Policy and messaging focus →

With the 2025 federal budget delivered, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the next federal election for 3 May, with both major parties hoping to win over voters with cost-of-living relief. Coming in the lead-up to the election, the federal budget was never going to be just another economic blueprint — it was Labor’s major opportunity to set the terms of the campaign.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers framed the budget as a responsible response to cost-of-living pressures, delivering A$17 billion in tax cuts aimed at low- and middle-income earners. By quickly legislating the cuts, Labor forced the Coalition into a difficult position, daring it to either support the tax relief or oppose it and risk alienating voters in key outer-suburban electorates.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton refused to engage on Labor’s terms, instead announcing a one-year halving of the fuel excise in his budget reply. The move provides immediate relief at the bowser, appealing directly to commuters in outer-suburban seats who are heavily impacted by petrol prices. The strategy contrasts sharply with Labor’s modest but permanent tax cuts, shifting the debate to short-term financial relief versus long-term structural tax changes.

Both strategies are targeted at the same key electorates, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne’s outer suburbs, where cost-of-living pressures are most acute. Labor’s tax cuts offer a small, stable reduction in income tax, while the Coalition is banking on the urgency of household budgets making fuel relief a bigger electoral drawcard.

For business, neither approach addresses concerns over rising deficits and a lack of long-term economic reform. With the budget now delivered, and the election called, the official election campaign has finally begun.