Who, What, When, Where, Why?

Happy Week 1! Join the Nexus APAC Team as we guide you through the campaign trail and share the who, what, when, where, and why of the upcoming 2025 Federal Election.

Labor Campaign – Building Australia’s Future

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has kicked off his bid for re-election by visiting the following electorates from Friday, 28 March, to Thursday, 3 April.

Deakin VIC (LIB, 0.02%), Corangamite VIC (ALP, 7.8%), Lalor VIC (ALP, 12.8%), Eden-Monaro NSW (ALP, 6.1%), Hunter NSW (ALP, 5.8%), Paterson NSW (ALP, 2.6%), Dickson QLD (LNP, 1.7%), Hinkler QLD (LNP, 10.1%), Boothby SA (ALP, 3.3%), Sturt SA (LIB, 0.5%), Hasluck WA (ALP, 10%), Canberra ACT (ALP, 12.2%), and Braddon TAS (LIB, 8.0%)

Mr Albanese’s travel logs so far showcase a healthy mix of Labor safe and marginal seats, Liberal marginal seats, and even safe seats, with the ALP identifying Braddon and Hinkler as potential swing electorates. Braddon’s incumbent Liberal MP Gavin Pearce has announced his retirement, sparking hope in the Labor camp that it is up for grabs. In the 2022 election, Hinkler had a 4.4% swing towards the ALP. Following the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred, the ALP believes a strong campaign could weaken the LNP’s heartlands in Queensland.

During the first week of the campaign, the ALP have been swift with their policy announcements and election promises. The most notable of these were:

• $355 million for a hospital upgrade in Perth.
• $300 million for a new road interchange in west Melbourne.
• $150 million for a health centre in Adelaide.
• $8 million for a new health centre in Burnie, Tasmania.
• Making a submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review calling for minimum and award wages to be increased by more than inflation.

The Labor campaign machine is also in full swing with the launch of their new line of ads, ‘He cuts, you pay’, detailing the Coalition’s plan to cut government spending and its implications for Australians.

Liberal Campaign – Get Australia Back on Track

During the first week of the campaign Opposition Leader Peter Dutton visited the following electorates from Friday, 28 March, to Thursday, 3 April.

Bruce VIC (ALP, 5.3%), Calwell VIC (ALP, 12.4%), McEwen VIC (ALP, 3.8%), Hawke VIC (ALP, 7.6%), McMahon NSW (ALP, 10.5%), McArthur NSW (ALP, 9.8%), Fowler NSW (IND, 1.1%), Paterson NSW (ALP, 2.6%) Maranoa QLD (NAT, 22.1%), Moreton QLD (ALP, 9.1%), Brisbane QLD (GRN, 3.7%), Dickson QLD (LNP, 1.7%), Pearce WA (ALP, 8.8%), and Hasluck WA (ALP, 10%)

The Coalition campaign bus was busy in the first week with a focus on perceived winnable seats for the upcoming election. Out of the fourteen electorates visited, only two reside within the Coalition, with one of them being Mr Dutton’s own seat. This is expected as the Coalition will need to pick up 19 seats to form a majority.

Similar to the ALP, the Coalition have been swift in making election promises, hoping to attract the ever-elusive swing voter. These include:

• $6.5 billion to fund the Melbourne Airport Rail Link (and scrapping $4.2 billion dedicated to the Suburban Rail Loop).
• $10 million for a new weather radar in outback Australia, announced in Queensland.
• $6.2 million for the Headspace mental health centre in Melton, Melbourne.
• $3 million to the medical research foundation established by AFL great Nick Riewoldt after his sister Maddie’s death.
• Increasing the annual number of Medicare-subsidised counselling sessions from 10 to 20 per person.
• Introducing the Securing Australia as a Financial Centre Bill.
• Establishing a statutory office within the Treasury called Investment Australia.
• Establishing three investment task forces to reduce regulatory costs in the key enabling sectors of financial services, construction, and resources and energy.
• Directing the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to lower the mortgage serviceability buffer from its COVID-19 level of three percent.

The Coalition’s promises focus on cost-of-living relief in particular. Australians have indicated that cost-of-living relief is the primary issue which will guide their vote, so this is no surprise.

Potholes on the campaign road

A federal election campaign isn’t complete without a few bumps in the road, and this year is no different.

Unity between federal and state Labor was called into question when Mr Albanese toured Melbourne without Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Mr Albanese was questioned about the absence, considering he had included both Western Australian Premier Roger Cook and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas when touring their respective states. However, Mr Albanese shut down this question by reminding the public that the Premier was in Parliament and unable to attend his tour. Despite this answer, the media have been quick to speculate on other reasons for omitting Premier Allan.

The Coalition have been subject to scrutiny by the ALP, Independents, and the public following comments from Mr Dutton that he would live in the Kirribilli residence if elected.

Who’s Who?

Heading into the 2025 Federal Election, you’re not going to be able to escape the faces of Mr Albanese or Mr Dutton, so you might as well know roughly who they are.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Mr Albanese grew up in Redfern in housing commission with a single mother living off the disability pension. He went on to graduate from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Economics.

Mr Albanese’s political career began when he was elected as the Member for Grayndler in 1996. Since then, he has notably served as the Leader of the House, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister, and now, Prime Minister.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton

Mr Dutton grew up in Brisbane with four siblings. His mother worked in childcare, and his father was a local builder. Upon graduating from high school, Mr Dutton worked as a police officer in the Queensland Police, working in the drug squad in Brisbane in the early 1990s. After leaving the police in 1999, he completed a Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University of Technology and opened a small business with his father.

Mr Dutton’s political career began when he was elected as the Member for Dickson in 2001. Since then, he has notably served as Minister for Employment Participation, Minister for Health, Minister for Immigration, Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Defence, Leader of the House, and now, Leader of the Opposition.

Have you ever wondered whose names are spoken at 4 times speed at the end of every Labor and Liberal ad? Well, here they are:

National Secretary of the ALP, Paul Erickson

Mr Erickson grew up in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours and a Graduate Diploma in Economics from the University of Melbourne.

Prior to joining the National Secretariat, Paul worked in policy and campaign roles at the Australian Council of Trade Unions and in state government in Victoria and New South Wales.

Mr Erickson has been the National Secretary of the ALP since 2019. In this role, Paul is Labor’s national campaign director and is responsible for the administration of the ALP National Executive.

Federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia, Andrew Hirst

Mr Hirst has worked for four leaders of the Liberal Party of Australia – The Hon John Howard, the Hon Brendan Nelson, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull, and the Hon Tony Abbott.

As well as holding adviser roles for successive Liberal leaders, Andrew served for two years as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Prime Minister the Hon Tony Abbott.

Mr Hirst also previously worked as the Liberal Party’s Director of Communications and was a Director at CT Group prior to his appointment as Federal Director.

In his role as Federal Director, Mr Hirst is responsible for delivering the Coalition’s federal campaign.

If you enjoyed this week’s Election Insight, don’t forget to share it online or with a colleague. Who’s ready for Week 2?