Key takeaways from the first leaders' debate
The first leaders’ debate of the election campaign has now wrapped up in western Sydney. Here are the main takeaways, after Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton went head-to-head:
The prime minister opened the debate by saying now was not the time to “cut” or “look backwards”, but instead to “build Australia’s future.”
In his opening remarks, the opposition leader argued the Coalition would “get our country back on track” by “fixing” Australia’s energy system.
Albanese asked Dutton to outline what he would cut to pay for the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy, but he did not answer directly. Albanese accused him of “gaslighting” the Australian public.
On Trump, Albanese said Australia was best placed to seize the opportunities presented by the tariff situation. Dutton, meanwhile, said a leader should “stand up against bullies [and] against those that would seek to do us harm”.
Dutton continued to defend the Coalition’s policy to cut international student numbers, attempting to link this to the housing crisis.
In his closing remarks, the PM took aim at the Coalition for “chopping and changing” their policies in the lead up to the election and asked, “how can you believe what they’d do after the election?”
Dutton closed by positioning the Coalition as always being “a better economic manager.”
Catie McLeod will be with you bright and early tomorrow morning for another day on the campaign trail, and I will be here in the evening to bring you the key moments from the treasurers debate. Until then, take care.
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Dutton gives closing remarks
Peter Dutton is now giving his closing remarks, arguing the Coalition will “always be a better economic manager.”
The prime minister spent the first 16 months of this term obsessing about the voice, which was a $425m red herring that proved to be a distraction, an attempt to divide the country. And when that debate was taking place, the prime minister should have been making decisions around how best to protect us from inflation that was obvious off the back of Covid.
And with that, the first campaign debate of the federal election has wrapped up. Anthony Albanese and Dutton ended by shaking hands.
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