Leaders eye election finish line in final-day sprint
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have just one more day to convince voters they should lead the nation, as the election campaign nears the finish line.
The prime minister and opposition leader will embark on a last-minute blitz of marginal seats across Australia on Friday, the final full day of campaigning before polls open.
Having already visited Western Australia and South Australia, Mr Albanese will look to round off the remaining four states as part of his six-state whistle-stop tour in the election's last days.
Meanwhile, Mr Dutton is hoping to gain ground in battleground electorates during his sweep of 28 marginal seats for the frenetic final week.
The opposition leader will be out to defy history and the polls to become the 32nd prime minister, with no party having formed government after just one term in opposition since 1931.
The coalition has also been trailing in national opinion polls, while a seat-by-seat poll released on Thursday by YouGov revealed the opposition could sink to its lowest seat percentage since the 1940s.
While some campaign techniques have stayed the same, the 2025 election has been defined by a shift of party leaders appearing on podcasts, with new media and online influencers having a large role.
Hannah Ferguson, Cheek Media Co chief executive and co-host of the Big Small Talk podcast, said 2025 was the first election where political parties realised the influence of large online audiences, which had been untapped.
"This is the first time politicians have realised the power of us," she told AAP.
"An influencer has a level of engagement where they are talking politics and have a rapport with a dedicated audience who like and trust them."
Mr Albanese has made several podcast appearances throughout the year, including with Abbie Chatfield and the Betoota Advocate, while Mr Dutton has been on podcasts with businessman Mark Bouris and Olympian Sam Fricker.
Ms Ferguson said podcast appearances were a way to tap into previously unreachable audiences for political candidates.
"It's easy to say Generation Z listen blatantly to information, but it's more complex than that. The politicians who bother to show up want to prove they want different voters," she said.
"(Audiences) feel like they're opting into receiving communications."
The influence of online creators and podcasters has become even more powerful during the traditional media blackout period for election advertising on TV and radio, with online measures not affected.
A day out from polling day, Ms Ferguson said the prime minister had made better use of appealing to voters through podcasts and online platforms than his opponent.
"He has followed suit with the strengths of Greens and teals with engaging in different demographics and new media, and reaching voters he would have lost," she said.
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