Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced-off with his election rival Peter Dutton in their first debate before the 3 May federal election vote.
Cost of living issues dominated Tuesday night’s debate, organised by Sky News Australia and The Daily Telegraph, and the two leaders were also asked about US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Opinion polls have predicted a slim margin between Albanese’s Labor Party and Dutton’s Liberal-National coalition, and the possibility that either will need to form the next government with independent MPs or minor parties.
Albanese was declared the night’s winner by Sky News after a vote by 100 undecided voters, who also provided the night’s questions.
When the debate host asked the audience if they were having a tough time with the cost of living, most of the audience members raised their hands, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Dutton described the show of hands as a “very confronting scene” and said his plan to temporarily lower a government tax on fuel would provide immediate relief.
Albanese pointed the finger at tough global economic conditions, saying “the world has thrown a lot of challenges at Australia”. But he said he had brought inflation down and wages up, and added that interest rates were starting to fall.
How to respond to Trump’s tariffs was the first question of the night, to which Albanese replied that “no country is better prepared” than Australia because of his efforts.
“We’ll continue to negotiate with the United States looking for a better deal for Australia because reciprocal tariffs would, of course, be zero, because we don’t impose tariffs on US goods,” he said.
Dutton pointed to his experience as a senior minister negotiating with the first Trump government, and argued he would be in a better position to get concessions from the White House.
“The prime minister of the day should have the ability and the strength of character to be able to stand up against bullies, against those that would seek to do us harm, to keep our country safe,” he said.
The leaders also clashed on health and energy, and throughout the debate accused each other of lying.
Dutton blamed Albanese’s government for increased out-of-pocket health expenses, and said his party would help by funding more free doctor visits, training more general practitioners (GPs) and improving mental health services.
The Labor Party has promised to do all of these things too – and Albanese said only they could be trusted on health policy, pointing to the Coalition government’s previous record.
Each leader was given the opportunity to ask the other a question, and Albanese used his to attack Dutton’s nuclear energy plan.
Dutton has proposed building seven nuclear reactors, something he says will help Australia lower its emissions, create new jobs and offer cheaper power than renewables.
“Our policy is to make sure that we can underpin our economy with a stable energy market for the next hundred years,” Dutton said, pointing to countries like China, France, and Canada which all use nuclear power.
In the interim, the coalition would increase the supply of gas into the Australian market, he said.
“The only gas policy that the coalition have is the gaslighting of the Australian public,” Albanese rebutted, citing experts who say the nuclear scheme cannot be delivered within the timeframe or cost Dutton has specified.
Dutton, meanwhile, used his question to accuse the Labor government of out-of-control spending.
“A coalition government will always be a better economic manager,” he argued.
“When the Prime Minister says that this has been a successful three-year period, it’s just in defiance of the reality of people’s lives and where we are as a country right now.”
