Ever since Malcolm Turnbull declared he’d call an election for July 2 if the Senate defied him, we’ve been counting down towards Sunday’s formal announcement of the start of a marathon campaign.
Bill Shorten is not a natural orator, but was passionate and persuasive in the more sober parts of his speech.
AAP/Sam Mooy
In his budget reply, Bill Shorten avoided the government’s traps and wisely stressed his party’s traditional strengths: health, education and social policy.
Bill Shorten said the budget had tax cuts for high-income earners but nothing for families and ‘not one cent for ordinary Australians’.
Lukas Coch/AAP
A Labor government would bring in its emissions trading scheme in two stages, together with a separate scheme for the electricity sector.
On Thursday, Bill Shorten was in Western Sydney promising a limited night ‘no-fly zone’ when the planned Badgerys Creek airport comes into operation.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
When asked this week whether in retrospect she regretted the government trying to undo Labor’s consumer protections, Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer denied it had happened.
We’re off! The race to be Australia’s next prime minister has begun. What had until recently looked like being a gentle canter to the winning post for Malcolm Turnbull and his Coalition government now…
Malcolm Turnbull and the former member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella, attend a rally organised by owner-driver trucking companies.
Lukas Coch/AAP
As Labor nosed ahead of the government in the latest Newspoll, Michelle Grattan tells Stephen Parker this won’t necessarily translate into an election loss for the Coalition.
Bill Shorten’s recent performances have displayed a note of confidence.
Glenn Hunt/AAP
Next week Malcolm Turnbull will briefly take one foot off the domestic treadmill for his first visit to China as prime minister, going to Shanghai as well as Beijing.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten visiting Mercy Catholic College in the northern Perth suburb of Koondoola on Monday.
Rebecca Le May/AAP
Bill Shorten on Wednesday will launch a campaign to exploit Malcolm Turnbull’s suggestion that it would be logical for state governments to take over full funding responsibility for public schools.
While Malcolm Turnbull still has a substantial lead over Bill Shorten as better prime minister, the gap has narrowed markedly.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The federal government has fallen behind Labor in Newspoll for the first time under Malcolm Turnbull, with Labor now leading 51-49% on a two-party basis.
While Labor goes into the election year as underdogs, the party's strategy to win government will capitalise on what it sees as its competitive advantages.
While Bill Shorten insists Labor has zero tolerance for instances of union thuggery and corruption, he tends to minimise the issue.
Dan Peled/AAP
Malcolm Turnbull’s move to have the governor-general recall parliament, using an often-forgotten constitutional power, caught many political players off guard.
It can correctly be said Malcolm Turnbull is putting a gun to the heads of the crossbench – but it can’t be claimed he is being devious.
Rashida Yosufzai/AAP
Malcolm Turnbull’s ultimatum to the Senate – pass the government’s industrial relations bills or face a double dissolution – is a confrontationist but canny strategy.
Already on the hustings: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull takes a selfie with locals at Torrensville, South Australia.
AAP/Ben Macmahon
Senior Lecturer in Political Science: Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute; Research Associate for Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland, James Cook University