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After an election campaign that focused on purchasing power, the environment and US tariffs, Australians vote on Saturday (May 3) in a parliamentary election that will decide the future of Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been in power for the past three years.
From Australian outback communities to major coastal cities, Australians are being asked to choose between the centre-left prime minister and his main political opponent, conservative Peter Dutton. However, recent polls show the Labor Party as the frontrunner.
"No one can deny that we live in uncertain times. And in such times of uncertainty, voters typically turn to outgoing governments," pollster Michelle Levine said for Roy Morgan.
In all time zones, polling stations will open at 8:00 a.m. local time and close at 6:00 p.m.
In these elections, 150 members of the future Lower House will be elected and approximately half of the seats in the Senate will be renewed.
Albanese, 62, has promised to develop renewable energy sources, fight the housing crisis and increase funding for the health system. "In the polls, there are a lot of undecided voters. We will have to move mountains," he said today.
Peter Dutton predicted "many surprises, country after country", claiming that in his election campaign he "didn't meet a single Australian who said things are better today" than they were in 2022, in the previous election.
Trump's tariffs at the center of the debate
The election campaign was marked from the very beginning by the "trade attack" launched by US President Donald Trump against his ally, Australia. Import duties of 10% were imposed on many of its products. Some polls suggest that support for the Conservatives has decreased due to the policies of Trump, whom Dutton described as a "big thinker" earlier this year.
"If I had to confront Trump or any other leader to protect the interests of our nation, I would do it in the blink of an eye," he assured in April, however, changing his tone.
Albanese, for his part, condemned the US tariffs, considering them an act of "economic self-destruction" and a "dirty gesture from a friendly country."
The economy is a concern for voters, as many families are struggling to make ends meet due to rising prices for milk, bread, electricity and gasoline.
Both Albanese and Dutton boasted of their working-class origins, but neither was able to say how much a dozen eggs cost in their debate.
"We do the shopping, pay $50 (about 28 euros) and get a small bag in return. "It's unbearable," said musician Has Sali, 69.
Vision for climate change
Voters in Australia, a coal-producing country, will also have to choose between two radically different visions for climate change and reducing greenhouse gases. The government has promised to turn the country into a renewable energy "superpower" even as it has granted new mining licenses and subsidized polluting industries.
“They need to develop wind and solar power,” Annika Cole, 63, a health care worker, said in mid-April after the vote. It should be noted that about a third of the 18.1 million eligible voters have already cast their ballots in advance.
Dutton, for his part, wants to build seven nuclear power plants (a project estimated at US$200 billion) and, at the same time, move away from renewable sources.
The question is whether the winning party will secure a majority of seats in parliament.
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