Early voting has begun in Australia ahead of the May 3 federal election, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party maintaining a narrow lead over the conservative opposition coalition led by Peter Dutton.
Australians began casting their votes on Tuesday as early and postal voting opened nationwide, with up to half of the electorate expected to vote before election day, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.
Prime Minister Albanese’s Labor Party has gained momentum in recent months, reversing a six-point deficit in January to take a lead of up to nine points earlier this month. The most recent Newspoll, released Sunday, shows Labor holding a four-point lead over the opposition after accounting for preference distributions under Australia’s ranked-choice voting system.
The start of voting comes at a challenging time for opposition leader Peter Dutton, whose popularity has declined. He has struggled to distance himself from comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly after proposing a controversial policy requiring all federal public servants to return to office full-time and slashing tens of thousands of public sector jobs. The plan, reportedly inspired by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, was later dropped amid backlash.
Despite the polling boost, Prime Minister Albanese remained cautious.
“There’s no complacency from my camp, I assure you of that,” he told reporters on Monday. “This election is certainly up for grabs.”
He referenced the 2019 federal election, when early betting markets prematurely declared a Labor victory, only for the Liberal Party under Scott Morrison to pull off an upset.
With voting mandatory for all Australians aged 18 and older, the campaign is set to take a more subdued tone on Tuesday following the passing of Pope Francis. A final televised debate between Albanese and Dutton is scheduled for Tuesday evening, offering voters a last direct comparison before election day.
Four people aboard a Florida‑registered speedboat were killed and six others wounded on Wednesday after the vessel entered Cuban territorial waters ...
Syria’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery, with economic activity accelerating in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said...
Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed on Wednesday in Beijing to strengthen economic cooperation while addressing t...
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Wednesday (25 February) on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said ena...
Georgia is facing intensifying diplomatic pressure as Western partners urge stronger alignment against Russia, while leaders in Tbilisi warn that furt...
Four people aboard a Florida‑registered speedboat were killed and six others wounded on Wednesday after the vessel entered Cuban territorial waters and fired on Cuban border guards, Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior (MININT) reported.
Syria’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery, with economic activity accelerating in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed on Wednesday in Beijing to strengthen economic cooperation while addressing trade imbalances, market access concerns, and the war in Ukraine, during Merz’s first official visit to China since taking office.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem says it will provide on-site passport and consular services to settlers based in the West Bank on Friday 27 February. The move marks the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The Taliban in Kabul has rejected Russian claims that more than 23,000 militants from around 20 international terror groups are currently operating within Afghanistan.
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale.
Seven people were killed after gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s north-west near the Afghan border, on Tuesday, in an attack that comes amid rising militant violence and heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war can be measured not only in lives and territory, but in money. In Part One, the war’s cost was measured in casualties and kilometres. In Part Two, it is measured in billions of dollars.
Thousands of people gathered across Europe and beyond over the weekend in solidarity with Ukraine, as the war with Russia entered its fifth year.
Four people aboard a Florida‑registered speedboat were killed and six others wounded on Wednesday after the vessel entered Cuban territorial waters and fired on Cuban border guards, Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior (MININT) reported.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Wednesday (25 February) on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said enabled Iran's illicit petroleum sales, ballistic missiles and weapons production.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest State of the Union address set out a second-term agenda built on economic protectionism, military strength and a hard line on Iran, signalling a strategy that pairs diplomatic engagement with firm red lines, Assoc. Prof. Orkhan Valiyev told AnewZ Daybreak.
Switzerland said on Wednesday (25 February) it would make a one-off payment of 50,000 Swiss francs ($56,000) to each severely injured survivor and to the bereaved families of those killed in the New Year bar fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s new Flamingo missiles successfully struck targets deep inside Russian territory, underscoring the continuing intensity of the conflict.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment