Federal election 2025 live updates: Trump promises to speak with Anthony Albanese on tariffs; Peter Dutton advises viewers to ‘forget the ABC’ on Australia election night – latest news
Trump says he ‘will be talking’ to Australian PM
Donald Trump has confirmed he’s aware that Anthony Albanese is keen to talk to him about tariffs – and says he’s planning to place a call.
The US president made the comments while leaving the White House today. Asked by a reporter if he would be “speaking to the prime minister of Australia at all”, Trump responded:
They are calling and I will be talking to him.
Key events
Onto other matters, Epstein asks Albanese about Peter Dutton’s accusations that the Greens are a “Jew-hating” party.
The PM says Dutton and the Coalition “engage in a lot of hyperbole”:
I’m not a commentator on Peter Dutton’s language. I think in general, Peter Dutton dials everything up to 11. I think that is part of his character.
Epstein then turns to Penny Wong’s comments on the voice to parliament to the Betoota Advocate podcast.
Wong, reflecting on the referendum, said it might be thought of like the marriage equality debate in the future, saying “and I thought all this fuss, it will become something like, people go, did we even have an argument about that?”
Albanese says Wong didn’t imply that a referendum was inevitable:
She spoke about how people will look back on what the issues were. That’s very different from saying it’s inevitable. She did not say that at all.
PM says ‘not at all’ embarrassing he can’t get hold of Trump
Anthony Albanese is in Melbourne this morning and is joining ABC radio.
No surprises the first question to him is on when Trump will return his calls.
Trump has said he’s aware Albanese has been trying to get in touch: “They are calling and I will be talking to him.”
Raf Epstein asks if it’s “embarrassing”? The PM responds:
Not at all … it was a light-hearted throwaway comment from the president. I assure you I’m not staying up at night trying to ring anyone at the moment. I’m in an election campaign.
I’m sure if we are successful we will have a discussion after Saturday.
Epstein asks if there’s a guarantee there will be a conversation after Saturday.
Albanese says: “No, but I’m sure that will occur.”
Epstein then plays a clip of a US reporter cold-calling the president (bold move!) and asks if Albanese would do the same (though notably Albanese seemed to imply Trump didn’t have a mobile phone on Sunday during the final leaders’ debate).
Albanese turns the question back, saying “what do you think?” – ie I don’t think he’s going to take that approach.
What to do about those unsolicited political text messages?
As we get closer to the election, the messaging from parties is coming in thick and fast … and to your mobile phone.
You may be one of many receiving text messages from parties vying for your vote, but one party seems to be really ruffling voters’ feathers – the Trumpet of Patriots.
ABC News Breakfast has been asking pollies this morning whether those texts can be stopped. Jim Chalmers responded:
A lot of people are raising it. I’d be lying to you if I said I think deeply about this part of the electoral law. My job is to focus on the economy.
Tasmanian independent senator Jacqui Lambie said “all the parties do it”, which means the laws are unlikely to change to stop the unsolicited texts.
All the parties do it, the only thing is that Clive [Palmer] has more money. The only time you see majors come together, doing electoral reform, when it suits themselves, and they want to get the independents out. It’s filth. That’s where we’re at. They won’t change those laws because they do the same thing.
And Angus Taylor just joined News Breakfast too – his advice was to just delete them.
I understand people’s concerns. I would say… do what I do if you’re not interested in them, just delete them.
Look, if political parties want to do this, the great thing about our democracy is you can just completely ignore it.
Seems like the status quo will continue for the time being.
Benita Kolovos
Just a drill: emergency services descend on Melbourne airport
Leaving politics for a moment…
If you’re near Melbourne airport this morning you may notice an unusually large presence of emergency services – but the airport’s operator says there is no cause for concern.
From 9am, the airport is hosting a major emergency services training exercise, running into the afternoon.
The drill is designed to simulate the response to a major aircraft crash and involves several agencies including Ambulance Victoria, the Australian federal police, Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting, Fire Rescue Victoria, Victoria police and others.
O’Neil and Hume get pally – for a moment
A little earlier on Sunrise this morning, host Nat Barr asked Clare O’Neil and Jane Hume to say something nice about each other (it’s something she’s said she’ll do all week).
It’s also a nice break from all the testy boxing matches between all the pollies as we get to the pointy end of the election campaign.
O’Neil went first, complimenting Hume’s wardrobe.
I have lots of nice thing to say about Jane but I will choose this morning that she’s a really snazzy dresser – and I don’t say that just because we so often come on the show wearing exactly the same thing!
Hume then complimented O’Neil on her ability to juggle three young kids and life in politics.
Clare works exceptionally hard. She [makes it] look seamless and easy. It’s not easy. She is doing an exceptional job with those competing demands of family and professional life. I tip my hat to her.
Turns out it’s also Hume’s birthday today – so O’Neil also wished her a happy day.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Wong compares Indigenous voice to marriage equality battle
Penny Wong has compared the voice to parliament to marriage equality, suggesting the public will reflect on the bitter fight over Indigenous recognition in 10 years’ time and ask “did we even have a debate about that?”.
In an interview with the Betoota Talks podcast, the foreign minister was asked about the failed 2023 referendum, when 60% of voters rejected a proposal to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution.
Wong said the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, pushed ahead with the vote amid warnings it was doomed to fail because he was not a “pull-the-pin kind of guy”.
He thought it was the right thing to do.
The foreign minister then compared the push for a voice to parliament to marriage equality, which was finally achieved in 2017 after a long-running fight in which she was a central figure.
I think we’ll look back on it in 10 years’ time, and it’ll be a bit like marriage equality, don’t you reckon? Like I always used to say, marriage equality took us such a bloody big fight to get that done.
And I thought all this fuss, it will become something like, people go, did we even have an argument about that? Kids today, or even adults today, barely kind of clock that it used to be an issue.
Albanese shut the door on reviving the voice proposal after being asked during Sunday’s election leaders’ debate if he still believed in it.
It is gone.
New inflation figures out today
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release the latest monthly and quarterly inflation data later today.
The current inflation rate for the month of February is 2.4%.
RN Breakfast host Sally Sara asks Jim Chalmers whether it would be a “failure” if that number doesn’t drop further.
Chalmers appears to give himself a bit of leeway, saying anything with a “two in front of it” is positive.
I think any headline inflation rate today with a two in front of it is a powerful demonstration of the progress that we’ve made together as Australians on inflation. If you think about when we came to office, inflation was 6.1% and it was rising sharply.
Sara then asks whether Chalmers should be giving more regard to the warning from ratings agency S&P. He responds:
I take the contributions from the ratings agency seriously, just as I take the IMF analysis seriously as well. The point that I’ve made in relation to the ratings agency is they can be reassured by our two surpluses, by the fact that we’ve got this deficit down.
Chalmers and Wong on the Indigenous voice’s future
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the prime minister has already ruled out establishing an Indigenous voice to parliament in a second Labor term.
Foreign minister Penny Wong spoke to the Betoota Advocate podcast about Indigenous reconciliation, and said people will reflect on the voice debate in the future, similarly to the marriage equality debate: ‘did we even have an argument about that?’.
We’ll have more on that shortly.
Chalmers was asked by the Today show a little earlier, whether he would rule out bringing the voice back.
I think the prime minister has already done that. You know, we’re looking forwards, not backwards. We were disappointed about the outcome back then, but we’ve been looking forwards and not backwards. And it’s not part of our agenda.
Josh Butler
Dutton yesterday cut short a press conference when asked about his previous comments critical of the media in the preceding days.
Asked about the pictures that went viral from Monday, when the tour bus carrying his campaign media got wedged on a Sydney street, Dutton praised the Murray’s company but made a light-hearted explanation of how the incident occurred.
I just think they’re drinking and eating too much on the plane, those journalists, the extra weight on the bus, that’s the only explanation.
Elsewhere in the interview, one of the hosts tells Dutton “you’ve got great skin” and asks about his self-care routine. The Liberal leader jokes “no one’s ever said that to me before”, adding that he uses “some basic moisturiser”.
I wish it were true. I’m 54 but I look like I’m 64.
Dutton advises viewers to ‘forget the ABC’ on election night
Josh Butler
Peter Dutton admits he’s “running on fumes” at the back end of the election campaign, but managed to find the energy to take another shot at the ABC during a morning FM radio interview in Melbourne.
The Liberal leader begins the day in Melbourne, after appearing on a late-night Sky News show last night, and joined Fox FM this morning for a lighter interview.
People obviously are over the ads and just want election day out of the way and get on with their lives. I get all of that.
But you know, we live in the greatest country in the world. It’s worth fighting for and protecting and defending and that’s what the debate is about.
The hosts asked Dutton for his tips for a good election night party.
I think alcohol is the first essential ingredient, I’m sure of that, responsible drinking as well, but not watching the ABC would be a good start.
For the young ones, listening at home, forget the ABC. And if you do that, you can probably start with a good night.
Albanese and Trump will talk ‘at some stage’, Chalmers expects
The treasurer is now on ABC RN Breakfast and is facing more questions on what’s going on in the US – and why the PM hasn’t gotten a call back when it’s been reported that Trump is aware of the requests.
Chalmers says again that the government has been “engaging” at all levels with the US administration.
That engagement has been ongoing. Prime Minister Albanese has already had a couple of conversations with President Trump in recent months. We flagged an interest in more discussions, and I think what President Trump said today just reflects that.
Chalmers seemed hopeful that there would be another leader to leader call, but didn’t have details on when that could be.
There’ll be another conversation at some stage. I’ll leave it to the colleagues to give a better sense of when that might be.
Chalmers said the country was facing “volatile” times, and said it wasn’t a time to change government.
Volatile times like this are the worst possible time for a volatile leader like Peter Dutton, and I think that’s one of the things that’s at stake on Saturday.
Chalmers says Labor ‘engaging’ with US amid reports PM can’t reach Trump
Nine newspapers report Donald Trump is aware the prime minister has been trying to call, but hasn’t yet picked up the phone.
Trump was asked by Nine papers during a doorstop whether he would speak to the PM:
They are calling and I will be talking to him, yes.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is doing the media rounds this morning, and is asked on News Breakfast how much contact the government has had with the White House.
Chalmers says the government is “engaging” (something they’ve been saying since January).
We’ve made it really clear, James [Glenday], for some time now that we’re engaging with our counterparts in the US as the Australian people would expect us to. We’re speaking up for and standing up for our national economic interest.
He won’t provide any details on why that call hasn’t been taken.
Labor might be buoyed by the success of the progressive Liberal party in Canada’s election yesterday, but Chalmers won’t say whether they’re hopeful that the result can be replicated here.
He does use the opportunity to attack Peter Dutton, claiming the Coalition is trying to “import” policies form the US.
Ours is a different country and a different contest, but I think Australians do know that Peter Dutton has been importing his policies, his politics, his slogans from the United States, and Australians don’t want to see the Americanisation of our health and our education or our politics.
Coalition to release costings tomorrow – Ley
Sussan Ley has confirmed the Coalition’s costings will be released tomorrow, as the party is put under pressure to reveal how they’ll pay for their promises.
Labor has been attacking the Coalition for not having yet revealed its numbers, claiming the opposition will have to “cut” services to pay for their nuclear plan.
So far the Coalition has said it opposes more than $100bn of Labor spending and promises to rewind programs like the housing Australia future fund and the rewiring the nation fund. Ley told Sky News:
Not long to wait now. Pete [Stefanovic], the costings will come out tomorrow, but let’s not forget on the matter of costings, Labor has spent $5 billion in 20 days trying to buy this election.
Good morning,
Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
We have just three days to go now, and Anthony Albanese and much of his frontbench will be in Canberra today for the PM’s press club address. That will be the main focus of the Labor camp.
Meanwhile, Peter Dutton is starting the day in Melbourne, which we know will be crucial for the Coalition, and there are several seats the party has its eyes on to win from Labor.
It’s getting exciting folks!
Housing crisis has never been worse – Anglicare
The affordability of rental properties has dropped, according to the latest snapshot survey complied by Anglicare Australia, and it paints a bleak picture of the rental market.
The quick findings of the survey (which looks at 51,238 rental listings) found that:
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352 rentals (0.7%) were affordable for a person earning a full-time minimum wage.
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165 rentals (0.3%) were affordable for a person on the age pension.
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28 rentals (0.1%) were affordable for a person on the disability support pension.
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Three rentals (0%), all rooms in sharehouses, were affordable for a person on jobseeker.
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No rentals were affordable for a person on youth allowance.
The results come at the tail-end of an election cycle where both the major parties have been silent on rental issues.
Anglicare Australia’s executive director, Kasy Chambers, said:
Australia’s housing crisis is the worst it has ever been.
We keep hearing that this election is about living costs, but housing is the biggest cost facing Australians. The housing crisis is climbing the income ladder, and people on lowest incomes don’t stand a chance.
She said there were 74 electorates in Australia without a single affordable rental for someone on the minimum wage.
Chambers called for capital gains tax and negative gearing deductions for new investors to be phased out over 10 years.
Instead of spending billions on tax breaks for investors, the government should be building the housing we need.
If the next parliament fails to take action, this crisis will only get worse.
Trump says he ‘will be talking’ to Australian PM
Donald Trump has confirmed he’s aware that Anthony Albanese is keen to talk to him about tariffs – and says he’s planning to place a call.
The US president made the comments while leaving the White House today. Asked by a reporter if he would be “speaking to the prime minister of Australia at all”, Trump responded:
They are calling and I will be talking to him.
Ask Me Anything podcast election special
In this special Ask Me Anything edition, our political reporter Krishani Dhanji and economics editor Patrick Commins give you the answers you need on everything from energy policy to where the prime minister should live and how your preferences work.
Listen here:
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani will take the reins.
Anthony Albanese has congratulated Canada’s newly elected prime minister, Mark Carney, who rode a wave of anti-Donald Trump sentiment in the country to win a comeback victory for his Liberal party. One political strategist says this morning that he will be watching the results closely to see how the Trump factor affects Australia – whether it’s a drift against the kind of rightwing policies championed by Peter Dutton’s Coalition or whether the trend away from the two major parties is reversed as voters “seek security”. More coming up.
Albanese will address the National Press Club in Canberra today as he continues with his campaign amid another poll – this time in the Nine newspapers – showing him comfortably ahead by 53-47 on a two-party preferred basis. Dutton, meanwhile, begins his day in Melbourne.
One key issue on the campaign has been housing and the crisis in the sector is “the worst it’s ever been”, a leading charity has warned as it urges governments to step up and build. Fewer than one in 100 full-time workers on the minimum wage can afford places to rent, the annual rental affordability snapshot for Anglicare Australia has found. Also today we’re expecting the latest inflation data.
