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Dutton is now speaking on the Today show, where he indicated the leaders’ debate would proceed tonight as planned.
Here’s his full response to the question whether the campaign would be disrupted by the death of Pope Francis:
“I don’t think there’s any need for over-the-top politics today. I think we can respectfully put our positions. Polling obviously opens today. There’s a leadership leaders debate tonight. I understand the prime minister is happy to proceed with that. So yeah, I think it’s a respectful day and we can state our policies. But I don’t think it needs to be an over the top day.”
Dutton appeared on Seven’s Sunrise program earlier, where he again paid tribute to Pope Francis as a compassionate man who “always took care of those who he saw as in need”.
The opposition leader was then asked about polling indicating that almost half of voters said he was the reason they would not vote for the Coalition.
“Well Nat, today’s not the day for big politicking,” Dutton told presenter Natalie Barr. “Obviously, the government’s thrown mud, and they’ve spent $20 million of negative advertising over the course of the last couple of months – most of it just based on a complete lie, frankly in relation to the Mediscare campaign.”
The Coalition has accused Labor of deceiving voters and seeking to revive its 2016 “Mediscare” campaign by falsely claiming that a Dutton government would cut funding for almost 90 existing urgent care clinics.
While they haven’t committed to funding the further 50 urgent care clinics announced in the March budget, the Coalition has promised to open several new clinics of its own in addition to those already operating.
The Labor and Coalition campaigns are currently discussing whether tonight’s leaders debate on Channel Nine will go ahead as planned.
The prime minister is also preparing to announce who will represent Australia at the pontiff’s funeral in the Vatican.
Photographer Alex Ellinghausen is on the campaign trail with the prime minister, and has filed these photos of Albanese arriving at St Patrick’s Cathedral on a wet and gloomy Melbourne morning.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives to attend Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) together with Monsignor Stuart Hall (left) departs St Patrick’s Cathedral after paying his respects following the death of Pope Francis.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
A tribute to Pope Francis inside Saint Patrick’s Cathedral ahead of this morning’s Mass.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne to pay tribute to the late Pope Francis.
Monsignor Stuart Hall, the dean of the cathedral, greeted Albanese on a rainy day in Melbourne.
The prime minister has joined a small group of mourners in the church, where a portrait of Pope Francis is on display at the centre of the cathedral.
Albanese has cancelled his planned campaign events in Melbourne this morning to pay respect to the Pope.
The third leaders’ debate, hosted by Nine, is due to go ahead tonight in Sydney.
As we’ve mentioned, voters will have the chance to submit early ballots from 8.30am this morning at hundreds of polling centres across the country.
Early voting has risen in popularity over the decades. Research shows that in 2004, over 80 per cent of Australians waited until election day to cast their ballots. At the 2022 federal election, almost half submitted their vote early.
Dutton and Albanese have factored early voting into the campaign, ensuring they visit key battleground seats early and regularly throughout the first three weeks of the campaign – shopping their duelling policies on issues such as taxation and housing to as many voters as possible.
So, what are those policies? Federal reporter Natassia Chrysanthos has broken them down in this helpful explainer.
Australia’s 226 federal MPs own 459 properties across the country – an average of two per person – and more than half are property investors as the country prepares to go to the poll in a campaign that will focus on the growing inequity in the property market.
An analysis conducted by this masthead of the register of members’ interests found that more than half the MPs representing the major parties, the Greens and independents own at least two properties each – and the largest property holders in the 47th parliament own between five and seven.
Search for your MP in the interactive below by electorate or name. It will show their registered interests including real estate, trusts, share holdings, company directorships and more.
Renewable energy developers are pressing Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to reveal how much more wind and solar would be allowed to join the electricity grid under his plan to embrace nuclear reactors, amid intensifying doubts about what technology mix the Coalition is targeting.
Energy has become a key battleground issue ahead of the May 3 election, with voters set to decide between the Albanese government’s plan for renewables to make up 82 per cent of the grid by 2030 and the Coalition’s push to abandon that target in favour of building seven nuclear generators across the mainland by 2050.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has committed to build seven nuclear plants across the country if he wins the next electionCredit: Alex Ellinghausen, Getty Images
Dutton says his plan for taxpayers to fund and own nuclear facilities would be cheaper than Labor’s strategy. To support this claim, he cites modelling from Frontier Economics comparing the total cost of the government’s renewables-dominated proposal against the Coalition’s competing vision for a grid powered 37 per cent by nuclear generation and 54 per cent by renewables.
But when quizzed about the impact of slowing the renewable rollout to ensure it did not exceed 54 per cent of the 2050 power mix, opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien insisted there was “no policy we have which is capping any technology”.
Just hours after the news of Pope Francis’ death was confirmed by the Vatican, an emotional prime minister addressed the Australian public.
Albanese, who spoke over the Easter weekend of his Catholic faith and upbringing, said the pontiff would be mourned by “Catholics and non-Catholics alike”.
“The first pope from the Southern Hemisphere was close to the people of Australia. For Australian Catholics, he was a devoted champion and loving father,” he said. “My sincere condolences to everyone for [whom] tonight it will be a very difficult evening.”
All flags on Commonwealth buildings will fly at half-mast today.
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of the 2025 federal election campaign. My name is Angus Thomson, and I’ll be taking you through this morning’s headlines.
With just 11 days to go until polling day, here’s some of what is making news this morning:
