analysis
Federal election 2025: As Donald Trump stole the limelight, here’s what you missed this week in Australia

As US tariffs coverage trumped almost all other news this week, one could be forgiven for missing some of the finer details of the second full week on the Federal election campaign trail. Even aside from the global market roller-coaster ride, which many people, and their churned stomachs, wanted to get off, while others closed their eyes and held on for dear life, there was a lot going on. The leaders met for their first debate on Tuesday, and while some may have found it subdued, it proved the election would be a tight race, raising the issues of cost-of-living, housing and immigration, which had previously slipped through the Donald Trump-sized cracks. Lucky for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his face-off with Opposition leader Peter Dutton didn’t leave him bloodied, which is more than can be said for a news cameraman who was on the wrong end of a Dutton footy kick gone haywire at the weekend. Maybe Albo’s protective Canberra bubble helped soften the blows from his sparring partner. And so, while both leaders spent time in Perth this week, before gearing up to officially launch their campaigns on Sunday, we take a look at what was on the agenda during the week that was behind the tariff curtain. The weekend Politicians trying their hand at sport often end in disaster. One would have thought Dutton would have learnt from his predecessor Scott Morrison, who spectacularly bowled over a child during a friendly soccer game on the 2022 campaign trail. But despite precedent being against him, on Saturday Dutton took to a footy oval and fired a wayward kick into a cameraman — at first laughing, then realising blood had been drawn with a staffer swinging into action providing first aid. The cameraman went on the shake hands with Dutton, who was likely left hoping the video of battle mate Albanese falling off a stage in week one of campaigning would be more deeply cemented in viral history than his footy faux pas. In more policy-based news, Cottesloe Beach — one of the most iconic locations in WA — was promised a $10 million Liberal injection in a bid to up the ante in the fight to win the crucial seat of Curtin. In the other camp, Albanese used a leaked Liberals policy announcement, about reclaiming the Port of Darwin from foreign operation, to get one up on the Opposition leader. It’s the kind of copycat policy debacle that has continued to plague this campaign, muddying the waters for anyone trying to spot the real policy differences between the pair. Those, of course, include mental health funding and immigration, which Dutton said he would reduce by cutting international student numbers by 30,000, but Albanese said his opponent was “all over the place like an Easter egg hunt” after they blocked Labor’s cap last year. That’s all before Dutton’s stunning work-from-home backflip. Monday The start of a new week — and the market bloodbath which followed. We all knew the tariffs were coming, but few knew what to really expect. The 10 per cent add-on for Australia sent markets into a spin and dominated headlines. Amid it all, Dutton was dealing with a landslide of his own — one which saw him very controversially pivot from his staunch anti-work-from-home policy, apparently prompted by poor sentiment among voters on his stance. Though he maintained the policy was only ever meant to return Canberra public servants to the office, an effective sledging spree from Albanese’s camp had voters worried all workers would all eventually be forced to return to the 9-5 office grind. Dutton admitted the party had “got it wrong” and would no longer pursue the move he labelled a “mistake”. Meanwhile, Labor pledged a $1 billion boost to youth mental health services and joked about the potential of free icy-poles as a policy after meeting with a seven-year-old whose family was used as a case study for the positives of working from home. Tuesday The copy-cat policy allegations continued with Dutton calling Labor’s $1b pledge to youth mental health a “rebranding” of Coalition ideas, with the punches continuing to roll for the party as Labor NSW Premier Chris Minns doubled down on his own work from home policy. That policy massively differs from the Prime Minister’s official stance, which is that flexible work is a right many should continue to enjoy, despite Minns’ own calls for all to return to the office for mentorship and morale. As dusk approached, Albanese would have expected to have the upper hand in the first leaders’ debate of the campaign, hosted in Labor-land with an audience of 100 “undecided” voters. In the end, both leaders had their moments of shining glory and shared almost equal weak points by dodging questions from the crowd or having to face past governance coming back to haunt them. In a campaign so dominated by foreign elements, the crowd full of Australians with very real domestic concerns about their own homes brought the campaign back to reality. Albanese said it was time to look forward and to not cut services, while Dutton looked backwards, saying the past three years had been tough and would only continue under a re-elected Labor. They discussed public education, immigration, Gaza, tax and nuclear energy, but no new policies were revealed and, in the end, still almost a quarter of those who watched the debate live said they had no f...... idea who won — according to The West Australian’s front-page take on the exit polling. Wednesday Don’t panic, WA: That was the message from the Australian Electoral Commission, who are hoping hundreds of thousands of West Australians don’t turn up at the crack of poll-opening dawn in a fortnight. It comes off the back of a woeful State election process, still fresh in the mind of many out west. But, the Federal team say they are more prepared than their State counterparts, urging voters to stress less and promising enough ballots for all. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott took to the corridors of a Wanneroo shopping centre, grabbing an iced chocolate from homegrown cafe favourite Dome before a grip-and-grin with the Liberal Pearce hopeful, Jan Norberger. Mr Abbott scoffed at suggestions he could be more hindrance than help for the local candidate, who wandered the shops with a gaggle of children wearing Norberger-branded shirts. As it turns out, hump day gets to us all, including the Prime Minister. By the end of Wednesday, Albanese’s ice-cool facade had melted while in tropical Queensland, with the nation’s leader covering himself in no glory as he snapped at reporters who were once again pressing him on his stance about doing a deal with the Greens. It is a fair question — will a vote for Labor be a vote for Greens policy? That party’s leader, Adam Bandt, knows he holds some of the campaign’s best bargaining chips if neither side manages to form a majority government. Something that’s eminently possible. But Albanese was clearly sick of being asked about the potential deal, saying “for the 50th time” he would rule out changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax as proposed by the Greens. “You’re obsessed with the Greens. I’m the Labor leader, by the way,” Mr Albanese snapped. Not his finest moment, but at least he showed a bit of fight. It was a big day, with another fiery debate between the sides, this time between Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his shadow counterpart Angus Taylor taking centre stage in the evening as the pair traded barbs on the key economic issues of the Federal election. Tariffs aside, the exchange covered what many expected this whole election campaign to hinge on: the cost-of-living and how we would all continue to keep a roof overhead, food on the table and the lights on. Mr Taylor — accused of not being a hard worker — said the current economic woes in Australian households were largely the Government’s fault. “Labor promised the world. They promised lower electricity prices, they promised lower mortgage costs. They promised a lower cost of living in easier lives. The reality has been different,” he said. “Prices are up, debt is up, deficits are up, spending is up, taxes are up, but the one thing that is down and has collapsed is Australian standard of living that’s fallen more than ever before any history, more than any of our peer countries around the world. “(Jim) likes to forecast, we need someone who wants to manage the economy, not just forecast it.” Mr Chalmers — accused of having a “glass jaw” when it comes to taking feedback — said inflation had come down, while wages and living standards had started to grow. “There could not be a worse time to risk Peter Dutton’s coalition of cuts and chaos, which would make Australians worse off and take Australians backwards, because when Peter Dutton cuts, every Australian will pay.” It remains to be seen who is correct, though the simple fact Mr Taylor didn’t outright lose the debate would be seen as a win by many in the Liberal camp. Thursday Both leaders came out swinging on Thursday. Dutton went hard early, calling Albanese a liar, while the Prime Minister started his day blissfully unaware of the sledge, out on a boat ride in tropical Queensland. Attempting to once again get in touch with his younger audience — following his epically cringeworthy “delulu with no solulu” moment in Parliament last month — Albanese said the boat ride, with his Rabbitohs hat staying put in the wind, was “a vibe”. He then promised to promote and protect the Great Barrier Reef, being joined by towering former NBL player and current candidate for Leichhardt, whose striking height meant only his chest was seen during the press conference. Dutton was pressed on his party’s sometimes questionable candidate choices later in the day, but strongly defended his amazing candidates. Of course, it comes after the party was forced to drop candidate Ben Britton from the Whitlam race off the back of comments that he didn’t believe women should be able to serve on the defence forces’ front line. That particular press conference was dominated by the Liberals’ “Albo is a lair” line, which deputy leader Sussan Ley also jumped on. Some of the most quotable moments came later in the day, however, and from a rather unexpected source. With energy swirling as a key theme of the election — alongside the all-consuming tariffs and cost-of-living pressures — energy minister Chris Bowen debated his shadow counterpart Ted O’Brien. During the National Press Club event, Bowen said he had “seen more detail in a Chinese menu” than in the Coalition’s gas plan while waving a recently released report on the policy. However, O’Brien was quick to hit back: “This is coming from the minister whose own plan wouldn’t sit in a Chinese fortune cookie”. Thus, the pair brought succulent Chinese meals firmly, if bizarrely, into democracy discourse. At this point, it seemed both leaders, their ministers and their treasurers were firing on all cylinders, perhaps feeling reinvigorated knowing they each had trips here to the west to look forward to. From a process point of view, nominations closed across the country as business groups demanded more from their leaders, penning an open letter to whoever forms government after May 3, calling for red tape to be cut along with taxes and a more supportive agenda for business growth. Friday Come one leader, come both leaders — Friday was WA day for the major parties, with both rolling into town with very different agendas. Dutton hit the stage as part of The West Australian’s Leadership Matters Federal election special event, speaking to a room full of WA’s top brass — Liberal, business-minded and otherwise. He shared insights on his personal life, including how being a former police officer has prepared him for many of the things he experiences in public life, fresh off the back of revelations his family home had been the target of a teenager’s alleged drone bomb threat. It was one big love fest for the great State, with Dutton promising to support mining projects which would make the west “boom” while simultaneously talking down Labor’s take on the industry. Next up for the man in blue was a visit to a car dealership to spruik his promise to remove Labor’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard car tax and yet another petrol station to boast about his 25c per litre gas tax reduction. In a move aimed at showing off his support for industry, Albanese, meanwhile, visited Rio Tinto’s Dampier port and hopped on a ship loader — before being peppered with questions, including about the controversial North West Shelf gas project expansion. As the grip-and-grin fest in the Wait Awhile State rolled on, across the county, ballots were drawn with all senators also declared. Among the otherwise relatively mundane announcements was the shock return of exiled former WA Senator Rod Culleton, whose latest bid for high office has been referred to the AFP, over disputed claims he is ineligible for the May 3 election. All in all, over the week, Dutton has visited seven servos — he went five straight days, rested for one, then continued his servo tour, picking up what many would argue is one of the least-best ice cream choices, peppermint as his WA servo coup-de-gras. Meanwhile, Albanese spent the week holding up his Medicare card far too many times to count. We hedge a bet it is somewhere on par with how many times the Labor boss has been asked about his relationship with the Greens. Bring on week three.

analysisFederal election 2025: As Donald Trump stole the limelight, here’s what you missed this week in Australia

analysis
Federal election 2025: As Donald Trump stole the limelight, here’s what you missed this week in Australia