Latest news with #RedBridge-Accent
Japan Today
01-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Australia's Labor party likely to retain power as Trump concerns weigh, polls show
By Renju Jose Australia's center-left Labor government is likely to retain power in a close-run national election this weekend, two opinion polls showed on Thursday, with voters ranking U.S. President Donald Trump's policies among their top concerns. A RedBridge-Accent poll published by News Corp newspapers on Thursday showed Labor leading 53%-47% against the conservative Liberal-National coalition under Australia's two-party preferential voting system, where votes are distributed until a winner is declared. Labor could win the election in its own right or form a minority government, the RedBridge poll said, marking a reversal of sentiment from February, when voters wanted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese out of office. The lift in support for Labor late in the campaign is driven by Millennials and Generation Z voters, with one in five saying they had changed their mind, the RedBridge poll said. Millennials and Generation Z voters make up 43% of the 18 million people enrolled under Australia's mandatory voting system, outnumbering the powerful baby boomer bloc. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals staged a major political comeback to retain power in Canada's election, fueled by a backlash against Trump's policies and his comments on making Canada the 51st U.S. state. About 48% of Australian voters picked the uncertainties triggered by Trump as one of their top five concerns, while 42% remained wary of the opposition's plans to build seven nuclear plants across the country to help replace coal-fired power. The online poll of 1,011 voters was conducted between April 24 and 29. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has campaigned on several policies seen widely as emulating Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) set up by Elon Musk, though he later abandoned a policy that would have required government workers to return to the office full time. Comparisons with Trump and his policies have dragged down Dutton's popularity in Australia, where a poll last month showed Australians' faith in the United States had hit an all-time low. A separate YouGov poll released on Thursday predicted a Labor majority, with the party likely winning up to 85 seats in the 150-seat lower house and the opposition facing a net loss of 11 seats, its worst performance since 1946. Albanese has been downplaying the poll results, saying it would be a close campaign. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Australia's centre-left Labor likely to retain power as Trump concerns weigh, polls show
SYDNEY - Australia's centre-left Labor government is likely to retain power in a close-run national election this weekend, two opinion polls showed on Thursday, with voters ranking U.S. President Donald Trump's policies among their top concerns. A RedBridge-Accent poll published by News Corp newspapers on Thursday showed Labor leading 53%-47% against the conservative Liberal-National coalition under Australia's two-party preferential voting system, where votes are distributed until a winner is declared. Labor could win the election in its own right or form a minority government, the RedBridge poll said, marking a reversal of sentiment from February, when voters wanted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese out of office. The lift in support for Labor late in the campaign is driven by Millennials and Generation Z voters, with one in five saying they had changed their mind, the RedBridge poll said. Millennials and Generation Z voters make up 43% of the 18 million people enrolled under Australia's mandatory voting system, outnumbering the powerful Baby Boomer bloc. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals staged a major political comeback to retain power in Canada's election, fuelled by a backlash against Trump's policies and his comments on making Canada the 51st U.S. state. About 48% of Australian voters picked the uncertainties triggered by Trump as one of their top five concerns, while 42% remained wary of the opposition's plans to build seven nuclear plants across the country to help replace coal-fired power. The online poll of 1,011 voters was conducted between April 24 and 29. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has campaigned on several policies seen widely as emulating Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) set up by Elon Musk, though he later abandoned a policy that would have required government workers return to office full time. Comparisons with Trump and his policies have dragged down Dutton's popularity in Australia, where a poll last month showed Australians' faith in the United States had hit an all-time low. A separate YouGov poll released on Thursday predicted a Labor majority, with the party likely winning up to 85 seats in the 150-seat lower house and the opposition facing a net loss of 11 seats, its worst performance since 1946. Albanese has been downplaying the poll results, saying it would be a close campaign. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Perth Now
30-04-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Poll shows trouble for Dutton in final days
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are hitting the road again as the penultimate day of campaigning for Saturday's federal election gets under way. Both leaders are setting a frenetic pace in the final days before Australians vote, trying to visit as many marginal electorates as they can. The final RedBridge-Accent national poll before Saturday's election has Mr Albanese extending Labor's two-party-preferred lead an extra point to 53 per cent to the Coalition's 47 per cent, News Corp reported. Anthony Albanese will make another visit to Western Australia on Thursday after addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday. Jason Edwards / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia The Prime Minister is in Perth for his 33rd visit to the west as the country's leader. Western Australia was the state that secured Mr Albanese a majority government at the 2022 election and he has gone all out to keep the 10 seats Labor won then. Meanwhile, Peter Dutton will be starting the day in his hometown Brisbane. Queensland is a stronghold for the Coalition and a major issue for Labor, which holds only five of the 30 lower house seats. NED-13123 Key seats Both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese are keen to win back the three seats the Greens surprisingly won in inner-Brisbane in 2022 – Griffith, Ryan and Brisbane. The Opposition Leader has promised to visit 28 electorates in the final week, as opinion polls show it will be a massive task for him to pick up the 21 seats the Coalition needs to secure a majority in the 150-seat parliament. Peter Dutton made his 15th petrol station stop in Melbourne on Wednesday. Adam Head / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Neither leader is expected to make any more major announcements, but the costs of those promises already made will be front and centre. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor will reveal the Coalition's costings, three days after Jim Chalmers unveiled the government figures. Despite Mr Chalmers' criticising the opposition for not revealing their costings, he waited until the Thursday before the May 21 election in 2022 to show how Labor would fund their promises. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor will release the Coalition costing on Thursday after Jim Chalmers unveiled the government's earlier in the week. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia Both major parties have pledged eye-watering sums of taxpayer dollars to fund their election commitments, with Labor accusing the Coalition of keeping their costings secret. Labor, on the other hand, said it had managed to 'offset' its re-election campaign pledges and rustle up an extra billion dollars in savings when it released its updated costings on Monday. Mr Taylor has promised the Coalition's costings would find the savings needed. More than four million Australians have voted, with early voting ending on Friday before most people head to polling booths on Saturday. More to come
News.com.au
30-04-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Australian election 2025: Albanese, Dutton on Day 34 of May 3 election campaign
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are hitting the road again as the penultimate day of campaigning for Saturday's federal election gets under way. Both leaders are setting a frenetic pace in the final days before Australians vote, trying to visit as many marginal electorates as they can. The final RedBridge-Accent national poll before Saturday's election has Mr Albanese extending Labor's two-party-preferred lead an extra point to 53 per cent to the Coalition's 47 per cent, News Corp reported. The Prime Minister is in Perth for his 33rd visit to the west as the country's leader. Western Australia was the state that secured Mr Albanese a majority government at the 2022 election and he has gone all out to keep the 10 seats Labor won then. Meanwhile, Peter Dutton will be starting the day in his hometown Brisbane. Queensland is a stronghold for the Coalition and a major issue for Labor, which holds only five of the 30 lower house seats. Both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese are keen to win back the three seats the Greens surprisingly won in inner-Brisbane in 2022 – Griffith, Ryan and Brisbane. The Opposition Leader has promised to visit 28 electorates in the final week, as opinion polls show it will be a massive task for him to pick up the 21 seats the Coalition needs to secure a majority in the 150-seat parliament. Neither leader is expected to make any more major announcements, but the costs of those promises already made will be front and centre. Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor will reveal the Coalition's costings, three days after Jim Chalmers unveiled the government figures. Despite Mr Chalmers' criticising the opposition for not revealing their costings, he waited until the Thursday before the May 21 election in 2022 to show how Labor would fund their promises. Both major parties have pledged eye-watering sums of taxpayer dollars to fund their election commitments, with Labor accusing the Coalition of keeping their costings secret. Labor, on the other hand, said it had managed to 'offset' its re-election campaign pledges and rustle up an extra billion dollars in savings when it released its updated costings on Monday. Mr Taylor has promised the Coalition's costings would find the savings needed. More than four million Australians have voted, with early voting ending on Friday before most people head to polling booths on Saturday.
News.com.au
25-04-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Australian election 2025: Albanese, Dutton campaigning on day 30 of May 3 election
The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader will ramp on their campaigns on Saturday, after taking a break on Friday to mark Anzac Day. The May 3 election is now entering the final stretch with just seven days of campaigning to go, with a new opinion poll showing Labor is still ahead in key marginal seats – but the outcome is not a done deal, The latest RedBridge-Accent tracking poll of 20 marginal seats, published in News Corp mastheads on Saturday, has found that after weeks of falling, the Coalition vote has stabilised. While the Albanese government remains in an election-winning lead of 54.5 per cent, more of those who have indicated they'll vote Labor could still flip before polling day than Coalition voters. Labor's primary vote remained static on 35 per cent as did the Coalition with 34 per cent with the Greens on 14 and the per cent and other minor parties and independents on 17 per cent. RedBridge director Tony Barry said the large number of undecided voters meant the result was still uncertain. 'The continued large soft vote segment means the Coalition can't be counted out of the fight but the issues performance numbers in this poll indicates that all of Labor's messages are landing, particularly their Mediscare 2.0 campaign,' he said. More than one million Australians have already voted and many pre-poll site are open again on Saturday for early voting. Peter Dutton said the race was not over, with a lot of seats still up for grabs. 'There are literally millions of Australians who are still undecided and I think the next week will allow them to decide whether they want to continue with three more years under Labor,' the Opposition Leader told Nine's Today show on Saturday. 'I think there is a big difference in the mood out there and what silent Australians are thinking as they vote right now and every day until next Saturday. 'I think there is a lot up for grabs, and I think there are a lot of seats still to be decided over the course of the next week.' Anthony Albanese is starting the day in Melbourne, where Labor needs to win or retain its seats, while Mr Dutton is in Cairns, where the Coalition is trying to retain its seat of Leichhardt following the retirement of popular long serving MP, Warren Entsch. 'Unite under one flag': Dutton's call on Welcome to Country Peter Dutton has been asked whether he still supports the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander flags being dropped in political backdrops after the Welcome to Country was booed in Melbourne. 'In relation to a Welcome to Country, if an organizer of a particular event decides that there's a Welcome to Country, then people can respect that decision,' Mr Dutton said. 'That's an issue for individual events and and people should respect that. 'In relation to the flag, the point I've made about as prime minister, my policy to stand behind one flag is because I want our country to be united under one flag. 'I want our country to be as good as it can be, and we can't be as good as it can be if we're separating people into different groupings. 'Every Australian, whether you came here as a migrant from Greece or from Asia or any part of the world in the 1800s or you came here in 2018 or if you can trace your family tree back 60,000 years, we are all equal Australians, and we can respect the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Island flag, but we unite under one flag as every other developed country, comparable country, does, and that's how we can help close the gap. 'It's how we get better outcomes for Australians. The Prime Minister divided our country in relation to the Voice and I don't think the people in Leichardt will forget the fact that the Prime Minister spent $450m on the Voice.' Mr Dutton was also asked about whether he supported former senator Linda Reynolds in her decision to sue the Commonwealth over the Brittany Higgins compensation payment. 'Well that's a decision for her,' he said before abruptly walking out. LNP's controversial 'MAGA' candidate walks back Trump support A controversial LNP candidate whose volunteers were spotted donning MAGA – 'Make Albanese Go Away' – hats at his campaign launch has walked back his praise for US President Donald Trump. Leichhardt candidate Jeremy Neal, who also blamed Mr Trump's 2020 election loss on feminists (before later apologising), said the Republican President's tarrifs had 'really left a sour taste in my mouth'. 'We've got some very good industry up here, particularly in beef and aluminum,' he said. 'The tariffs that have been placed on this recently – I know there's been some changes recently – they have detrimental to our area. 'I obviously support Far North Queensland and making sure these industries can still thrive. 'Those views are very long time ago, and they were deleted a very long time ago, and what matters here at the moment is, when I'm out on the ground, cost of living, the energy crisis going up, is that it's the way of life in Far North Queensland.' Asked if he still supported Mr Trump, Mr Neal added: 'The tarrifs really left a sour taste in my mouth. 'We are obviously have to look look at how we can support our local industries.' Dutton dodges questions about 'MAGA' candidate Peter Dutton has refused to say whether a controversial Queensland LNP candidate's vocal support for Donald Trump would be 'a problem', after he blamed 'feminists' for the Republican President's 2020 election loss. Liberal National Party candidate for Leichardt Jeremy Neal was forced to apologise earlier this month after comments resurfaced about the US election, and in which he called China a 'grub of a country' and criticised Covid measures. Standing next to Mr Neal, the Opposition Leader was asked what he thought of those comments. 'If you have a look at candidates that we've got on offer at this election in Cairns here in Leichhardt, we've got somebody, a paramedic, who served his country for his state and his local community for 15 years as a paramedic,' Mr Dutton said of Mr Neal. 'In Dickson, you've got a candidate who the Prime Minister's endorsed in terms of the neo-nazi pictures and other vile posts that she's supported. 'So, I'm hardly going to take a lecture from the Prime Minister in relation to these matters. 'Ultimately, the contest here in Leichhardt is between a Labor candidate, who's promising to increase the cost of power, promising to increase the cost of groceries, promising to lock young Australians out of housing because they bought a million people in over two years, a 70 per cent increase on any two year period in our country's history. 'And, you've got Jeremy, who has a deep understanding of his local community and has the ability to represent this local community.' Dutton fights for key seat Peter Dutton joined supporters at a breakfast in sunny Cairns on Saturday morning, alongside embattled Coalition candidate Jeremy Neal. The LNP candidate for Leichhardt came under fire earlier in the campaign after volunteers were spotted donning MAGA hats – 'Make Albanese Go Away' – at his campaign launch. Mr Neal was also forced to apologise when old comments resurfaced, in which he called China a 'grub of a country' and blamed feminists for Donald Trump's 2022 election loss. Mr Neal was chosen to succeed outgoing long-term Liberal MP Warren Entsch, who served with only a single interlude from 1996 before retiring, and will go up against Labor's Matt Smith. Mr Dutton was greeted by Mr Neal at a cafe outside the Bar Street Markets in Earlville, where the pair received a warm welcome from supporters. 'There are our boys,' one supporter said. Mr Dutton is hoping to hold onto the marginal tropical Far North Queensland seat, shaking hands as Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up played on an overheard video screen. Speaking to supporters, Mr Dutton admitted it would be a 'tight race' in Leichhardt, calling it a 'powerhouse of tourism and small business enterprise'. On Mr Neal, Mr Dutton told volunteers: 'you have the opportunity to have somebody who will work hard, somebody who will fight hard for this local community, and when you go to pre-poll today, please support your great, wonderful Liberal National Party candidate.' Mr Dutton said the Coalition was also going to make announcements about training and housing. And, for those who are curious, the wannabe next prime minister's cafe order? English breakfast tea with no milk. Black. Albo visits Chinese language school Anthony Albanese has started his day with a visit to a Chinese language school in its must-keep seat of Chisholm in Melbourne's outer suburbs. Carina Garland won the seat in 2022 and holds it on a 3.3 per cent margin. Home Affairs Minister Tony Bourke, Multicultural Affairs Minister Julian Hill and Labor candidate for the neighbouring seat of Menzies Gabriel Ng accompanied the Prime Minister on the visit. Albanese hints at Defence spending boost The Prime Minister has suggested he is open to increasing the Defence budget to go above the target of 2.3 per cent of GDP to be reached over the next decade. The Coalition has gone further, this week announcing its intention to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent, while Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart entered the debate calling for spending to be 5 per cent. Australia's AUKUS partner, US President Donald Trump, has demanded allies spend 3 per cent or above on defence. In an exclusive interview with The Weekend Australian, Anthony Albanese said any defence spending decisions would be taken in Australia's 'sovereign interest'. 'Australia determines our own position as a sovereign nation,' Mr Albanese said. 'That's our response, and we more than punch above our weight, and have done so, including with our American friends and our allies. 'We have been good allies, loyal allies and good partners, and we expect to be treated as such.' Mr Albanese said if necessary, he would increase the defence budget. 'If we need to invest, it will be based upon, not based upon a magic number, but what are the assets that we need? That's the right question.' Dutton dodges question on Gina's defence call Peter Dutton has avoided directly responding to Gina Rinehart's call to nearly double defence funding to 5 per cent of GDP. Australia's richest woman made the call at an Anzac Day eve event in Sydney on Thursday. Mr Dutton said '(Former Labor leader) Kim Beazley's called for it to be 3 per cent, so there'll be different views out there,' Mr Dutton told the Today Show. Mr Dutton earlier this week announced under Coalition defence policy it would increase the spend to 2.5 per cent of GDP and boost spending by $21bn over the next five years. 'What we know for sure is that Labor's ripped $80bn out of defence, even though the PM says that we live in the most precarious period since the end of the Second World War,' he said. 'So for us, we have to accept the advice and that is that we have to invest into defence to keep us safe and not just for our generation, but for our kids and grandkids as well. 'And that's why we've announced an increase of $21bn over the next five years, which will help acquire the capability and support our men and women in uniform.'
