Morrison still hopes to defy polls
SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison crisscrossed the country in a final day of campaigning, insisting he could still win today’s election despite polls pointing to a change of government or a hung parliament.
Morrison and Labor Opposition leader Anthony Albanese targeted marginal seats across four states in the final hours of the sixweek campaign as data showing wages growth being outstripped by inflation and record low unemployment provided fodder for competing claims on who would best manage the economy.
An Ipsos opinion poll published by The Australian Financial Review showed Labor leading Morrison’s ruling LiberalNational coalition 53% to 47% on a twoparty preferred basis, where votes are ranked by preference and distributed to the highest two candidates.
But Labor’s primary vote shrunk to 36% to the coalition’s 35%, with minor parties and independents attracting nearly a third of voters, raising the prospect of a minority government.
Voters could deliver an independents’ day at the federal election ballot box as data shows a sweep of new candidates on track to enter parliament.
Highprofile, mostly female independent candidates have taken on traditionally Liberalheld seats promising to hold the major parties to account.
Data strategist Elisa Choy, described as an ‘‘election whisperer’’, predicted today’s result would be historymaking for Australia based on thorough data analyses of voter activity online.
The data gathered expected 13 new independents to be elected, the Liberal National coalition to suffer a net loss of 19 seats and Labor to form a minority or slim majority government with at least 76 seats.
It shows 10 traditionally blueribbon coalition seats could fall, many of them to the socalled ‘‘teal independents’’ running on a campaign of integrity and climate action.
Albanese campaigned with former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the South Australian capital of Adelaide yesterday morning, broadening his attack to the Government’s record on gender equality and climate change.
In 2010, after the election delivered a hung parliament, Gillard formed a government after extended negotiations with independents and minor parties.
Morrison pledged to become ‘‘inclusive and bring more people with us’’ if reelected, after polling showed his personality could be a hurdle for the Liberal vote, particularly women.
Election rules were changed yesterday to allow all voters who tested positive for Covid19 to vote by telephone.
More than 6.5 million prepoll or postal votes were already cast out of 17 million eligible voters in Australia’s compulsory voting system. — AAP