Australian federal election: a bluffer’s guide

Australian voters will head to the polls on Saturday for the federal election to choose their prime minister and their government. Here’s what you need to know. 

What happened last time?

Australia’s last election was in 2019, with the Liberal-National Coalition scraping through with 77 seats, one more than the 76 required for a majority – the first time since 2001 that a government had won a third consecutive term in office. This proved a major upset for the Australian Labor Party, which had polled ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition for three years.

Voting in Australia is mandatory for over-18s – in the run up to this election, 17.2 million people have enrolled to vote.

Who are the key characters?

Scott Morrison, the incumbent prime minister, has been in power since 2018. Morrison will be seeking to replicate his previous success, undoubtedly hoping that his closed-border approach to Covid, which gave Australia one of the lowest global death rates, will be enough to keep him in favour.

However, Morrison has recently faced criticism, even from within his own party. Text messages from Barnaby Joyce, the deputy prime minister, revealed that he had called Morrison a “hypocrite and a liar.” Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells also used her outgoing speech to describe the prime minister as having “no moral compass.”

Facing Morrison is Anthony Albanese, leader of the Labor Party since 2019. Albanese, who separated from his wife in 2019, would be Australia’s first prime minister to have been separated or divorced – with eight opposition parties having lost elections with a divorced and remarried leader.

Albanese, previously deputy prime minister under Kevin Rudd, has moved towards the centre after becoming leader, and has promised significant spending on the care sector, manufacturing and to provide cheaper childcare.

What’s at stake?

All seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs. The outcome will determine which party forms a government.

Of the total of 151 seats, 76 are needed for a majority government – otherwise, parties will have to rely on winning support from a host of independents.

With Labor leading in the polls by five per cent according to Ipsos, the party will be looking to improve upon the 68 seats it won in 2019, and push past the Coalition to take a majority this time around. However, the lead that Labor currently holds is down from the last poll 12 days ago.

While the government is making gains due to an unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent for April, the lowest figure since 1974, it is likely that it could suffer at the hands of the so-called “teal independents”. These 22 candidates are set to take votes from the Coalition by pushing for action on climate change, something the Coalition has failed to do.

Over half of the seats in the Senate’s 76 seats are also being contested, with the Coalition currently in possession of 35, and Labor holding 26.

What are the main issues being fought over?

A major concern amongst voters is climate change. In recent years, Australia has suffered at the hands of some of the worst bushfires and floods the country has ever seen. In February, Brisbane had more than 70 per cent of its annual rainfall in three days.

Around 500,000 properties in flood-prone areas are also likely to become “uninsurable” by 2030, as extreme weather increases costs of maintenance, repair and replacement of homes.

Both Labor and the Coalition have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, but have also said that they will back the coal mining industry.

The treatment of women in Australia’s government has also proved to be an issue for voters; a wave of sexual assault and harassment allegations in 2021 led to protesters marching for women’s rights across the country.

According to a 2021 report by Kate Jenkins, Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner, one third of the employees in the Australian parliament had experienced sexual harassment – and one per cent had been sexually assaulted.