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"Ready to go? You bet. Born ready."
With those seven words, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially kicked off a five-week federal election campaign that feels like it's already been running five months.
"Thank god it's come," 9News National Affairs Editor Andrew Probyn said.
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"It's felt like we've been campaigning for months."
Australians will grab their democracy sausages and ballot papers on May 3, paving the way for a little over a month of messaging, which Labor is set to focus on two key themes, according to Probyn.
"I thought that Anthony Albanese was confident and clear with his statements," he said.
"I mean, this is his big moment. So you would expect him to be well prepared.
"Now, what were the two messages?
"First of all, cost of living. This is going to be the dominant theme.
"The second is the power of incumbency and that, in a world of uncertainty, stick with what you know."
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The early-morning announcement from Albanese, coming straight after the budget on Tuesday and the passage of Labor's $17 billion in tax cuts through parliament the day after, and denied Opposition Leader Peter Dutton much attention for his budget reply speech last night.
"The benefit of being prime minister is that you get to call the election," Probyn said.
"So it does upend Peter Dutton's tactical advantage when it comes to (today)."
Unlike in 2022, when Albanese famously ran a fairly safe "small target" campaign, there are significant differences between the major parties this year, particularly on energy and tax – two key themes from Dutton's budget reply.
On the one hand, Labor is focusing on its continued rollout and expansion of renewables while using some gas to firm up supply, and will give all taxpayers two "modest" cuts, which will begin on July 1, 2026.
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On the other, the Coalition has pledged to heavily ramp up gas supply to meet the energy shortfall before its proposed fleet of nuclear reactors come online more than a decade later.
It's also promising to repeal Labor's tax cuts, and will replace it with more immediate relief at the bowser.
"The main theme of (Peter Dutton's) speech last night in the budget reply was the slashing of fuel excise by half for a year," Probyn said.
"This is in competition with Labor's promise to have tax cuts beginning next year and the year after."
Which of those two pitches will resonate more with voters? We'll find out on the first Saturday in May.
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