Prime Minister Scott Morrison has gone on the offensive, launching an economic attack against Opposition leader Anthony Albanese, who is defending his credentials to lead the country after he failed to recall key economic figures in an early campaign stumble.
Mr Albanese apologised for not being able to state Australia’s unemployment rate and official interest rate on Monday - the first full day of the election campaign - on Tuesday quoting singer Taylor Swift, saying he would “shake it off”.
But the stumble has played into the Coalition’s attempts to frame itself as a safer pair of hands to manage the economy.
Mr Albanese remains adamant that his criticisms of the government’s economic management are valid - including over rising insecure work and stalled wages growth.
Mr Morrison’s attempt to pounce on Mr Albanese’s error showed that economic issues will be a central flashpoint of the election campaign.
“His fundamental understanding of the economy is wrong,” Mr Morrison told reporters at a Rheem hot water systems factory near Sydney’s Parramatta on Tuesday.
“He doesn't know what's happening in the economy.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison drills a hole during a visit to Hogan Engineering on day two of the 2022 federal election campaign, in Mulgrave, northwest Sydney. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE
“The national unemployment rate at the moment is ... I think it’s 5.4. Sorry, I’m not sure what it is,” he said.
Mr Albanese apologised later that day for his mistake.
Mr Morrison said he recognised that “leaders will not get everything right” but took issue with the margin of Mr Albanese’s mistake.
“Sure, he didn't know the number, but he didn't miss it by that much - he missed it by that much,” he said, gesturing with his hands.
“What that tells me is his working assumptions about our economy and what Australians are achieving in our economy he doesn't know .”
The current unemployment rate of four per cent is a 13-year low and is predicted by Treasury to fall to its lowest figure in 50 years by the September quarter.
But Mr Albanese maintains despite his slip up, his grasp on the economy is sound.
He cited an economics degree from Sydney University and time as a policy advisor to the Hawke government as measures of his experience.
He also said his attacks against the government over rising insecure work and wage growth were valid, suggesting the unemployment figure didn’t tell the full picture.
“I'm absolutely across the economy and what we need to do, which is why I have a practical plan to deal with the economic challenges that Australia faces,” he said.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference after a visit to Longford Medical Centre on day two of the 2022 federal election campaign, in Longford, Tasmania. Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE
“This is a government that don't have a plan,” he said.
“We have a plan going forward, I will continue to put forward the plan.”
He cited Labor’s intention to invest in manufacturing, delivering skills training and support for regional areas as evidence of this.
Labor’s attacks against the government on the economy include concern about debt levels edging towards $1 trillion following the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has also warned Australia's sluggish wages growth of 2.3 per cent is failing to keep up with increasing inflation, which has officially reached 3.5 per cent.
According to Treasury officials, inflation is also set to hit 4.25 per cent this financial year.
Wages, on the other hand, are only set to grow by 2.75 per cent.
The Coalition's jobs pledge
One of Mr Morrison's mantras at this election will be more jobs.
But with unemployment forecast to drop below four per cent, the question of where these workers will come from remains.
Mr Morrison has said there won’t be a boost to the national migration intake to meet the target.
“Our migration program is set out in the budget,” he told reporters.
“The cap is at 160,000. There’s no change to that and we are increasing the proportion of skills components within that."
Mr Morrison's pitch of 1.3 million jobs is broadly in line with existing population growth forecasts.
Demographer Dr Liz Allen, from the Australian National University, said this meant the government shouldn't take credit for reaching the target, describing the announcement as a "bit of a furphy".
"When [Mr Morrison] says he's going to create this enormous amount of jobs it's actually not the whole story," she told SBS News.
"If we look at the average number of jobs that are open each year, it actually comes under target."
The promise is also similar to his January 2019 pledge to create 1.25 million jobs over five years.
But the pandemic appears to have scuttled that pledge, with jobs only up by 513,000 since May 2019
Labor lashes ‘dodgy costings’ from Liberals
In another flashpoint, the Coalition has released an analysis of policies outlined in Labor’s platform, claiming they would cost taxpayers $302 billion over a decade.
The claim will be central to underpinning the Coalition’s attacks against Labor’s economic management in the campaign.
But Labor’s finance spokesperson Katy Gallagher has attacked the government’s figures “dodgy costings” that are “completely untrue, wrong [and] rubbish”.
“The so-called policies they are costing are not Labor's policies. All of our policies are costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office,” she told reporters.
Each year at its national conference, the Labor party establishes a policy platform.
Most recently, this included a range of commitments to increase the foreign aid budget, reform paid parental leave, boost our refugee intake and expand early childhood education.
But Mr Albanese said the platform is “not what we take to the election”.
“Our policies are the ones that we announce that are fully costed,” he said.
Mr Albanese was also spruiking a promise to restore Medicare support for bulk-billed telehealth psychiatric consultations for regional patients in Tasmania on Tuesday.
He pointed to the $31.3 million pledge as an example of one of Labor's fully-costed policies.
