Australia to hold federal election on 3 May
Australia will head to the polls for a federal election on 3 May, in what is predicted to be a tight race.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Labor Party will be defending a small majority, announced the date from Parliament House on Friday.
Opinion polls predict a slim margin between the country's two major parties, and the possibility either will have to work with independent MPs or minor parties - which combined won a record share of the vote at the last election - to form the next government.
The campaign is expected to be dominated by cost-of-living issues, and Labor is fighting to avoid becoming the first single-term government to lose an election in almost a century.
Australia to hold federal election on 3 May
The word liberal is effectively meaningless in politics.
It means in favour of 'liberty', or freedom.
But liberty is entirely context dependent. Liberty for conservatives means freedom from governmental interference and over-reach. Liberty for left wingers means freedom from conservative oppression.
There are really 2 political mindsets that people fall into based on the emotional wiring of their brain
1. Conservative - prefer to keep things the same
2. Revisionist - are more happy to change things
Conservatives are happy to go under the honest and accurate eponymous label of 'Conservative'
However Revisionists can't resist the desire to wrap themselves in the language of virtue, so they relabel themselves as Liberals (people who like freedom - who wouldn't like 'freedom' right? those people must be crazy!) or Progressive.
The Progressive label is an egregious example of left wing language engineering and should be banned. Progress is the outcome we get when there is a good balance of conservative and revisionist thought guiding policy outcomes. Progress is change at a pace that does not risk trampling the wisdom of established processes which may not be fully understood until they have been destroyed by rampant unchecked revisionism.
The universally sought political pursuit of social 'Progress' should not be synonymous with the one sided philosophy of revisionism.
And in the blue corner...
The BBC are shining a spotlight on the polished-pate pretender flying the Liberal (freedom loving!) conservative banner today.
Peter Dutton: The ex-cop who brought Australia's opposition back from the brink
In 2002, a fresh-faced former policeman stood up in Canberra's Parliament House and introduced himself to the nation.
Peter Dutton warmly thanked the community which had elected him, before launching into a strongly worded speech railing against crime, trade unions, and refugee advocacy groups.
"As a police officer," he said, "I have seen the best and the worst that society has to offer. I have seen the wonderful, kind nature of people willing to offer any assistance to those in their worst hour, and I have seen the sickening behaviour displayed by people who, frankly, barely justify their existence in our sometimes over-tolerant society."
Dutton vowed to fight for the "forgotten people" of Australia who were "fed up" with the "boisterous minority and the politically correct" - a stance he has steadfastly clung to during his climb to the top of the Liberal-National coalition.
The 54-year-old is now gearing up to fight the upcoming May election on many of those same battlegrounds.
Peter Dutton: The ex-cop who brought Australia'''s opposition back from the brink
Elder statesman John Howard weighs in on election betting markets
Former prime minister John Howard predicts Coalition struggles but sees hope for Dutton in Teal seats
Former prime minister John Howard has described the upcoming federal election as “hard to pick”, as polling indicates the most likely outcome will be a hung parliament.
The second-longest serving national leader predicted losses for the Greens and the Teals, but cautioned that the Liberal Party faces “history against it”.
No first term government has lost an election and failed to return to power for close to a century.
In an exclusive interview with The Kenny Report, Mr Howard said he thought Opposition Leader Peter Dutton could win the election, but it would be an uphill battle.
Nocookies | Sky News Australia
Interesting to note that, given Australia's unusually short 3 year terms, governments normally get re-elected for a second 3 year term before the electorate tires of them, so Labor's Albanese will be hoping to maintain that record.
Australians almost never vote out a first-term government. So why is this year’s election looking so tight?
Now that an election has been called, Australian voters will go to the polls on May 3 to decide the fate of the first-term, centre-left Australian Labor Party government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
In Australia, national elections are held every three years. The official campaign period only lasts for around a month.
This time around, Albanese will be seeking to hold onto power after breaking Labor’s nine-year dry spell by beating the more right-leaning Liberal Party, led by Scott Morrison, in 2022.
Now, he’s up against the Liberals’ new leader, a conservative with a tough guy image, Peter Dutton. It’s looking like a tight race.
Australians almost never vote out a first-term government. So why is this year’s election looking so tight?
Which ones? I asked AI and it only mentioned environmental problems. It was probably picking up moaning from the Greens. Compared to other countries, Australia seems to have been doing quite well.
Took me ages to fill these fookers out for house and senate.
If they are not filled correctly they are null and void.
It is like a voting intelligence test.
This is what they need in Merka
in the senate one you only had to number 1 to 6 above the line to make it valid
and a quick look at the parties that you favour website will show you how they want you to number both forms - remembering to put the trumpet for fat rich billionaires party last
If you torture data for enough time , you can get it to say what you want.
It's the big day tomorrow? I understand Dutton has been hurt by being seen as Trump Lite and is unlikely to be forming a government. A not so popular Labor government is expected to be re-elected?
7 million have already early voted. Getting it out of the way? Or just know exactly who they want to vote for and don't need the usual last minute scare campaigns from the coalition Chinese warships circling, Russians with secret indo bases etc
It is tomorrow, indeed.
I don't think that is his problem. He has not been trying to emulate Trump at all really, I don't think. He is just not a very engaging personality. But neither is Albanese.
The polls were looking good for the Liberals earlier in the campaign but their fortunes seem to be flagging in recent polls.
How will Australia choose its next prime minister?
Australia will vote on 3 May, to choose new members of parliament and determine who the next prime minister will be.
A cost-of-living crisis and housing shortages are among the key issues on voters' minds.
Some 18 million citizens are expected to head to the polls, in what is likely to be a tight race between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his rival Peter Dutton.
It is possible that either will need to form the next government by securing the support of independent MPs or minor parties.
How will Australia choose its next prime minister?
I want a labour minority govt with the independent and greens encouraging big investment in Australia's future.
Looks like it is Labor's night.
They look not only likely to win the election, but the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has lost his Brisbane seat.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese wins re-election, local networks project
The night has gone from bad to worse for Peter Dutton.
Moments ago the ABC declared his Liberal-National coalition had lost the election, and now they say he has lost his seat of Dickson, in Brisbane, to Labor's Ali France.
Live Results: Australia federal election 2025 - BBC News
Yay. Fucking good result.
^It is an award winners night for Lao
It is a glass is half full night for me...
At least Labor won outright and don't have to share power with Baldrick's loonie lefty greens crew!
I'm going to go out on a limb and label this the "Trump Effect". International aversion to Trump will hurt the election chances of conservative parties around the world. Canada was first, now Australia; who's next?
Fantastic, another defeat you can blame squarely on the orange turd.
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