Australians vote in election with high prices, shortage of housing major issues

Polls opened in Australias general election on Saturday with high costs of living and a shortage of housing major issues in the campaignVoting across the nation the size of three times zones spanning two hours will continue from 8 am 2200 GMT Friday until 6 pm 0800 GMT Saturday in eastern Australia The polls open and close two hours later on the West Coast Authorities said 86 million ballots from Australias 181 million registered voters had already been cast but not counted before Saturday since early and postal voting began on April 22Australia is among the few countries where voting is compulsory a system that leans toward creating centrist governments At the last election in 2022 90 per cent of eligible voters cast ballotsPrime Minister Anthony Albaneses centreleft Labour Party is seeking a second threeyear term His opponent conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton wants to become the first political leader to oust a firstterm government since 1931 when Australians were reeling from the Great DepressionThe election is taking place against a backdrop of what both sides of politics describe as a cost of living crisisSoaring prices are a big headacheAnnual inflation peaked at 78 per cent a year after Labour was elected in 2022 The central banks benchmark interest rate rose from a record low 01 per cent to 035 per cent two weeks before the government changed The rate has been raised a dozen times since then peaking at 435 per cent in November 2023The central bank reduced the inflation rate by a quarter percentage point in February to 41 per cent in an indication that the worst of the financial hardship had passed The rate is widely expected to be cut again at the banks next board meeting on May 20 due to international economic uncertainty generated by US President Donald Trumps tariff policiesHousing prices and rents have also soared as builders have gone broke because of inflation absorbing profit marginsCould the election produce a minority governmentGoing into the election Labour held a narrow majority of 78 seats in the 151seat House of Representatives the lower chamber where parties form governments There will be 150 seats in the next parliament due to redistributionsDuttons conservative alliance of parties known as the LiberalNational Coalition held 53 seats in the last parliament and a recordhigh 19 lawmakers were not aligned to either the government or the oppositionMonash University political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said the major parties were gaining a smaller proportion of the votes at each election in recent decades which was benefitting independent candidates and those representing minor partesIf the trend of votes shifting away from major parties that was evident at the 2022 election continued at Saturdays election the result could be a rare minority governmentThere was a minority government during World War II and the next was during a threeyear term after the 2010 electionThis elections going to be a real test of whether what we saw in 2022 is a sign of things to come or whether the 22 election was just a oneoff flash in the pan Ghazarian saidParty leaders usually concede defeat and claim victory on election day But in the last minority government key independent lawmakers announced they would support a Labour administration 17 days after the polls closedChanging demographicsBoth campaigns have focused on Australias changing demographics The election is the first in Australia in which Baby Boomers born between born between the end of World War II and 1964 are outnumbered by younger votersBoth campaigns promised policies to help firsthome buyers buy into a property market that is too expensive for manyA major point of difference is energy The opposition has promised to build seven governmentfunded nuclear power plants across Australia that would begin generating electricity from 2035Gasfired electricity would fill the gap between aging coalfired plants closing and nuclear generators taking their placeLabour plans to have 82 per cent of Australias energy grid powered by renewables including solar and wind turbines by 2030 and to rely less on gasWikiLeaks founder endorses AlbaneseOn the eve of the election Albanese received the endorsement of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who said the Labour leader did more to secure my freedom than any other politician or public figure including the late Pope FrancisThe remarks posted to the social platform X by Assanges brother Gabriel Shipton were his first on Australian domestic matters since he was released from a British prison last June and returned to his homeland after a plea deal that ended US prosecutors attempts to extradite him for publishing military secretsAlbanese stood up to the US over the case Assange said and his government had proven itself unusually capable of rescuing Australians caught up in sensitive political situationsThe endorsement was unusual from Assange who has been scathing about Australian politicians before Albanese Friday night downplayed the endorsement saying it was a matter for Mr Assange and that it was a good thing the WikiLeaks founder was now able to be with his familyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params