on the week’s major announcements below.
In this edition:
- Who went where: Leader’s diary
- Coalition makes pitch to seniors, small businesses
- Albo under fire from the media on policy detail
Who went where: Leaders’ diary
The PM started the week with a visit to Parramatta to mark the end of Ramadan before heading to Melbourne to visit the marginal Labor-held seat of Corangamite on Monday afternoon.
He was in Melbourne with his Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to respond to the news on Tuesday that the RBA would increase the cash rate for the first time since 2010.
Heading to Adelaide on Wednesday to campaign in Boothby, the PM made local announcements about mental health services and tourism funding.
The Coalition’s campaign then headed West for the next two days, stopping in Melbourne for Mother’s Day and back to Sydney for the second Leaders Debate Sunday night.
The Leader of the Opposition spent Monday, a public holiday in Queensland, at Brisbane’s Labour Day rally with Premier Palaszczuk.
He then spent the rest of the week in marginal seats across Sydney and Melbourne, visiting the Victorian knife-edge seat of Chisholm on Wednesday with his education spokesperson Tanya Plibersek.
It was back to Tasmania on Saturday to officially launch Labor’s campaign in Tassie before marking Mother’s Day on Sunday in Sydney with Labor candidate for Bennelong Jerome Laxale.
Coalition makes pitch to seniors, small businesses
In a week focused on cost of living, the Prime Minister announced plans on Monday to expand eligibility for the Commonwealth seniors card – making 50,000 more senior Australians eligible for benefits. The policy was quickly matched by Labor’s health spokesperson Mark Butler.
The policy parity continued on Tuesday, when Labor also rushed to match the Coalition’s announcements on rural health. It followed criticism from peak medical bodies that both major parties had yet to announce substantive policies on health reform more than halfway into the campaign.
Both parties then pledged to freeze the deeming rate for two years after the RBA’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, guaranteeing the level of pension and social security income payments received by 900,000 Australians. While the RBA decision didn’t come as a surprise to many, it’s timing during the federal election is unfortunate for the Government as mortgage rate rises kick in just prior to polling day. The Prime Minister and Treasurer moved quickly on Tuesday to reassure voters the economy was stable and recovering post-COVID, but Labor’s efforts at pinning the blame on the Government were much more effective.
Focusing on their policy strengths, the Coalition on Thursday pledged to create 400,000 new small businesses if re-elected, and help reduce the impact of rising energy costs with a program to make it cheaper for small businesses to invest in efficient technologies.
In the shipbuilding state of Western Australia, the PM promised new defence industry jobs and investment in Australia’s special forces. The WA Liberals are fighting to retain a number of key seats in and around Perth and it’s the second time this campaign the PM has flown to the West to talk up his Government’s investments in defence.
Targeting tourism regions in key Coalition seats across the country including in Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia, Saturday’s tourism announcement promised $15 million for the wine, spirits and craft breweries sector.
On Mother’s Day, the Coalition promised more support for people accessing IVF treatment which was again matched by Labor.
The Leaders then met in Sydney for the campaign’s second debate hosted by Nine. It was a scrappy contest that viewers called narrowly for the Opposition Leader. With two unpopular leaders the debates are unlikely to have much of an impact during the campaign as pre-polls open today.
Albo under fire from the media on policy detail
The Leader of the Opposition faced a friendly crowd in Brisbane on Monday as he joined the Premier and union members at a Labour Day march, delivering an address focused on Labor’s plan to address low wages and insecure work.
As he campaigned in marginal seats in NSW, Albanese was forced to defend his Help to Buy housing policy after sustained attacks by the Government over it’s viability. He copped criticism from the travelling press pack for deferring to his housing spokesperson Jason Clare and failing to answer specific questions on how the policy would work.
Reuniting with Tanya Plibersek on Wednesday, he announced a plan to tackle the skills shortage crisis by investing in fee-free TAFE places – a critical issue so far overlooked by the Coalition this campaign.
The National Press Club on Wednesday hosted the Treasurer’s Debate, where Josh Frydenberg and Jim Chalmers delivered their pitches on who is better-qualified to manage Australia’s economy. The debate itself was inconsequential but Labor’s efforts to politicise the RBA’s interest rate decision have been slick. Chalmers – arguably Labor’s best retail politician – led a strong argument against the Government that will resonate with swinging voters grappling with mortgage repayment rises for the first time.
Having already been under pressure for a light policy platform, Albanese struggled through a press conference on Thursday when asked for detail on his NDIS policy. His failure to recall basic policy details has alarmed even some Labor colleagues, and the Coalition was quick to seize on it.
Albanese made some local commitments while in Tasmania on Saturday, and Labor announced a plan to support the free streaming of live sport and prominence of Australian content on TV.
Labor pledged $11 million for playgroups on Mother’s Day on Sunday, which also saw the issue of religious freedom come to the forefront of the election campaign for the first time. Both party leaders traded barbs over their support for the protection of gay and transgender students and the failed passage of the Coalition’s religious discrimination bill. The issue was a defining one in the 2019 campaign, with big swings towards the Coalition in Labor-held seats with large migrant populations.
The Opposition Leader heads into the second-last week of the campaign with a comfortable lead over the Coalition in Newspoll and a closing gap between him and Scott Morrison as preferred prime minister. With pre-polling booths open from today and a large number of voters expected to cast early votes, these last two weeks are critical for both campaigns.