Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he plans to call a national election “imminently” as the May 17 deadline for electing a ne...
“It will be in May, I can guarantee that. And it will be called pretty imminently,” Albanese told radio station Triple M on Thursday.
“I’m not calling it today but I will call it soon. I think that Australians want to get on with it,” he said.
Separate reports from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers said Albanese is scheduled to visit Governor-General Sam Mostyn’s in Canberra on Friday to call the election.
Albanese must receive Mostyn’s authorisation, who as governor-general represents the United Kingdom’s King Charles – Australia’s official head of state – to dissolve parliament and declare a general election.
The Australian reported that the vote would take place on May 3, though Albanese’s office has yet to comment on the claim.
Albanese’s Labor Party has introduced a slew of measures to appease voters as they prepare to head to the polls amid high costs of living.
On Tuesday, the government announced two new rounds of tax cuts in the federal budget worth 17.1 billion Australian dollars ($10.7bn), where a person earning an average income would be eligible for a 268-Australian-dollar ($170) tax cut in the fiscal year ending June 2027, and a 536-Australian-dollar cut ($338) the following year.
Though welcome, the cuts are still more modest than the 1,654-Australian-dollar ($1,044) tax relief introduced during the current fiscal year.
Making his pre-election promises, the leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition, Peter Dutton, said his party would cut the fuel excise tax by half, calling it a “real, immediate relief” that could save families with a single car 750 Australian dollars ($473) over the course of a year.
Dutton said the fuel excise tax would be reduced on the day he takes office, if elected prime minister, and would last for 12 months.
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