By Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Rudd went to Governor-General Quentin Bryce this afternoon after flying from Brisbane.
This followed two last minute federal government victories – Victoria signed up to the Gonski school plan and Western Australia joined the national disability scheme.
At the end of the outgoing hung parliament Labor had 71 seats, the Coalition 72 and there were seven crossbenchers including one Green.
The PM has said in a message to ALP supporters that Australians now face a stark choice.
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“I have a positive vision about the country we can be. In this election I'll be talking with Australians across the county about better schools for our kids, investing so we can create good jobs, and about how the NBN can help keep our economy strong”.
He said opposition leader Tony Abbott would “bang on with the same negativity that we're all sick of. He's only got three word slogans because he doesn't have the ticker to debate his real agenda.
“Right now the only thing standing between Australia and an Abbott-led government is you, me, and as many Australians as we can rally to fight for the kind of nation we all want to live in”.
Appealing for funds, Rudd told supporters: “We've got one hell of a fight on our hands. Abbott and a few millionaires will out-spend us. But if we join together we can even the playing field”
Tony Abbott was flying back to Canberra this afternoon.
Cabinet is scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss election planning, while both sides are gearing their campaign offices.
Labor has dramatically revived since Kevin Rudd seized the leadership from Julia Gillard in June, putting it back in the race after it had been written off completely.
But big regional variations are expected, which could be critical in the result.
The ALP has received a boost in Queensland, Rudd's home state,. But it has problems in NSW, where the corruption issue has dogged it and support in Western Sydney remains problematic.
Since he's been PM, Rudd has moved to try to neutralise key issues including boat arrivals and the carbon tax. But the government's economic statement released on Friday showed a sharp deterioration in budget numbers, with larger deficits in this financial year and next than predicted in May.
The poll culminates weeks of speculation about the election date, after Rudd abandoned Gillard's choice of September 14. On Saturday the PM threw the September 7 date into doubt when he said he intended to go to the G20 and the government still had things to do.
But Rudd's senior advisers and Labor Party strategists have been urging him to call an election as soon as possible, believing the government should take advantage of the honeymoon phase of his leadership.
The victories on Gonski and the NDIS put in place key planks for the government.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.
