6 days Ago By Angus Thomson, Olivia Ireland
The Dutton campaign trail is set to leave Sydney early this morning. We don’t know where we will be going, but the flight is about an hour, so stay tuned for updates shortly. Households are set to gain federal help to cut their energy bills under a government plan to make it easier for them to buy home batteries, in a major campaign pledge from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the coming days.
The Labor policy, confirmed by three senior government sources, seeks to cut the cost of household batteries that store surplus solar power that is generated during the day, aiming to make it more affordable for homes to use the batteries when electricity prices peak in the evening. Labor plans to roll out subsidies for household batteries very soon. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, iStock Underwriting the cost of these batteries through low-cost loans or direct subsidies would give Labor a new cost-of-living pitch as it tries to convince voters of a better standard of living despite failing to drive down prices by $275 as it promised at the last election.
Plans for the battery pledge were confirmed by a government minister and two other senior Labor sources. Read the full story here . The formal campaign has begun with a strong sense that Albanese has the upper hand: 42 per cent now think he will win , while only 34 per cent expect a Dutton victory.
There is a powerful shift in sentiment in every major indicator in the Resolve Political Monitor – primary vote, preferred prime minister, ratings on leadership performance and opinions about which side is best on key policies. Labor has gained on all counts. It looks as if Labor has finally marshalled its forces to win back voters with better policies and a more convincing message.
The mystery is why it took so long. The prospect of imminent defeat finally jolted the insiders into action. Read chief political correspondent David Crowe’s full analysis of the Resolve poll here.
In case you were enjoying your weekend instead of following day three of the campaign yesterday, here’s a quick wrap of what happened: Voters have swung towards Labor with a surge of support that has given Albanese a personal edge Dutton as the country’s preferred leader, the first post-budget Resolve Political Monitor poll for this masthead revealed. The result is consistent with other polls from Freshwater Strategic and YouGov, both of which have Labor edging ahead in the race to form government. Albanese will begin today’s campaign in Perth, while Dutton closed day three of the campaign in Sydney yesterday.
Matthew Knott and Paul Sakkal are on the campaign trail with Dutton and Albanese respectively. We will bring you updates from them as they come. Voters have swung to Labor with a surge of support that has given Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a personal edge over Opposition Leader Peter Dutton as the country’s preferred leader, lifting the government out of a long slump ahead of the May 3 election.
Albanese has taken the lead over Dutton as preferred prime minister, ahead by 42 to 33 per cent, in a significant shift since he fell behind the opposition leader at the start of this year. But Dutton retains a big gap against Albanese as the best leader to handle US President Donald Trump, ahead by 31 to 20 per cent, even as the prime minister suggests his opponent is trying to copy the American leader. See the full survey results, conducted exclusively for this masthead, here .
Good morning and welcome to day four of the federal election campaign. Several polls released yesterday have Labor edging ahead in the race to form government . Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to begin today’s campaign in Perth, while Dutton closed day three of the campaign in Sydney yesterday.
Our reporters Matthew Knott and Paul Sakkal are on the campaign trail with Dutton and Albanese respectively, and we will bring you updates from them as they come..
