The Prime Minister’s Labour Party aims for another term, yet many anticipate that the opposing conservative alliance will gain additional seats.

On May 3, Australians will head to the polls for general elections where rising cost of living and inadequate housing supply may work against the current administration. As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party aims for another three-year tenure, these economic challenges could impact their chances significantly.

On Friday, Albanese traveled to the official residence of Governor-General David Hurley in Canberra to initiate the elections process. He later confirmed the polling date during a press briefing held at Parliament House.

“In recent years, the world has presented numerous challenges to Australia. During these unpredictable times, we may not be able to choose which difficulties we encounter, but we can certainly influence our response to them,” Albanese stated.

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“Our administration has opted to tackle international issues in true Australian fashion: supporting citizens through the pressures of living costs while also investing in long-term growth,” he further stated.

A lot of people anticipate that Peter Dutton’s conservative coalition will gain additional seats in the House of Representatives.

Since 1931, during which Australia was dealing with the Great Depression, no Australian government has lost an election after serving only one term.

However, Australian governments typically falter during their second election bid, and Labour currently secures just 77 out of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives, which requires a majority for governance. Redistricting efforts indicate that following the upcoming election, there will only be 150 seats available.

A possible result could be a minority government sustained by votes from independent or smaller party lawmakers.

In the 2022 election, a historic total of 19 legislators who did not align with either the government or opposition parties entered the Parliament.

Misaligned legislators might play a pivotal role in determining whether Labor or Dutton’s conservative Liberal Party will form Australia’s first government resulting from a hung parliament since the 2010 election.

Since Albanese took office, cost-of-living challenges have intensified throughout Australia, accompanied by 12 interest rate increases from the previous elections.

Nevertheless, in February, Australia’s central bank lowered the key cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.1%, indicating that the peak of inflationary pressure may have been surpassed.

Albanese committed to alleviating the housing shortfall by constructing 1.2 million residences within five years; however, this 2023 commitment has initially progressed at a sluggish pace.

Dutton has committed to decreasing housing competition through reduced immigration. Additionally, he proposes allowing Australians to use money from their mandatory work retirement accounts as initial payments for purchasing new houses.

Each party has committed to achieving zero-net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, the administration plans to transition from coal and natural gas to renewable resources such as solar panels and wind turbines. In contrast, the opposition proposes constructing seven new nuclear facilities funded at the national level.

The opposing side also supports incorporating additional gas-powered energy production to ensure a steady electricity supply until nuclear power becomes available.

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