Recent polling suggests the race is tightening. Then again, opinion polling suggested the recent Victorian state election would also be a close affair and it turned out to be a Labor landslide.
If someone asked the “real Scott Morrison to please stand up”, two men might rise to their feet. The uncompromising, don’t-give-an-inch hard Scott, and a more conciliatory, flexible character.
It remains to be seen whether the Liberals’ campaign woes in Lyons will have any impact on the neighbouring battleground seats of Bass or Braddon, which recent polls suggest the Liberals could regain.
The Christian Democratic Party in NSW could play a key role in the election by funnelling support from voters in electorates with large East Asian populations to the Liberal Party.
At this election there is a stark choice between the two major parties on industrial relations: the “small target” approach of the Coalition and the ALP’s more ambitious and detailed plan.
Inevitably much of the discussion and many of the clashes focused on money and tax – the conflicting arguments have been well rehearsed throughout the campaign.
In the second debate of the campaign, Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten answered questions from voters in a people’s forum on everything from franking credits to, yes, post offices.
Pre-poll votes within the first 24 hours were almost double the number at the same stage in 2016. That could hurt some minor parties who traditionally spend big in the last few weeks of a campaign.
After the backlash against the formal Labor-Greens alliance under the Gillard government, Shorten is anxious to keep maximum distance between the ALP and the minor party.
Labor Leader Arthur Calwell tried to leverage public opposition to conscription to gain support during the 1966 election, calling it a “sinister word” for Australians. The tactic failed.
All the polls suggested the Keating government would be finished at the 1993 election – until Opposition Leader John Hewson launched a 650-page policy document called “Fightback!”.
In 1960, Harold Holt, the then-treasurer, urged the government to abolish import restrictions, resulting in a minor recession. This nearly swung the election in the ALP’s favour.
Senior Lecturer in Political Science: Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute; Research Associate for Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland, James Cook University