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Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 10 April 2022; Hits: 90

The starter gun has been fired on a 41-day election campaign that will take Australians to the polls on May 21, with both leaders outlining their pitch to voters.

Scott Morrison became the first prime minister to make two trips to the governor-general's house since John Howard on Sunday, asking David Hurley to dissolve the 46th parliament and sending 151 lower house and 40 Senate seats to the polls.

Shortly after at Parliament House, Mr Morrison implored Australians not to look backwards, saying the election isn't a referendum on how his government handled the pandemic but a choice about the future.

"I get that people are tired of politics but this election and this campaign is incredibly important because there is so much at stake for Australia and our future," he said.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty ahead.

"But I believe there are many, many opportunities there to be seized from the strong position we've put ourselves in as a country as we emerge strongly from this pandemic."

Mr Morrison admitted his government hadn't been perfect but contrasted its economic achievements and plans for the future against an untested opposition.

He said he headed a strong, experienced team that had demonstrated its ability to make difficult choices in tough times.

"(The) Labor opposition has been so focused on politics over these past few years that they still can't tell you what they do, who they are or what they believe in and what they stand for," he said.

"What we've demonstrated over these past three years is the ability to make those decisions that ensured Australia's recovery is leading the world."

Both leaders are tipped to start their campaigns in the nation's regions where marginal seats are up for grabs or need defending.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, already in central NSW when the prime minister made the trip to Canberra, hailed the country's export sector as the foundation of a strong economy.

"We know that (Resources Minister) Keith Pitt stands absolutely behind the coal sector, the iron ore sector," he said from his hometown Tamworth.

"(Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese) didn't talk - except through gritted teeth - about the resources industry and our second biggest export, coal."

Mr Albanese used his first campaign speech to spruik an optimistic future under Labor but underpinned it with rhetoric about a cynical Morrison government that has overseen stagnant wage growth and wasted public money.

"Fear can be a powerful emotion and I imagine there will be quite a bit over the next few weeks but I want to appeal to your sense of optimism and desire for a better future," he told reporters after the election was officially called.

"The problem for this government is they are treading water. What are their plans to create productivity? At the moment, we have an economy that isn't working for people. People know that, they are doing it really tough."

Mr Albanese said he would be a leader with integrity and respect, promising to establish an anti-corruption commission and bring down the cost of living while increasing wage growth.

"I say to my fellow Australians, this is our time," he said, channelling the successful 'It's time' slogan of former prime minister Gough Whitlam.

"Our time to seize the opportunities that are before us, our time to create a better future where no one is held back and no one is left behind."

Labor have only won an election from opposition three times since the end of World War II - Mr Whitlam in 1972, Bob Hawke in 1983 and Kevin Rudd in 2007.

The coalition hold 76 of 151 lower house seats and Labor 69. The opposition will need a net gain of seven seats to form a majority government if the new seat of Hawke in Victoria is considered a win.

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 10 April 2022; Hits: 93

Australians are tipped to go to the polls in six weeks after a tumultuous three years for the economy, health and global security.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has arrived at Government House in Canberra to ask Governor-General David Hurley for an election, expected to be held on May 21.

A number of anti-government and Indigenous protesters have gathered outside Government House.

Mr Morrison flew from Sydney on Sunday morning after enjoying a curry dinner with his family in Sydney on Saturday night, while Labor leader Anthony Albanese watched his beloved Rabbitohs beat the Dragons in the NRL.

Mr Morrison is aiming to become the first incumbent prime minister to win two elections in a row since John Howard in 2004.

But Labor has been ahead in the polls consistently since June 2021, currently sitting on a two-party preferred vote of 55 per cent.

The government says Mr Albanese lacks the experience to run the country and has been playing a small-target pre-election campaign so far.

"Anthony Albanese has been curled up in a ball not wanting people to know who he was," government frontbencher Peter Dutton told the Nine Network.

"Having been in parliament for 20 years and watched governments of both persuasions, I don't believe the Labor government could have guided us through the last three years in which the coalition has."

Labor's Jason Clare says voters are sick of the "lies and incompetence" of a government that has been in power for almost a decade.

"This is an old government. If they win this election they will have been in power for longer than (former Liberal prime minister) John Howard," Mr Clare said.

Mr Morrison on Saturday released a video in which he points to the natural disasters that have hit the country, the unstable global security environment and the risks facing Australia's economy.

He says 40,000 Australians are alive because of how his government handled the COVID-19 pandemic, with 700,000 still in jobs because of the response to the economic fallout.

"This is why as we go into this next election, what's firing me up - we're actually in a really strong position," Mr Morrison says.

Mr Morrison set an apologetic but committed tone in an opinion piece written for News Corp papers on Sunday.

"Our government is not perfect. But we have been up front. You know what we stand for, you can see our record of delivery, and you can see our plan for the future," he wrote.

Mr Albanese also released a video on Saturday spruiking his "fully costed plan for a better future".

He introduces himself to voters and talks about his economics degree from Sydney University and six years as infrastructure minister.

"Growing up with a single mum, I know the value of a dollar, and I know how hard it is to get ahead, " Mr Albanese says.

Labor also released an attack video, lampooning the prime minister's video message and declaring: "No more mistakes. No more excuses. No more Morrison".

Mr Albanese wrote an opinion piece in which he pledged to unite the nation.

"That's the approach behind Labor's election campaign - building a better future where no one is left behind and no one is held back," he wrote.

The coalition starts the race with 76 seats out of the 151-seat lower house, with Labor on 69 if the new seat of Hawke in Victoria is considered a win.

Forty seats in the upper house are in contention in a half-Senate election.

Both leaders are tipped to start their campaigns in regional parts of the nation where marginal seats are up for grabs or need defending.

There are concerns the campaigns could be derailed by COVID-19 but steps have been taken to minimise the chances of outbreaks.

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 10 April 2022; Hits: 87

Scott Morrison is about announce the election date for a likely six-week campaign, coming after a tumultuous three years for the economy, health and global security.

The prime minister is heading to Parliament House to announce the poll date, likely May 21, after informing Governor-General David Hurley at Government House of his intention to dissolve parliament.

A number of anti-government and Indigenous protesters had gathered outside Government House