By Ben Kerrigan-
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government is heading for a defeat in the federal election to be held on May 21, according to polls on Monday.
A Newspoll survey conducted for The Australian newspaper showed Morrison gaining a point to 44%, while opposition leader Anthony Albanese falling 3 points to 39%, the largest lead the prime minister has held over his rival since February. The governor general will formally prorogue the 46th parliament and dissolve the House of Representatives on Monday morning, allowing the writs to be issued for the six-week campaign.
The Australian polls indicates that Morrison’s conservative Liberal-National Party coalition, with a one-seat majority in the lower house of parliament, could lose 10 seats to Albanese’s centre-left Labor in a campaign set to focus on cost-of-living pressures, climate change and questions over the major parties’ competence. read more
A separate survey for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Monday predicted the ruling coalition could lose at least 14 seats, including some previously deemed safe in resource-rich Queensland and Western Australia states. Victory for Labor would see it return to power for the first time since 2013.
However, polls are known to sometimes be misleading, with contrary outcomes eventually occurring.
Morrison won a narrow victory in the 2019 election, despite opinion polls consistently placing the centre-left Australian Labor Party ahead, led by Anthony Albanese.
Although the Liberal Party-led coalition is behind in most polls, but analysts are predicting a tight result.
All 151 seats in the lower house will be up for election. Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition holds 76, Labor 68 and seven are held by minor parties and independents.
Morrison kicked off his election campaign from the marginal seat of Gilmore in New South Wales – a narrow Labor gain from the Liberal Party in the last election in 2019 . During that visit he said while his government had not been perfect, the choice was between “It’s about our country and it’s about its future. Above all, this election, as all elections are, this election is a choice.
“It’s a choice between a strong economy and a Labor opposition that would weaken it. It’s a choice between an economic recovery that is leading the world and a Labor opposition that would weaken it and risk it.”
Australia’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.0% in February, several months ahead of central bank forecasts as the economy rebounds, and looks certain to fall into the 3% range for the first time since the early 1970s.
Morrison has hailed his government’s handling of the economy after the emergence of the coronavirus and a faster rebound helped by the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions despite the threat from the Omicron variant.
However, the opposition party has also criticized the government’s pace over its COVID vaccine rollout, which was derided as a “stroll out”. However, Australia’s population is now one of the most vaccinated in the world.
Morrison’s government has been hit seen high-profile resignations of the Education Minister Alan Tudge and Attorney General Christian Porter. His close friend, Brian Houston, the founding pastor of the Hillsong megachurch, was forced to resign after an internal investigation revealed he had engaged in inappropriate conduct towards two women.
This election is about you – no one else,” he said.
“It’s about our country and it’s about its future. Above all, this election, as all elections are, this election is a choice.
“It’s a choice between a strong economy and a Labor opposition that would weaken it. It’s a choice between an economic recovery that is leading the world and a Labor opposition that would weaken it and risk it.”
Mr Morrison is the first leader to serve a full term in office since John Howard, who won four elections before losing to Labor’s Kevin Rudd in 2007.
Australian Premierships before this have not lasted long at all, making Morrison is success story so far in theory.
The prime minister has faced some tough accusations in recent weeks. He was accused of being a bully and once sabotaging a rival’s career by suggesting the man’s Lebanese heritage made him less electable. Mr Morrison has denied the allegations.
Only last Friday, a teenage journalist confronted the prime minister with strong questions Morrison did concede politicians ‘might get the odd fact wrong’ – but he insisted he tells ‘the truth’ and that Australians know he is ‘up front’ with them.
Puglisi, who founded his news channel 6 News at the age of 11, echoed claims by political news website Crikey, that Morrison had lied 50 times, and been caught out by ABC fact-checkers had also caught him out.
The prime minister was eventually embarrassed, and forced to concede that politicians ‘might get the odd fact wrong’ – but he insisted he tells ‘the truth’ and that Australians know he is ‘up front’ with them.
Puglisi, who founded his news channel 6 News at the age of 11, repeated claims made by political news website Crikey that Morrison had lied 50 times, and that he had been caught by ABC fact-checkers.