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Scott Morrison has dismissed Labor's economic plan as smoke and mirrors, as both parties remain under pressure to explain how they would ease the cost of living.

The prime minister has been on the defensive this week over a two-decade high inflation rise of more than five per cent, saying factors outside the government's control have led to an increase in everyday goods.

"I do understand that Australians are facing cost of living pressures. I do understand that there is rising pressure on interest rates," he said.

"Impacts on inflation are coming from well beyond Australia's shores and some factors, particularly more recently, when it impacts on fruit and vegetable prices when it comes to the recent floods."

Relief would flow through to struggling Australians in the form of tax relief and one-off payments for pensioners, Mr Morrison said as he spruiked his government's economic credentials.

"The reason we can do that is because of a strong economy. The reason we can do that is because of how we manage money," he said.

"These are very uncertain times and Australians don't know what their economic plan is because Labor doesn't have one. Labor hasn't got the record on managing the economy."

Labor hit back at the government's economic record, with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese saying the government never takes responsibility for economic downturns and always seeks to blame other factors.

"I'll say this very clearly. They will be better off under a Labor government than they will be under a Morrison government that says life is easy now," he said.

"(The government's measures) all end as soon as people cast their votes. They're all short term."

But Labor has struggled to put a figure on exactly how much Australians would be better off under their government or how much cheaper everyday items would be as they criticise the cost of fruit and vegetables under Mr Morrison's watch.

"We make their child care cheaper, we make their power bills cheaper, we make their health care cheaper and more accessible. And we get their real wages moving again," Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

"This is how we ease the cost-of-living pressures on Australian families."

The prime minister is due to start the day in Sydney on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Mr Albanese is in Perth along with senior Labor MPs to launch the party's official campaign as it plots its path to government through Western Australia.

Mr Chalmers accused the government of abandoning WA and going head to head with Premier Mark McGowan as Labor looks to flip the seats of Pearce, Swan and Hasluck.

"We can't have another three years of Scott Morrison playing one state off against another. We can't have another three years of Scott Morrison playing politics, trying to divide east and west," he said.

"The choice at this election is between Anthony Albanese working with Mark McGowan, or Scott Morrison working with Clive Palmer,

Mr Albanese will use the launch to unveil a new housing policy, where a Labor government would give homebuyers up to 40 per cent equity to buy a home.

The Greens have also launched a policy for LQBTQI Australians to achieve equality, including through a rights charter to bolster federal anti-discrimination law and the appointment of an equality minister and LGBTQI human rights commissioner.

The policy is due to cost over $200 million annually for four years.

© AAP 2022

Labor is seeking to seize momentum heading into the fourth week of the election campaign with its official launch in Perth.

The launch comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison returns to the issue of online safety and defends the government's record on addressing cost of living pressures.

Anthony Albanese's broad theme will be building a better future and a stronger economy under Labor, pitching a new housing affordability policy.

Housing is likely to be a hot topic this week with the Reserve Bank widely expected to lift the cash rate on Tuesday, for the first time in 12 years.

Mr Albanese said ahead of the launch it had been a tough few years for Australia and people wanted more than a return to the past.

"We can do better than just having three more years of the same ... Labor has a plan for a better future," he said.

"We need to shape the future rather than be passive and shaped by it."

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said Labor had "tangible policies" to take pressure off the cost of living for Australian families, in the wake of last week's 5.1 per cent inflation rate.

"Whether it's in childcare, whether it's in healthcare, whether it's power bills, whether it's mortgages, mortgage repayments," he said.

Labor will use the launch to unveil a new housing policy, where an Albanese government would give homebuyers up to 40 per cent equity to buy a home.

Campaigning in the Sydney seat of Parramatta, Mr Morrison said Labor's plan was seriously flawed.

"They (the Labor government) will have equity in your home and as that your equity goes up, they're gonna keep it," he said.

Mr Morrison announced the coalition's blueprint to improve online safety, an issue he also intends to take up - if re-elected - at a global level at the G20 summit in Bali later in the year.

Big tech will be required to build enhanced safety controls into their devices that are easy for parents to use and hard for children to bypass.

The eSafety Commissioner would work with Apple, Samsung and others to design device settings and a binding code under the Online Safety Act.

If the industry does not create these controls within 12 months of the government being returned, it would move to force companies to comply with regulations.

On broader economic issues, asked what the coalition would do about rising grocery prices, Mr Morrison said he had already halved the petrol tax, provided cash payments to pensioners and implemented an income tax break to start on July 1.

He said the war on Europe and the ongoing impact on supply chains of the COVID-19 pandemic were key pressures on inflation.

"The Labor Party think they have some kind of Harry Potter wand that you can just raise in government and it changes the price of a lettuce - it's ridiculous," Mr Morrison said.

"That shows a complete lack of understanding of what is driving prices."

© AAP 2022

Anthony Albanese has positioned Labor as better than the coalition on climate, housing and health, as the party held its campaign launch in Perth.

The pitch came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison returned to the issue of online safety, as he sought to shore up and win Sydney seats.

Mr Albanese said the May 21 election was a choice between "shaping the future or being shaped by it".

The launch at Perth's Optus Stadium included new promises on cheaper medicines, electric vehicle charging stations and equity for first home buyers.

"This government has had a decade in office and in another three years the problems we need to fix will be even bigger," Mr Albanese said.

"We can do better."

Housing is likely to be a hot topic this week with the Reserve Bank widely expected to lift the cash rate on Tuesday, for the first time in 12 years.

Labor's Help to Buy scheme will provide an equity contribution of as much as 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home and up to 30 per cent for an existing dwelling for 10,000 Australians.

The scheme will enable savings up to $380,000 for new homes and $285,000 for existing ones, with price caps of between $550,000 and $950,000 depending on the state and region.

However, Mr Morrison said the approach was flawed.

"They (the Labor government) will have equity in your home and as that your equity goes up, they're gonna keep it," he said.

Labor also one-upped the coalition on medicines, announcing drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will cost a maximum of $30, with a $12.50 reduction for general patients.

Gender pay equity will become an objective in the Fair Work Act and there will be more electric-vehicle charging stations.

More broadly, Mr Albanese said Labor would bring the principles of universal, affordable and quality service to child care and aged care.

"For too long, our youngest Australians and our oldest Australians and their families have lived with broken systems ... I will make it the Labor government's mission to fix this."

Mr Morrison announced the coalition's blueprint to improve online safety, an issue he also intends to take up - if re-elected - at a global level at the G20 summit in Bali later in the year.

Big tech will be required to build enhanced safety controls into their devices that are easy for parents to use and hard for children to bypass.

The eSafety Commissioner would work with Apple, Samsung and others to design device settings and a binding code under the Online Safety Act.

If the industry does not create these controls within 12 months of the government being returned, it would move to force companies to comply with regulations.

On broader economic issues, asked what the coalition would do about rising grocery prices, Mr Morrison said he had already halved the petrol tax, provided cash payments to pensioners and implemented an income tax break to start on July 1.

He said the war on Europe and the ongoing impact on supply chains of the COVID-19 pandemic were key pressures on inflation.

"The Labor Party think they have some kind of Harry Potter wand that you can just raise in government and it changes the price of a lettuce - it's ridiculous," Mr Morrison said.

"That shows a complete lack of understanding of what is driving prices."

Mr Morrison held a local campaign rally in the seat of Reid, as Liberal strategists fear the loss of a swathe of seats in Sydney to Labor and independent candidates.

An average of the most recent opinion polls puts Labor on 54 per cent of the two-party preferred vote - which if replicated on election day would deliver a comfortable majority.

Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese will take part in the second leaders' debate on May 8.

© AAP 2022