The Federal Election will be held in May after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese abandoned plans to send Australians to the polls in April.
Albanese was likely to call an April 12 election this weekend, but with Cyclone Alfred impacting Queensland and northern New South Wales, that plan has been shelved.
April 19 is out of the question due to Easter while April 26 falls a day after ANZAC Day.
It means May 3, 10 and 17 are now the likely election dates.
The campaigns of both Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will be complicated by the Easter holiday period. That could result in Albanese leading towards May 10 or 17 so the momentum returns to the campaigns before polling day.
“I have no intention of doing anything that distracts from what we need to do,” Albanese told the ABC on Friday night.
“And what we need to do is to look after each other at this difficult time. This is not a time for looking at politics.”
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.