Record inflation and cost-of-living pressures continue to dominate the campaign trail, as the major parties take their election pitches to Sydney and Cairns.
Follow the latest updates in our live blog.
Live updates
By Jessica Riga
High profile Independents gain ground
Liberal Member for Mackellar Jason Falinski doubled down on prominent Independent candidates yesterday, saying it is a political party and that it’s dishonest for them to be funded by the same people and using the same strategies.
Falinski’s challenger, Sophie Scamps, has defended her independence on News Breakfast this morning.
“If there is a similarity in policies between the different Independents, it is because this Government has failed to lead on the issues that are really important to Australians across the country.”
Dr Scamps says the Coalition is “in chaos” and as an Independent she would work constructively across the party spectrum.
“The Nationals and the Liberal Party are still bickering over whether they’re actually going to meet their 2050 net zero commitment.”
“People want to start moving the country forward to face these challenges instead of all of the infighting and the adversarial tactics between the two parties.”
Reporting by Lucy McDonald
By Jessica Riga
By Jessica Riga
Key Event
PM argues inflation rate driven by external factors
The Prime Minister is arguing the sharp jump in inflation has been driven by external factors, insisting the Coalition can help keep the cost of living down.
The latest figures show the cost of living has risen more than five per cent in the past year, the sharpest rise in two decades.
Labor has seized on the figures, arguing the government has failed to properly address the rising cost of living.
But Scott Morrison says inflation is rising around the world.
“The inflationary pressures that we’re seeing coming from overseas as part of the hangover from the pandemic, and the pandemic continues by the way,” he said.
“In addition to that, the war in Europe as we know has significantly increased fuel prices.”
Reporting by Stephanie Dalzell
By Jessica Riga
The widening gap in Hobart between what voters want, and what politicians say
In an election campaign where independent candidates are taking urban areas by storm, Hobart is being generally ignored, despite it being home to the nation’s longest-serving urban independent MP, Andrew Wilkie.
ABC Hobart Breakfast presenter Ryk Goddard joins Mel Clarke and James Glenday to talk about what he sees as a widening gap between the policies and messages of politicians, and what voters are really interested in.
You can listen to the Australia Votes podcast here and on the ABC Listen app.
By Jessica Riga
Analysis: Australia’s inflation shock will have Morrison contemplating an interest rate rise – and his political future
In light of shocking new inflation figures, the government’s best hope is to convince voters to stick with what they know in uncertain times. But, nearing the halfway mark of this campaign, there’s been little movement in the polls, writes David Speers.
Here’s some more of his analysis:
The last time interest rates rose during an election campaign was in 2007. Inflation had hit 3 per cent and the Reserve Bank was worried it might climb higher.
Its decision to hike rates just two and a half weeks before polling day didn’t go down well with the Howard government, to put it mildly.
Howard, already facing a likely election defeat and with nothing to lose, offered an immediate apology to mortgage holders:
“I don’t like it and I would say to the borrowers of Australia who are affected by this change that I am sorry about that, and I regret the additional burden that will be put upon them as a result.”
By the end of the month, he had lost the election and his own seat.
Scott Morrison must now be contemplating how he will respond if dealt his own mid-campaign interest rate whack next week. Don’t hold your breath for an apology.
By Jessica Riga
Key Event
Liberal senator insists cost of living pressures are out of government’s hands
As wages struggle to keep pace, surging petrol and building costs have pushed inflation to 5.1 per cent, the biggest jump in consumer prices in two decades.
The Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services, Jane Hume, told News Breakfast that higher inflation rates are a global phenomenon.
“It’s also happened under the government of the US, under Joe Biden, under Boris Johnson in the UK and under Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand,” Hume says.
“This is a global phenomenon, higher inflation rates, which will be fed into normalising our interest rates again.”
“We knew that this was going to happen at some stage. The good news is it’s actually lower than those comparative countries.”
The inflation spike raises the prospect interest rates could be lifted from the record low 0.1 per cent as early as Tuesday.
Reporting by Lucy McDonald
By Jessica Riga
Good morning!
Welcome to another day on the federal election campaign.
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