Australia Institute Live: Day 27 of the 2025 election campaign. As it happened.

On that note, we are going to shut the blog down for the long weekend – but we will be back on Monday, bright and early for the final week.

We are also finalising plans for an election night pre-game – we will have Richard Denniss, Ebony Bennett and guests talking through the election, voting and some of Australia’s big issues on Saturday night, before you all turn over to the ABC’s election coverage for Antony Green’s swan song.

And we are working on a commenting feature – so we should be able to talk to you guys directly soon, and hopefully you’ll also be able to have a chat to each other as well.

The next week is going to be INTENSE. So use these next three days to take a few moments away from politics. It’s important.

I’ll chat to you soon, but you can always reach me if you need me – on the socials, or the email.

Until then, do good and take care of you. Ax

And while it is not getting a lot of attention on the campaign, this is also good to remember

Allegra Spender has also weighed into domestic, family and sexual violence policy and wants to see the recommendations from the Unlocking the Prevention Potential Report (the Rapid Review) – accelerating action to end domestic, family and sexual violence implemented.

The Rapid Review was released last August, but the government is yet to set a timetable for implementing its recommendations. 

Just last week another young woman, Claire Austin was killed.  Australian Femicide Watch, reports 22 Australian women have been killed this year, including Ms Austin.  

“Claire Austin died in our community, and people are reeling from this shocking loss.  

“Her death coincided with the first anniversary of the Bondi Junction attack where six people, including five women, tragically died.” 

Last year, the 6-person expert panel delivered the Rapid Review which outlined 21 recommendations covering a range of topics from youth programs, better data collection, and a primary prevention fund.  

Resources minister Madeleine King was asked a little earlier today on Sky News which of the 31 critical minerals and rare earths Australia has, would be prioritised by an Albanese government.

She said:

We will have a process around that we do have to prioritise some of those 31 minerals, and that will be a process of consultation with industry and those that are literally extracting this from the ground and capital investment as well. Because we need to be really thorough about assessing where the risks are posed in the supply chains. And every one of the 31 critical minerals has its challenges, but some have more challenges than others at particular times, and so we will go through a process. We’re not about guessing what’s the best thing to do. It’s about working through this thoroughly and diligently and with thoughtfulness and, of course, evidence, and that’s what’s going to be really
important.

Amnesty International has issued a brutal smack-down of the coalition’s plan to review the security clearances of Palestinian visa holders fleeing the genocide in Gaza.

In a statement which has just been circulated to Australian media outlets, Amnesty says it is

extremely concerned about the plight of Palestinian women, men and children who have fled Israel’s ongoing genocide, marked by horrific bombardment, forced displacement and weaponised starvation.

It points out that ASIO has already checked each applicant.

Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International’s Occupied Palestinian Territory spokesperson, says:

Palestinians arriving in Australia are ordinary women, men and children escaping genocide inflicted by Israel. They are survivors of a brutal military campaign that has forced them to endure war crime after war crime. Palestinian visa holders who have arrived in Australia have already undergone extensive security assessments, including by ASIO, which represent a far higher standard than any other group. For Dutton to demand their rescreening as part of an election campaign is inflammatory, discriminatory and a clear demonstration of anit-Palestinian racism being weaponised in an effort to win votes.

Amnesty says Peter Dutton‘s rhetoric on this issue blatantly disregards the lived
reality of Palestinians enduring genocide, an unlawful military occupation and a dehumanising system of apartheid.

More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, over 117,000 wounded and thousands of bodies remain trapped beneath the rubble. Those who survive and flee these horrors deserve protection— not to be targeted or alienated through divisive political tactics. Current humanitarian pathways are grossly inadequate and must be substantially revised to address the scale of suffering caused by the ongoing genocide.

Meanwhile, don’t be scared of the hung parliament

The Coalition’s (quiet) announcement that it will restore the activity test for subsidised childcare is getting attention on the socials. It has also become part of the campaign for some independent candidates:

The amount committed by both political parties to preventing domestic and family violence suggests they believe there are other, more important, priorities

Election campaigns are when political parties tell us their priorities – they will structure their campaigns around certain themes, all designed to show voters that they are listening and they care.

But these priorities are often limited by notional and often arbitrary lines about what can be afforded to be done. Before the Budget this year, for example, the Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said: “as Finance Minister, I probably get a hundred good ideas for one that we can do.”

Because election commitments are accompanied by costings, voters can get a real sense of what political parties truly think are their priorities – and how much they are willing to spend when something is for them a priority.

Across the community, there is serious concern about the prevention of domestic and family violence. Until today, it hasn’t really featured in the campaign. So far in the campaign, Labor have promised $8.6 million in additional spending to tackle domestic and family violence. While today the Liberal Party has just announced a $90 million policy.

How much is that money? Surely it is sizeable given for example Peter Dutton said this morning that “most every measure in this space is supported on bipartisan basis because everyone accepts the fact that the scourge of violence and domestic violence, financial coercion and every aspect in this debate is completely and widly unacceptable in our society and we should do everything together to try to defeat it and work toward a better outcome for individuals and for our country as well.”

Surely, if it is bipartisan and a scourge (which it most certainly is), there would be no real limit to the amount that could be spent?

And yet, while this election has seen ‘security’ on the agenda, from announcements of big new defence spending to the ongoing non-story about an Indonesian airbase, both major parties have failed to recognise that ‘security’ should mean “keeping Australians safe”.

Importantly, this should include efforts to end one of the largest threats to the safety of Australians: domestic and family violence. Domestic and family violence is a serious and ongoing threat to the security and safety of Australians. On average, one woman was killed every ten days by a current or former partner in 2024.

Unfortunately for Australia’s political mainstream, security more often means ensuring Australia has the newest and fanciest submarines, aircraft and other weapons. The priorities of both major parties can be seen by looking at their announced election commitments. The Coalition has just announced a $90 million domestic violence strategy, which is less than a fiftieth (1.5%) of its $6 billion one-off cut to fuel excise and less than half a per cent (0.4%) of its $21 billion promised increase to defence spending.

Election commitments reflect the concerns of political parties. The amount spent on domestic and family violence prevention, however, suggests that both parties are spending just enough to make it seem like they care, but nowhere near as much as for things that they truly believe are priorities.

Don Farrell is off to Rome for the Pope’s funeral:

Today, I will travel to Rome, Italy to attend the funeral service of His Holiness Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, alongside Governor-General Sam Mostyn and Michael McCormack MP.

Pope Francis was an inspiring, global leader who championed compassion, peace, and unity.

He will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to social justice and his dedication to serve those most in need.

His message resonated deeply with people of all faiths and backgrounds, including millions of Australians.

It is one of the greatest honours to represent Australia, and our Catholic communities, at this solemn occasion and to pay our nation’s respects alongside leaders from around the world.

We should never forget his message of protecting the poor and the marginalised.

May His Holiness Pope Francis rest in eternal peace.

AAP has also covered the womens’ forum Women’s Agenda hosted earlier today:

Women have much to consider at the upcoming election, with politicians urging them to exercise their power at the ballot box.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, Greens senator Larissa Waters and independent MP Allegra Spender attended a panel discussion on the key issues impacting women, hosted by news outlet Women’s Agenda.

Shadow minister for women Sussan Ley declined an invitation to take part in the panel, Women’s Agenda said. 

The wide-ranging discussion ahead of the May 3 election covered childcare, climate change, domestic violence and the growing issue of homelessness among women of retirement age. 

The Albanese government’s priority in its first term had been to drive women’s economic security and this would continue if re-elected, Senator Gallagher said. 

“The biggest thing we can do is to make sure that unpaid care is recognised and valued, and that paid work for women is not undervalued, as it has been for too long,” she said.

She also committed the government to work towards universal early childhood education and care, but said there were a number of steps to get there. 

“We have to build the centres and the workforce and make sure that it is affordable, those are the logical steps to universality that we definitely want to get to,” she said. 

Senator Waters pointed out that women’s work was too often undervalued, leaving a growing cohort without financial security in retirement.

“Women are retiring into poverty after a lifetime of unpaid care,” she said.

“Older women are also the fastest growing cohort experiencing homelessness.”

More could be done to encourage women into science, technology, engineering and maths careers which are typically higher paid, Ms Spender said. 

“Also supporting female entrepreneurs, which is another big gap and a way that women can build that economic empowerment, wealth and prosperity,” she said. 

Ms Spender wanted to remind women that their vote had power at the ballot box.

“Be the change you want to see in the world and vote like it … you’ve got more power than you think,” she said.

AAP has been out to a winery with the Dutton campaign where he had a drink with his two children.

Nine days out from the federal election, Peter Dutton had a drink with his two children at a picturesque Tasmanian vineyard after unveiling his plan to address domestic violence.

The opposition leader toured one of the state’s most important wine producing regions on Thursday, located in the ultra-marginal seat of Lyons which is held by retiring Labor MP Brian Mitchell.

Visiting the Bremley Vineyard in Campania, a town outside of Hobart, Mr Dutton raised a glass of Pinot Noir with two of his three children Rebecca and Tom.

“My favourite wine is probably Shiraz, followed by Chardonnay, Sauv Blanc … I don’t discriminate,” he joked.

When Scott Morrison went to Tasmania during the 2022 campaign, he chose a whisky distillery to visit – which turned out to be a Liberal party donor.

Dutton has also been to 14 petrol stations now. What a journey.

It is not just the 180 on the tax break for electric vehicles that Peter Dutton has had to clean up today.

Dutton had said on Monday that the Coalition had no plans to scrape the Labor FBT exclusion for electric vehicles, saying it was just the ‘unfair’ tax on hybrids that the Coalition was planning on overturning.

But on Wednesday, the Coalition released a media release which said the Coalition would scrap the tax break.

Dutton has said that wasn’t a mistake, but he misheard the question? Which seems unlikely but OK.

But earlier today, Dan Tehan had told ABC radio the Coalition would reduce the skilled migration intake from 185,000 to 140,000 and then he went on to say it would be a reduced rate of 150,000 for two years and then raising it to 160,000.

Which might be news to the Coalition which has not yet released its target to reduce skilled migration visas. Which are already limited to 132,200 a year.

I have a particular interest in the ‘coke can’ of nuclear waste call the Coalition made very early on about its small modular nuclear reactor plan (technology that does not exist commercially as yet) because I was one of the first journalists to actually go ‘wait, that doesn’t sound right – that is wrong’ on the day the policy was announced.

And it was wrong.

Greenpeace has taken a look at what waste for a nuclear powered Australia would actually look like and found it could produce 14 billion Coke cans’ worth of radioactive waste a year.

Joe Rafalowicz Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:

Australians don’t need the equivalent of 14 billion Coke cans of radioactive nuclear waste every
year. The Coalition has not offered a credible plan for how it will manage nuclear waste safely,
nor how it will fund this multibillion dollar effort.

Australia’s unenviable track record of mismanaging even low-level nuclear waste, as well as a
history of radioactive incidents in the US, UK and EU, reveals how complex it is to manage
nuclear waste safely. Multiplying that challenge many times over by building a fleet of nuclear
reactors could have devastating consequences for communities and ecosystems.

…The Coalition has not asked communities like Collie, Latrobe Valley and the Hunter Valley for
their consent to build nuclear reactors and waste dumps in their backyards, but the upcoming
Federal Election is a chance for voters to have a say in Australia’s energy future

You know how everyone is having a massive WHERE IS THE COSTINGS moment, because, well, it’s an election campaign and everyone gets obsessed with costings?

Well, the department of finance’s dedicated website to record the costings of the major party policies has only published two so far. Both from Labor and neither costing seems to have been completed.

You can find that, here.

The PBO usually takes care of the minor parties costings. And you can find that, here.

On the issue of monopolies, should Bunnings be afraid of a Dutton-Littleproud government?

Littleproud:

I think that the evidence mounts that there should be an extension to Bunnings. And Bunnings and Coles and Woolworths shouldn’t be fearful. If they’re as pure as the driven snow and they respect competition law, it will never be used.

But in society, you have to have a deterrence and a consequence. If you don’t have that, then you get those that will abuse that power take advantage of the little guy. And what the Nationals have always been is about the little guy. Protecting the little guy and trying to make the little guy become a big guy, because the big guy can look after themselves.

What we want to do is make sure that there is just fairness all the way through. That is the Australian way. And when we’ve already got it, we’ve already got the powers in place, and Anthony Albanese calls them Stalinistic. He signed up to them in January, and went missing by February.

Last year. I mean, really, does he understand the pain that Australians are feeling out there? Why wouldn’t you, from the privileged position that we’ve been given to go into that place up there and to actually make sure that we are giving every Australian a shot at dinner tonight, why wouldn’t we do that? We’re a rich country, but we should be a smarter country and that’s what Peter and I are prepared to do.

David Littleproud also thinks the public polls are wrong.

He says:

Well, look, I think that this is more of a 2019 election than a 2022 election. And I see that through the prism of our own track polling of the seats that we’re trying to win. And the ones that we have challenges in. And the national polls, I think, aren’t reflective that that is very much geographically based this election. You go to Victoria – they’ve got the overlay of a horrible state government with a horrible Federal Government and they’re angry and they have every right to be. Because they’ve got the lived experience of a government losing control of their streets, and losing control of their economy. And so, I think you’ll see that we can all get carried away.

And I personally don’t think that many people have switched on to this campaign. While we get excited in here about campaigns and the rigour of running around, even on the Wombat Trail, I don’t think that many people are engaged. They’ve had school holidays. They’ve had Easter. They’ve been camping. Only just cleaned the tent up, put it away and put the kids back to school.

(One million people have already voted and about half of registered voters are expected to vote before 3 May)

Littleproud:

That’s a good point, but I think that they’re the ones who had made their mind up. I think that you’ll find that there is a lot of the electorate who are very much starting to switch on now. So I think that it is dangerous to say that the polls, the national polls are reflective of what’s happening on the ground.

And that’s why I think that the next nine days, I think people are running the ruler over it. And they’re running the ruler over cost of living. That’s what they’re doing. Asking themselves, am I better off after three years of Anthony Albanese? Will it be any better after an Albanese-Bandt Coalition government or is there a solution for the here and now and a government that’s going to have the courage to fix the economy?

Energy is the economy. And unless you’re going to start this now, we’re kicking this down the road another three years and just imagine that, with a Coalition Labor-Greens government sprinkled with the Teals and Independents. We’ll be in a different place in three years if Australians see that. And I think is that Australians will put their lived experience against what they’re facing and I think that they’ll put the ruler on it.

Q: I wanted to get your view on the recent natural disasters in Queensland, and whether you personally believe in the science of climate change?

(Why are we still asking leaders if they BELIEVE in climate change like it’s the same as the tooth fairy or something?)

Littleproud:

Yes, I do. Thargomindah is a perfect example. We had a flood event through there, 1974, 7.65 metres of the record. Beat it by nearly a metre. So obviously, I respect the science, and we’ll do whatever we can to make sure that we have an energy grid that’s zero emissions, [that’s why we support nuclear] It’s only $330 billion compared to an all renewables approach of $600 billion. And we’re going to make sure that – when I was Emergency Services Minister – I actually had in place the emergency response fund – $5 billion fund that gave $100 million a year for mitigation of public works.

But also $50 million that was going into private works to be able to lift a house up or in cyclone areas, renovate to make sure that they were ready for cyclones.

David Littleproud’s address at the national press club has moved to the question and answer period.

He is asked:

We know nationally, statistics show that property crime has gone down in large parts of the country, and yet, it has been a big focus. Is the Coalition capitalising on perceptions of fear when it comes to crime? Or is this a reality that you’re seeing when you’re campaigning?

Littleproud:

Respectfully, ask that of the 70-year-old woman in Bendigo who got on a train to watch her famous Richmond Tigers play and was abused by a young lady physically on a train.

Ask her that it. Are we simply going to work on a society predictated on statistics? The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. This has a responsibility not just to state but to federal and local governments and I’m seeing local governments around the country leaning into this because they have the pride and passion of their communities and I don’t want to see the standard of their communes slip. And you know what, in Bendigo alone, for $360,000, we upgraded I think 57 CCTV cameras.

The state wasn’t going to do it. The council doesn’t have the capacity to do it. So why wouldn’t we, a program that we ran and ran successfully that took the proceeds of crime and reinvested them back to community infrastructure to keep Australians safe. And where there are intersections of law, particularly with communications, then why wouldn’t we do that? Why wouldn’t we?

We’ve all got a responsibility. And it’s not just Government’s responsibility. We have to lead. But as a society, and whether you talk about domestic violence today, it’s not just government that has the responsibility – every one of us does. And I think as a society, we’ve sometime passed our responsibility and aggregated it to the state. We all have a responsibility. I have a responsibility as a father to talk to my boys about what’s right and what’s wrong, setting the standard. And it’s not just money that will fix it. It’s us. It’s us that will fix it. Whether you’re a politician, whether you’re a role model in a sports club, we’ve all got a role to play.

Over in WA, Anthony Albanese has been asked if he would prefer to be stranded on a desert island with either Angus Taylor or Peter Dutton.

Apparently Wilson wasn’t an option.

AAP reports:

“I’ve had personal one-on-one conversations with him, we can talk … in confidence. I don’t really have a relationship with Angus,” Mr Albanese told the West Australian newspaper’s Leadership Matters event.

One thing it might be worth finding out the answer to is what water studies have actually been carried out when it comes to moving coal fired power station water allocations to nuclear power plants.

In the case of Victoria, the Victorian government water allocation website says the power station owner has already applied to use that water to stabilise the open cut coal mine. Darren Chester says no water assessment has been done and won’t be until after the election.

Perin Davey says she has done a water assessment.

I think Peter Dutton has said that a water assessment has been done.

So what’s true?

And if a water assessment HAS been done, then why won’t the Coalition release it?

David Littleproud is now giving his press club address.

Sigh.

It will no doubt, be exactly as you would imagine. We will come back to the Q and A

Peter Dutton was in Perth and is now in Tasmania, where he was greeted by protesters.

Sussan Ley was also there.

And of course, along with the kissing of the WA regent’s ring, there must also be the standard kissing of WA in general.

Anthony Albanese:

I’m optimistic about Australia’s future, if we seize the opportunities ahead of us.

And nowhere offers greater cause for optimism or a stronger sense of opportunity than right here in Western Australia.

I launched Labor’s campaign for Government here in Perth almost three years ago.

And I’ve been back as Prime Minister more than 30 times, including to launch our campaign for re-election.

WA is central to Labor’s positive plan for Building Australia’s Future.

And WA is vital to Australia’s success in the world.

Peter Dutton did it earlier in the campaign – now it is Anthony Albanese’s time to kiss the WA media ring:

This election has had its second record high day for early voting in a row, with almost 590,000 Australians turning up to pre-poll on Wednesday. Combined with the 540,000 on Tuesday over a million votes have already been cast, surpassing the same point (ten days from the election) in 2022. 2022 was the high-water mark of pre-poll voting (over a third of Australians voted pre-poll), and while some of that was likely the lingering effects of Covid-19, it also reflects a long-term rise in early voting. With pre-polling already on track to beat last election, 2025 may become the new record high for early voting.

Wondering how pre-polling has evolved over time, and what the implications are of so many early votes? You can read more about that here.

Here is the official domestic and family violence funding announcement from the Coalition:

An elected Dutton Coalition Government will commit an additional $90 million to further address family and domestic violence across Australia. 

This investment recognises the complexities of family and domestic violence, and that more action is needed to build on the continued implementation of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 (National Plan). 

An elected Dutton Coalition Government will put renewed focus on prevention, early intervention and crisis response. We will: 

·       Implement a National Domestic Violence Register, allowing police across Australia and relevant agencies to access and share information about a person’s previous family violence convictions to better manage risk and avoid future offending. 

·       Take strong action against perpetrators of family and domestic violence through specialist early and behavioural intervention programs and tougher monitoring measures.  

·       Establish new domestic violence offences by making it a crime to use mobile phone and computer networks to cause an intimate partner or family member to fear for their personal safety, to track them using spyware or engage in coercive behaviours, and ensure tough bail laws apply to these new offences.  

·       Develop uniform national knife laws with the states and territories. 

·       Lift the threshold for fast-track property settlements in the family law courts, so that separating couples with an asset pool of up to $1.5 million can resolve matters that do not involve children quickly and fairly. 

·       Improve online safety for women and children.  

·       Expand the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program to assist more victim-survivors and their families escaping violence.  

·       Support women and children fleeing domestic violence with emergency payments through the Leaving Violence Program.  

·       Increase crisis helpline support so victim-survivors fleeing family and domestic violence have their calls answered and get the immediate assistance they require.  

·       Support community organisations to deliver domestic violence awareness training. 

·       Recycle mobile phones so victim survivors cannot be tracked, harassed or further abused.  

·       Improve child safety and protection and ensure the delivery of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. 

·       Launch a Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse in Indigenous communities to address these horrific crimes and ensure children are safe and their childhood protected.   

·       Strengthen Commonwealth taxation, welfare and superannuation systems where practicable to eradicate financial abuse, coercive control and unfair outcomes following family and domestic violence. 

In the Financial Review today Phil Coorey is reporting that one of the Coalition’s savings options is “banking the interest savings from the abolition of two off-budget funds worth $30 billion”. These funds tend to be managed by the Future Fund.

But the problem is that dumping these funds does not really create “savings” and t might actually cost money.

Why is that?  

Let’s do some quick maths: The budget papers show that public debt interest is expected to be $26,303 million in 2025-26 which is 2.7% of the average government bonds and other borrowings on issue in 2025-26. 

So dumping $30 billion in funds might save interest expenses of $804 million (2.7% of $30bn).

So it that money saved? Well… probably not.

You see those funds also earn money from the investments they make, and that money goes into the budget.  So we need to ask how much revenue the Coalition would forgo.

The 2024 report by the Chair of the Future Fund said it “achieved a 9.1% return….[and a] 10 year return of 8.3% per annum…in excess of the benchmark of 6.9% per annum” 

Even if the Future Fund just made its benchmark of 6.9% that $30 billion would produce a return of $2,070 million.

So that is what the Coalition would sacrifice in order to save $804 million in public debt interest.

That gives a net loss of $1,266 million.

This may sound peculiar but abolishing the funds means a large cost to the budget bottom line. 

Dr Emma Shortis

Director, International & Security Affairs program

The Trump administration is going after the 1964 Civil Rights Act – specifically, Title IV.

According to the US Department of Justice, Title IV “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.”

Trump and the movement that supports him have always seen his victory in November as a generational one – an opportunity to undo all of the gains of the Civil Rights movement and return to an imaginary version of America in which white people – specifically, straight, white men – are the rightful and natural leaders of society.

Last year, with her colleague Dr Liam Byrne, Emma wrote about the longer history of this movement and how it explains Trump’s political success.

The movement behind Trump is, they wrote, “an explicitly racialised and anti-democratic movement that intends to impose the will of the minority over the lives of the majority.” We are now seeing that play out in real time. 

https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-stroll-to-victory-in-iowa-was-a-foregone-conclusion-this-doesnt-make-it-any-less-shocking-221207

As Peter Dutton announces a Coalition government would scrap tax breaks for people who buy electric vehicles, The Australia Institute has called for him to scrap the ridiculous tax break for people who buy big utes. 

Australia Institute research shows that subsidies for luxury imported utes costs the Federal Budget $250 million per year.

Almost every large, dual-cab ute on the market is exempt from the luxury car tax because utes are “designed mainly for carrying goods and not passengers”.

But everyone knows most of these vehicles rarely leave the bitumen of our suburbs and rarely carry anything more than the weekly shopping or children for the school drop-off.

“Big dumb utes make our roads more dangerous, cause more pollution and reduce the government’s ability to fund social services,” said Richard Denniss, Executive Director of The Australia Institute.

“Basic economics says to tax things you want less of and subsidise things you want more of, yet Peter Dutton seems to want less electric vehicles and more American-style utes on our roads.

“The Coalition says it’s scrapping the EV tax break – which it supported up until Monday – because people who buy electric vehicles can afford them. Surely the same should apply for big utes.”

The Opposition Leader wraps up his presser, having failed to clear the air on his EV tax break backflip, accept poor polling, answer simple questions on trans women or offer anything to students who’d pay 20% more HECS under a Dutton government.

Peter Dutton‘s final quote:

Over the next three years our country could face a global recession. There could be conflict in the Middle East or in Europe or in our own region. Now is not the time to risk a Labor or Greens government and to have a coalition government in their managing the economy and bringing inflation down, helping families to clean up Labor’s mess and to get our country back on track. That is what this election is about and that is why I think we can win this election and win it we must, so we can save many families from the heartache they are experiencing at the moment.

Question: Exit polling today predicted a Labor win and the Liberals losing to a teal in Bradfield. Are you confirmed that you have left things too late?

Peter Dutton:

I would take it with a grain of salt all those small sample sizes you see in different seats.

Question: You are here talking about the safety of women does that include trans women? Do you think Trans women are women, and what protection will you afford them?

We discussed gender as well and that is an important discussion as well and we can provide support through programs as we are seeing now, there was a discussion about early intervention and education at a younger age about violence in respect for people, regardless of gender, and we are happy to continue that discussion that we had this morning.

Question: Do you think trans women are women?

A woman and gender is defined with reference made the other day to a case in the United Kingdom but I think a woman is defined as an adult female and that is the definition.

Question: Do you think a trans woman is a woman or is a woman a biologically born female?

I have answered that question.

Question: Woman? Just a yes or a no? Biological woman? Trans woman? Is a trans woman a woman?

I have given an answer.

Journalists try to pin Peter Dutton down on his EV tax backflip. They go so far as to read out his comments from earlier in the week.

The Opposition leaders squirms, again attempting to dismiss the line of questioning.

Peter Dutton:

I do not accept the premise of the question

Question: I don’t know what you mean?

I think we’re better off just to accept we have a difference of opinion but there has been no change in policy.

Question: I read the transcript just now.

I have read my response of the response was very clear, no change to policy and will not support each tax and I read the transcript myself as well. My responses is to the tax. Sometimes – sometimes you ask the question, we do not always respond exactly how you would want.

Peter Dutton is asked about leaving his policy announcements too late.

Question: Have you let the team down?

No direct answer. He defers to talking points.

In the face of more bad polling this morning, Peter Dutton claims he’s seen good polling and has Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the back foot. Wow!

I think there is a disparity where some of the published polling is compared to some (showing) we are on a pathway to win votes and there is a lot of good polling around at the moment, where I’ve seen overnight as well. And when you see the seats that Labor is out defending at the moment, I think there is a disparity where some of the published polling is.

Question: If you are successful at the vote, what will you offer Donald Trump to try and secure a tariff carveout if not critical minerals?

Peter Dutton:

We have been clear about what this election is about and it is about who has strength of leadership to stand up for our interests, whether it is in relation to tariffs or in relation to what we see on the global markets at the moment. There could well be a global recession over the course of the next few years, there could be conflict in our region or further afield in this election is about who you trust to keep our country safe, who do you trust to manage the economy well and who do you trust to stand up on the international stage for our best interests? I have been clear as we discussed in the last few days I think there are many ways in which we can bring value to the defence industry in our country, how we can deal with issues that are important to our partners. I note the government made an announcement today in relation to critical minerals but it must be about the fifth time they’ve announced it, they reheat all policies but never implement anything and Australian sufferers a result.

Question: My question is what would you offer the Trump administration to try and secure a carveout?

We were clear in terms of our very strong view that Australia has so much more to contribute to the world in terms of exports on defence manufacturing. And when you see the jobs evidenced yesterday in the firm that we visited in W.A, the opportunity here for us to grow as an export nation to the United States and elsewhere is obvious. I think there are many ways in which we can try to build a relationship. What people realise is that this election is between Anthony Albanese, who is promising to keep prices high for electricity and gas and for food, and on the other hand we are going to deliver a 25 cent a litre cut in tax fuel, fuel tax and deliver money back to you by the way of a tax rebate, get homeownership again a reality for young Australians. We will keep our country safe and make sure that we can manage the economy well so that we can bring costs down.

He’s now asked about another backflip – the decision to scrap tax breaks for people who buy electric vehicles … a policy he supported up until Tuesday.

Peter Dutton:

What we said was that there is no change to the policy and we have been clear. We do not support a $14,000 tax on a Ford Ranger nor a $12,000 tax … we will not support the big tax on cars. I have been clear about that and clear in relation to policies on EV, our policy has not changed.

The first question is more of a statement, suggesting the Opposition Leader said he’d cut skilled migration to 150,000 places per year – when there are currently just 132,000 places.

We said we would cut by 25% because the government has created the housing crisis through bringing one million people in over two years, which is unprecedented. We will clean up Labor’s mess and we will be clear about what we do in years one and two and reduce it in years three and four and bring it back up. But we have to get Australian kids into houses and we also announced we will ban for two years foreign buyers from competing with young Australians to purchase those houses.

Peter Dutton is now speaking:

This is a comprehensive package building on an investment of $3.5 million already in the space. We heard from one service this morning about the need to interact with 19 different funding streams, predominantly coming in from the Commonwealth. So, how do we work together to identify ways in which we can provide more efficiency and have that money flowing either into the base funding or into services without the obvious full-time employees that were involved? Obviously administering that, writing grant applications etc. There are better ways in which we can work with services as well as we are dedicated to all of that.

Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash is up next.

We will create two new offences in the criminal code … to ensure that a person who uses a mobile phone or another computer device to make an intimate partner or family member fear for their safety, you will be able to be prosecuted … we will create an offence that means if you are installing for example spyware to track someone, that will also become an offence

Sussan Ley is speaking first:

Today we are announcing a suite of new measures that build on the work that we have done in coalition in government. New bases amounting to $90 million for further initiatives for the prevention of family, domestic and sexual violence.

The scourge of family violence reaches into every corner of this country and into every cohort of Australian society. Every time we recommit with new funding such as we are today, we make the statement that enough is enough. Because when you know that women are calling helplines every four minutes and police are responding to callouts for domestic violence incidences every six minutes, you can see the scale of the problem.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is in Hobart today, speaking alongside Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley, announcing $90 million in additional funding to combat domestic violence.

Frank Yuan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Australians are rightfully proud of compulsory voting, which ensures widespread participation in elections.

However, since the 1950s, federal elections in Australia have seen a decline in the share of adult residents whose votes are counted.

At the last federal election in 2022, 14.6 million Australians cast a valid vote. A further 800,000 made it to the voting booth but cast an invalid or blank vote – either deliberately or by accident. 1.8 million were on the electoral roll but did not turn out. 650,000 Australians were missing from the electoral roll. Taken together, over three million Australians entitled to vote did not have their vote counted. By contrast, the Labor Party only won the two-party preferred vote by 600,000.

Thus, despite voting in federal elections being compulsory, only about four in five eligible Australians (82.5%) cast a valid vote in the 2022 federal election. Compulsory voting is responsible for that number being as high as it is: New Zealand’s rate of effective participation in the 2023 election was just 69.6%.

In addition, millions of people live, work and pay taxes in Australia, but are not citizens and therefore not entitled to vote. Taken together, the share of people of voting age who cast a valid vote in the last federal election is just 72%, far below the 89.8% official headline turnout figure.

Uruguay, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and several smaller countries in the Commonwealth of Nations allow permanent residents or Commonwealth citizens (which Australians are) to vote in national elections.

Nor is electoral disengagement inevitable. While New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada record declining voter participation, in the United States, Germany, and India, voter participation has seen an upward trend in the past decade or two.

ABC News has an interactive graphic demonstrating how the major party vote has declined since 1972 – and is now at a tipping point where more independent and minor party crossbenchers are getting elected.

It strikes a chord with a paper Richard Denniss and I wrote last year about how power sharing in Australian parliaments (like minority and coalition governments) is common and can be very productive.

One consequence of the rising independent and minor party vote is that there are no safe seats – a sentiment echoed by Labor and Liberal politicians in the ABC article:

“Safe seats are a myth in 2025,” Labor MP Jerome Laxale says. “I’ve learnt throughout my time that people will back you if you work for them, if you’re honest and genuine, regardless of your political party.”

Liberal MP Keith Wolahan agrees: “When I speak to colleagues in Canberra, even those on really healthy margins, they’re looking over their shoulder thinking, is my seat facing a contest that hasn’t happened before?

“It’s a healthy thing because it forces members to never take their seats for granted.”

Meanwhile, things are going really well with Australia’s great ‘ally’ the United States, in terms of how it is handling the Russia-Ukraine ‘peace deal’.

As AAP reports:

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have clashed again on efforts to end the three-year-old war in Ukraine, with the US leader chiding Zelenskiy for refusing to recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea.

Trump’s Vice President JD Vance said it was time for Russia and Ukraine to either agree to a US peace proposal “or for the United States to walk away from this process”, echoing a warning from Trump last week.

Speaking to reporters in India on Wednesday, Vance said the proposal called for freezing territorial lines “at some level close to where they are today” and a “long-term diplomatic settlement that hopefully will lead to long-term peace”.

“The only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing,” he said.

A former Western official familiar with the US proposal said it also called for the recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Since taking office in January, Trump has upended US policy toward the war in Ukraine, pressing Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire while easing pressure on Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.

Zelenskiy on Tuesday reiterated that Ukraine would never cede Crimea to Russia, which seized control of the peninsula in 2014 in a move that was condemned internationally. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution,” he said.

Trump, who argued with Zelenskiy in a disastrous Oval Office meeting in March, called this an inflammatory statement that made peace harder to achieve. He said in a social media post that Crimea was lost years ago “and is not even a point of discussion”.

Zelenskiy acknowledged later in an X post that the London talks among US, Ukrainian and European officials were marked by high emotions but expressed hope that future joint work would lead to peace.

He pledged again that Ukraine would abide by its constitution and said he was sure Kyiv’s partners, in particular the United States, “will act in line with its strong decisions”.

He attached to his post a 2018 Crimea Declaration from Mike Pompeo, Trump’s secretary of state during his first term, which said: “The United States rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.”

Independent Wentworth MP Allegra Spender wants some more information on the investigation the AEC carried out into illegal pamphlets which were distributed in her electorate. The AEC reported last night that it had identified one of the people responsible for distributing 47,000 of the unauthorised election materials. Spender wants the person identified and says:

Last night, the AEC announced it had identified one of the persons responsible for distributing 47,000 unauthorised and illegal pamphlets in Wentworth.

I am writing to the AEC today to request more information about its decision.

I am concerned that the AEC has announced that it will not identify the person responsible and will not decide whether to prosecute them until after the election.

This pamphlet made false and defamatory claims against me and deliberately flouted the Australian Electoral laws regarding the authorisation of election material.

The AEC’s statement also says: “Voters are reminded to stop and consider the source of all messages relating to the 2025 federal election.”

The purpose of the law on authorisation is to ensure voters can identify the source of election messages.

It is not clear to me why, in this case, the AEC will not identify the source of this offensive material, which has already been widely distributed in pamphlet form and widely circulated in community chat groups.

How can voters consider the source if the AEC will not identify that source?

I will be asking the AEC to reconsider its decision or explain what compelling reasons it might have in this case to override its responsibilities to inform the public and enforce the law.

Allan Behm, the special adviser and director of the international and security affairs program, has written an op-ed for the Guardian on the Coalition’s defence policy:

Politicians do not do irony well, especially when they are on the ropes.

How else can one understand the Coalition’s invertebrate media release two days before Anzac Day – commemorating over 100,000 Australian war dead – which outlines a defence plan that could put Australians at risk in the dystopian world the policy is supposed to fix?

The bravery of the fallen is these days outdone only by the bravado of those who advocate significant increases in military capability and expenditure without risk assessment or cost analysis. The Coalition’s braves are barracking for a $21bn increase in spending over the forward estimates to bring our national defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.

There is no courage in calling for increased spending. Lots of would-be experts do, even though only a third of Australians agree.

But it is clearly a bridge too far in the courage stakes to say where the money will come from. There are only three sources: increased taxation; cuts to existing programs or increased debt – or a combination of these.

In a political climate that favours the path of least resistance, no one is going to advocate tax increases. So, what about cutting aged care, veterans’ services, health, education and social security support? Good luck with that.

You can read the whole piece, here.

Greens senator Larissa Waters is not impressed with the Coalition’s $90m family and domestic violence policy spend announcement:

The LNP are clearly desperate to pretend they care about women.

More than 20 women killed in Australia this year by violence and Dutton’s allotted a measly $90m in the LNP’s ‘domestic violence strategy’, announced just nine days before the election.

$90 million is what Mr Dutton thinks ending FDSV is worth, when frontline services have been saying they need $1 billion a year. Only the Greens have committed to fully funding frontline services. 

DV disclosure schemes are one piece of the puzzle, but not the most important one. 

The LNP’s plan is not about protecting anyone. If Mr Dutton truly cared about protecting women and children, he’d match the Greens $15 billion commitment to fully fund frontline services and prevention efforts. 

The Greens’ plan prioritises survivor-centred policies and if we made the 1 in 3 big corporations that pay no tax contribute their fair share, we could make sure women and children are safe.”

Kooyong independent MP Monique Ryan spoke to ABC radio Melbourne this morning after a candidates’ forum she was at was invaded by three “right wing bullies” who immediately started yelling about immigration as they entered the room.

Ryan helped stop the moment from becoming a physical altercation by moving away a woman who confronted the men.

She told the station:

[The woman] was clearly expressing distress. She was kind of screaming, actually. And then she went over to him, and she sort of threw a punch at him. She was a little lady, pretty frail, and he was not a small man, and I was really concerned about that, and the potential for that to escalate, where he did give her a push or something like that,” Ryan said.

[I] firmly moved her away and asked another member of the audience to look after her. She actually looked a bit taken aback by her own action in doing that … I spoke to her afterwards, and she was a bit horrified by the whole thing.

Ryan said she asked another of the candidates to call the police while audience members and organisers of the Friends of the ABC event moved the men out of the room.

….Eventually they left,” Ryan said.

It was stupid, pointless posturing, basically by these right wing bullies … these people were just undertaking pointless disruption.”

After Hunter Labor MP Dan Repacholi told the SMH’s Matthew Knott he thinks there should be a minister for men (to deal with issues like men’s mental health), Labor has announced a men’s mental health policy.

Here are the official details of the additional $32m policy:

Movember statistics show as many as two in every three men are foregoing health support due to gender sterotypes – and around half believe avoiding health check-ups is normal.

Australian men are three times more likely to take their own life than women, and are significantly less likely to seek mental health support.

Labor will deliver $11.3 million for Movember to provide men’s health care training to primary health care workers, and to develop a campaign to encourage men to visit the doctor. 

Training will be based on Movember’s existing Men in Mind program for mental health workers and will help over 60,000 doctors and nurses support men to get the health care they need.

Labor will also invest $20.7 million for grassroots initiatives that support men’s mental health and wellbeing in community settings, including:

• $8.3 million to support another two years of Men’s Shed Initiative’s National Shed Development Program, providing grants of up to $10,000 to individual Men’s Sheds. It will also support the Australian Men’s Sheds Association to deliver new health promotion and prevention programs.
• $7.4 million to Movember to expand the successful Ahead of the Game program, delivered in partnership with the AFL, that equips boys and young men in sporting environments with emotional resilience and teaches them to seek help when they need it.
• $3.0 million to Healthy Male to support the delivery of Plus Paternal Initiative, a program that helps men prepare for fatherhood and supports the development of good parenting skills during the perinatal period.
• $2.0 million to the Black Dog Institute to research men’s mental health and suicide prevention at the Danny Frawley Centre for Health and Wellbeing – supporting St Kilda Football Club’s annual AFL ‘Spud’s Game ‘at the MCG, which raises community awareness to fight men’s mental ill health. 

What does Anne Ruston think needs to happen to address domestic violence in this nation? According to Sherele Moody, who founded Australian Femicide Watch and the Red Heart Campaign, 23 Australian women have been killed so far this year, including four in the last week.

Ruston:

I previously served for three years as Social Services Minister under the previous government and having responsibility for domestic violence, whilst we always have to make sure that we have measures in place to support women who make the difficult and dangerous decision to leave a violent relationship, we need to do more about focusing on stopping it happening in the first place. So focusing on programs that provide respectful behaviours and show everybody how to be more respectful so we actually aren’t seeing domestic violence happening in the first place. I believe that the kind of statistics we’re seeing in this country are an absolute indictment on Australia and Australians citizens, that we are seeing domestic violence levels the way they are. We must do more and we must do better.

Q: You’ve matched a lot of the strategies to achieve better bulk billing for Australians. Would you expect 90% bulk billing by 2030 under those promises?

Anne Ruston:

When we were last in government, the bulk billing rate was over 88% and we did that by making sure that we made investments in primary care.

We know right now primary care is in crisis which is why we were keen to make the $9 billion investment in primary care that we have made during this election campaign. But the bulk billing rates have absolutely plummeted under this Government. They’ve gone from 88% when we were last in government to 77%. Most tellingly, Australians are paying the highest amount of money out of their own pockets than ever before to visit a GP.

Last year, 40 million less bulk-billed GP visits than when we were last in government. We have a crisis. There’s a lot of work to do. But of course, we want to see Australians getting access to not just affordable health care but bulk billed health care. We’ve done it before and we believe that we can do it again but there’s no point lying to Australians that everything is fine at the moment. It’s not.

Butler says the 88% bulk billing rate includes the covid vaccinations, which were bulkbilled

After having Mark Butler on, ABC NEws Breakfast now has the shadow minister, Anne Ruston:

Q: Let’s go to that survey of GP practitioners and doctors. ABC has spoken to hundreds of doctors who say this pledge, matched by you, won’t make a dent and they won’t actually be able to increase bulk billing as a result.

Ruston:

What we’d say is we absolutely support Australians getting access to more affordable health care and that includes getting access to bulk-billed services. The really cruel hoax going on at the moment with the Labor Party about this important announcement is, you know, trying to pretend that it isn’t harder or more expensive to see a doctor than it is right now.

And we know that doctors have come out and said that some of the claims that are being made by the Labor Party about this policy are flat-out wrong. Don’t ask them. Don’t ask me. Don’t ask the Labor Party. Ask your listeners and viewers.

They know that right now their lived experience of trying to get in to see a doctor, particularly for free, are completely at odds with what the Labor Party is saying. So we also know that GPs are small businesses like every other small business, that are suffering under the increased costs of doing business, whether that be power bills up, insurance bills up, rents or mortgages, so I think what we say to Anthony Albanese is be honest with Australians.

Don’t lie and use scare tactics about something as important as health care because we need to work together to make sure Australians can access affordable health care and telling lies in an election campaign won’t achieve that.

AAP has the latest on the Coalition’s domestic violence response (the Coalition refuses to put us on their list so we are often playing catch up with the releases, but what can you do?)

Using a mobile phone or computer to harm intimate partners would be made illegal under new domestic violence offences proposed by Peter Dutton in an election pledge.

The opposition leader on Thursday will announce the coalition will commit an extra $90 million to address the scourge of domestic violence, if it wins the May 3 election.

It would build on the national plan to end violence against women and children within the decade by implementing measures focused on prevention, early intervention and crisis response.

The proposed offences would criminalise the tracking of victims or coercing them through the use of the devices, and would attract tough bail laws.

Mobile phones would be recycled so victim-survivors cannot be tracked or further harassed.

A national register allowing police across the country and other authorities to access and share information about a person’s previous family violence convictions to better manage risk would be set up.

The plan includes specialist early behavioural intervention programs and stronger monitoring

About a million of us have already headed to the polls and if you want to do your vote through the mail, then you have to sort that this week.

For those heading to an early poll booth this weekend, the AEC has this reminder:

The AEC is reminding all voters who cannot make it to a polling place on election day to check the opening dates and times of early voting centres.

Early voting centres are not open on ANZAC Day or Sunday 27 April. Most locations are open on Saturday 26 April but not all. Early voting centres open progressively throughout the voting period and cannot open on public holidays.

A list of early voting centres – their opening dates, times and accessibility information – is all available on the AEC website.

New polling research by The Australia Institute reveals that 86% of Australians want stronger legal protections for whistleblowers.

The research, supported by the Human Rights Law Centre and Whistleblower Justice Fund, shows support is consistently high across all voting intentions, including Labor, Coalition, Greens, and One Nation. 

Public support for protecting whistleblowers has surged by 12% in under two years. 

The spike in support has been recorded just one year after the imprisonment of military whistleblower David McBride and amid the ongoing prosecution of tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle. The polling research also reveals that the majority of Australians believe these prosecutions should be dropped. 

Despite strong, widespread and increasing public support for stronger whistleblower protections from voters, both major parties have failed to make commitments for reform ahead of the May 3 Federal Election. 

In February 2025, the Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill was introduced to Parliament by Senator David Pocock, Senator Jacqui Lambie, Dr Helen Haines MP, and Andrew Wilkie MP. 

This anti-corruption legislation would provide protections to whistleblowers and aid government agencies in combating corruption. The polling research reveals that 84% of Australians support the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority.

“In Australia, whistleblowers exposing alleged war crimes or unfair treatment of small businesses face years of jail time,” said Bill Browne, Democracy & Accountability Director at The Australia Institute.

Blowing the whistle often comes at great personal cost – to work and earnings, relationships and even health. A whistleblower protection authority would support and assist truth-tellers.

“The National Anti-Corruption Commission will depend on referrals from whistleblowers and others if it is to effectively root out corruption.”

“Voters want the government to stop delaying and fix Australia’s broken whistleblower protection laws,” said Tosca Lloyd, campaigner at the Whistleblower Justice Fund.

“Fighting corruption is once again a key election issue – but the major parties can’t fight corruption while continuing to punish those who expose it.

“A whistleblower protection authority is the missing piece of Australia’s anti-corruption framework, and both major parties have previously signalled support for such a body. Ahead of the federal election, now is the time for the major parties to commit to stronger whistleblower protections.”

“Whistleblowers make Australia a better place and this polling shows that overwhelmingly people expect them to be protected, not prosecuted in Australia,” said Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director at Human Rights Law Centre.

“The next Parliament must fix our broken whistleblower protection laws and establish an independent whistleblower protection authority.”

Asked about his concern over men’s mental health, Mark Butler says:

We know men are particularly poor at seeking help. About as many as one in three Australian men think it is completely normal not to go and get a check-up and very many men, particularly young men fail to see their GP at all.

Today I am announcing a range of funding deals, partnering with organisations that have a great track record in this area, Movember, the Men’s Shed association, the Black Dog Institute to lift the willingness of Australian men to seek help and get check-ups that are important for their health.

That will start to lift the capability of GPs and nurses in the primary care sector to work with men and the lack of willingness so many men – the lack of willingness so many men have to talk about their health.

We are damn hopeless at it and what it means is we have poorer health outcomes than the general population as well. This is an important package. The latest chapter in our commitment to strengthen Medicare.

Q: Let’s talk health now. You have said you want 90% bulk billing by 2030. The ABC has done an interesting survey of GPs. 840 GPs have responded saying 90% of doctors who were contacted by ABC said they won’t move to full bulk billing under the changes promised by you. That is relatively concerning. Would you be able to meet that 2030 target if most doctors are saying they are not going to take it up?

Butler:

We calculated this policy carefully. We know exactly what doctors are charging right now and we know three-quarters of practices financially will be better off if they take up this investment that we have announced. A lot of doctors groups came to me and said they want the investment with no strings attached. I wasn’t willing to do that.

I want an outcome for patients and that outcome is better bulk billing for people who don’t have a concession card. When we tripled that bulk billing incentive, it turned around for pensioners and concession card holders over the last two years. It is now back over 90% but for Australians who don’t have a concession card, it is down at 60% and it is continuing to reduce.

We have seen big general practice groups announce they will go to full bulk billing. I was at the practice of the year in Tasmania in Launceston a couple of days ago, they announced they will go to full bulk billing. I recognise doctor groups want to arm wrestle to get this investment without strings attached but I am not willing to do that. I want an outcome for patients.

Q: You might have to go back to the negotiating table if 92% of doctors are telling the ABC that they won’t exclusively bulk bill under the promises you’re making.

Butler:

What I have done with these investments is lift the salary of a fully bulk billing GP from $280,000 two years ago to $400,000 after these investments take effect.

That is a $125,000 salary increase, after they pay their practice fees, if they bulk bill. That is a very big increase for GPs who take up this investment. I want an outcome for patients. I am determined to get that. Bulk billing for Labor is the beating heart of Medicare. I will continue to work with GPs and general practices on this. I am also receiving positive feedback. I know there are doctors out there who are concerned about whether they are better off under these arrangements. I encourage them to do their sums and if they do, the bulk of them will see they will be better off. Importantly, so will their patients.

Labor is also enjoying throwing around the term ‘domestic reserve’ which is basically Labor saying Australia won’t export all of the critical minerals and rare earths and will reserve some for domestic uses/bargaining chips (who knows what is going to happen in this hellscape of a timeline).

Mark Butler says:

This will be a reserve that is underpinned by $1.2 billion of investment from the Australian Government. We are putting production tax credits on the table already that will reward investors. Resource companies that invest in these projects when they’re producing, so ensuring taxpayers get value for money for that investment. We think those two things combined will place Australia in a very good position to be one of the leading suppliers of these critical minerals.

Labor is talking critical minerals today and the ABC asks health minister Mark Butler if that’s because of Donald Trump’s hunger for critical minerals and rare earths (Trump has made it his mission to suck up as much of the world’s supply as he can – just ask Ukraine)

Butler says:

More broadly, we want to be an important supplier of these critical minerals and rare earths that are going to be so important for the 21st century global economy. We have already got a program of production tax credits that will underpin and encourage the development of these resource projects, particularly in WA.

Tax credits that Peter Dutton said yesterday he would cut. We think the creation of this critical minerals reserve will make Australia a really important supplier, particularly to like-minded nations. Nations we do business with like Japan and South Korea want a reliable supplier but I am sure the US administration will be interested in this as well.

The Age is reporting on an incident at a Kooyong candidate’s forum overnight, after three far right agitators gatecrashed the Friends of the ABC event and started screaming about immigration and home invasions.

The men made it their mission to disrupt the event and one woman had to be held back by people, including Monique Ryan herself, after she attempted to punch one of the men. They left after police arrived soon after.

There is some footage of the incident on the Age’s website.

Far right content creators and agitators have attempted to make themselves known in this campaign in a way we haven’t seen for some time – Anthony Albanese was surrounded by a group of far right influencers in his hotel lobby in Melbourne earlier in the campaign, which was a shock for both the campaign and those watching.

Hello and good morning and welcome to day 27 of this seemingly never ending campaign! 

Both major party leaders are in Perth, so the press conferences will be a little later in the day, east coast time. 

Peter Dutton might still be recovering from what seemed one of the most difficult press conferences of his career yesterday. After settling on the traditionally Coalition safe area of defence spending as the next big announcement, Dutton didn’t get the strongman vibes he was hoping for and instead was questioned on how a government he led would pay for it (scrapping Labor’s tax cuts apparently), what support for Ukraine actually looked like to him (he’s a bit unsure) and included a couple of mess ups, including that he had no plans to change Australia’s Israeli embassy location – which had to be ‘clarified’ later to there being no change to the Coalition’s position that the embassy should recognise Israel’s illegal claim over Western Jerusalem.

There was another ‘clarification’ a little later in the day – Dutton WOULD scrap Labor’s FBT exemption for electric vehicles, which was a reversal from Monday when Dutton said the Coalition was only opposed to “Labor’s tax on hybrids’.

So things are going well.

Albanese also seemed a little off it with the press pack yesterday – he’s naturally a bit cranky and that was showing in yesterday’s press conference. So four weeks in and everyone is feeling a bit worse for wear. 

And we have a whole other day to get through! Huzzah. 

Coffee number two is on, the papers are read and the remaining Easter eggs are calling. 

Ready? 

Let’s get into it.