From clashes over wages to a regional polling station warning: What happened on campaign day 38

Thanks for joining the SBS News' live blog on day 38 of the federal election campaign.

Here's a rundown of what Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese and their teams were up to:

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison: Geelong (Corangamite), Devonport (Braddon)
• Opposition leader Anthony Albanese: Canberra (Canberra)

Helping more Australians become homeowners with the HomeBuilder scheme and an election commitment to allow first home buyers to access their superannuation for a deposit.

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'Dismal outlook' for young househunters as Coalition puts forward new first home buying plan

Mr Albanese gave his final major pitch to voters ahead of Saturday in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra.

The wage price index rose 0.7 per cent in the March quarter. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the annual rate was 2.4 per cent, less than half the rate of inflation at 5.1 per cent.

READ MORE

'A horror result for workers': New wages growth figures released

The prime minister defended his pandemic management saying rising case numbers and deaths were "always going to happen", as Australia records the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the world.

Mr Morrison blamed Australia's cost of living crisis on inflation which he said was outside his control.

Mr Albanese said Labor would cut $750 million in "wasteful" grants to balance the budget.

Nearly six million voters have either pre-polled or applied for a postal vote so far.

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Mr Morrison on rising COVID-19 infections and deaths: "I believe we need to move on from where we've been ... I think it's incredibly important that we manage the pandemic and its future carefully, but we don't go back to those days of shutdowns and lockdowns."

Mr Albanese comparing political strategies: "Labor's campaign is about the Australian people, your values, your aspirations, the difference that a good government can make in your life. The Liberals' campaign is about them, their obsessions, their vendettas, their excuses, their political survival."

Join us again tomorrow for more news from the campaign trail!

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has admitted some polling stations in regional and remote parts of South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland could be closed on election day due to worker shortages.

The AEC said towns and communities in the federal electorates of Capricornia, Flynn, Kennedy and Leichhardt in Queensland, Barker and Grey in South Australia and Durack and O'Connor in Western Australia could be impacted by shortages.

First Nations campaign director at advocacy group GetUp, Amy Gordon, said the closures would be tantamount to voter suppression, with the affected electorates having some of the highest rates of Indigenous voters in the country.

"What it boils down to is really voter suppression," the Goreng Goreng woman told NITV News.

"Failure to have remote polling booths open for election day means that thousands of Blackfullas and people up in these electorates won't have their say on the election."

The AEC said voters in a number of areas are being urged to check if their voting centres will be open as there are fears workers could lead to their closure.

"While the impact will likely be limited, and limited to certain areas, voters in identified regional locations who have not accessed an early voting centre, or postal vote, may not have a polling venue in their town on election day," electoral commissioner Tom Rogers said.

"Current labour shortages in regional areas have been well documented. No frontline service has been immune to resourcing difficulties and we’re running the nation’s biggest in-person, manual event."

Indigenous enrolment is already estimated to be lower than the general population, with 79 per cent of eligible First Nations people enrolled to vote, compared to 96 per cent of the eligible general population.

By Sarah Collard

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says 4.36 million Australians have already voted in the federal election, according to its latest pre-poll data.

As of Tuesday night, 3,212,029 pre-poll votes and 1,154,601 postal votes had been received.

There are 17,228,900 Australians enrolled to vote.

More than 3 million Australians have already cast their vote in this year's federal election. Source: SBS

Applications for postal votes will close at 6pm tonight.

SBS World News chief political correspondent Anna Henderson has quizzed Anthony Albanese at the National Press Club over his plans for Australia's relationship with China.

"The prime minister says that you would be a weak leader on the international stage. And SBS has spoken to Chinese diplomatic sources who say that whichever party is elected, they will seek fresh talks on some level. So, is China to be trusted? Or is China the enemy? And if you are elected, will you pick up the phone to President Xi [Jinping]?" Ms Henderson asked.

Mr Albanese did not directly answer the question.

"China has changed its position under [President] Xi ... I think that the relationship between Australia and China will remain a challenging one regardless of who wins the election," he said.

"But I'll tell you what I will do if I have the great honour of leading this country. I will cherish the relationships that I build, including reacquainting myself with [US] President Biden next week if we're successful. What we've seen is a whole series of Australia's international relations being damaged."

Mr Albanese then switched gear to attack Scott Morrison and the Coalition's foreign policy moves.

"You know what weak is? Weak is leaking a private text message with an ally. That's weak. That's what that is. Because you're under pressure. You've got a bad headline - oh, well, just chuck this out and then say 'oh, I don't know where that came from'.

"I'll tell you what weak is - being asked to consult across the parliament and ensure that there's bipartisan support for AUKUS ... and then misleading that ally about whether that consultation has taken place. That's weak."

"What I'll do - the first thing that I will be doing is meeting with our allies. That's what I'll be doing. Meeting with President Biden, meeting with Prime Minister Kishida, meeting with Narendra Modi."

Anthony Albanese says a good government should celebrate diversity and multiculturalism in Australia.

"I know the difference that a good government can make to people's aspirations," he told the National Press Club.

"It's what's brought me here today in a position of standing for prime minister of this country. Good government changed my life."

"And it invests and cherishes our universities and our arts and our sport and our music. And the multicultural miracle of modern Australia. Celebrating the diversity that gives us strength."

Mr Albanese also referred to the opportunity for greater dialogue with First Nations people.

"A good government will grasp the opportunity that is there for healing and truth and reconciliation offered by the generous Uluru Statement from the Heart. We need to celebrate the fact that we share a continent with the oldest continuous civilisation."

"This is the Labor government I want to lead."

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has attacked the Coalition at the National Press Club after latest figures showed wage growth was not keeping pace with inflation and the growing cost of living.

"With the real-world consequences felt by hardworking Australians, like today's news, that real wages have gone backwards yet again. A fall of 2.7 per cent. What a hit," he said.

"This delivers the biggest cut to real wages in more than 20 years. Under Scott Morrison, real wages are plummeting while the cost of living is skyrocketing."

Mr Albanese said Australian workers were paying the price for "a decade of bad policy and economic failures".

"If you needed any more proof that Scott Morrison is determined to learn nothing from the last three years, you only need to look at what he's said in the last week," he added.

"Now, he started off the week by arguing that the workers who carried our economy through the pandemic - they went out to work, they risk their own health to serve others for $20.33 an hour - what did he say? They couldn't afford one extra dollar an hour. One dollar an hour.

"He believes they should get a real wage cut. And remember this - the government said that low wages were a key feature of their economic architecture. It's not bad luck. It's bad policies that are leading to a decline in real wages and a decline in people's living standards."

Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese holds up a one dollar coin during his speech to the National Press Club. Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE

Mr Albanese also said the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted both the strength and vulnerabilities of Australia's community.

The Labor leader pointed to insecure work, childcare costs, skills and training systems, the digital divide, pressures on the health systems and healthcare workers, aged care, and risks to business and industry from Australia's position at the end of global supply chains.

"These problems aren't new. Most are the inevitable end result of a decade of cuts, mismanagement, neglect, and a government that's just focused on itself," he said.

The Opposition leader is speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, spruiking campaign policies in the final days of the election campaign.

"I want to lead a government that is worthy of our great nation. A government that honours the values that the Australian people, that repays hard work, nourishes aspiration, and creates opportunity. A government [that's] driven by strong and simple principles that you might have heard me mention during the last six weeks. No one held back - no one left behind," he said.

"I began this campaign outlining Labor's plans to build a better future. To boost wages. To help with the cost of living. Make things here in Australia. Strengthen Medicare. Fix aged care. Invest in the skills of our people. And bring our country together.

"As we near the end of this campaign, these promises remain central to Labor's vision for Australia. Scott Morrison started his campaign saying you didn't have to like him, but at least you knew who he was.

"Five weeks later, he's saying he can pretend to be someone else if it will make you like him.

"Labor is offering Australians a chance to change the country for the better. He's promising to change his personality. He's been 'the devil you know'. He's been a bulldozer. He told us he's a car. Just not an electric one - obviously."

The prime minister has stood by his plans to implement a federal integrity commission as 31 former judges issued a public plea calling for a tougher model to be adopted by whoever wins government at the election.

Mr Morrison said the group were “entitled” to their opinion, but has continued to stand by his government’s proposed model.

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“They are entitled to their opinion - it’s a free country, I'm happy for them to make their contribution,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Geelong on Wednesday.

“But what I do know is that we have a policy of 347 pages with extensive powers, which is part of our program to ensure that we can put an integrity commission in place.”

Analysis by the Australian National University found 8.4 per cent of women are still yet to decide who they will vote for on polling day, in comparison to 2.8 per cent of men.

More than 3,500 eligible voters were surveyed in April this year.

The research found a higher number of women said they would vote for Labor (33.4 per cent) compared to the Coalition (29.2 per cent).

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ANU Director of Global Institute for Women's Leadership Professor Michelle Ryan said women's votes are "up for grabs".

"The data tells us women could hold the power to decide who is elected prime minister, meaning there is still time for candidates to convince female voters why they deserve their support," she said.

Professor Ryan said political parties should be looking at the issues that matter to women.

With AAP.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the quarterly Wage Price Index (WPI).

Australian wages continue to grow, with the WPI rising 0.7 per cent in the March quarter in seasonally adjusted terms, and 2.4 per cent over the year.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said wages in the private sector rose 0.7 per cent and in the public sector they rose by 0.6 per cent.

READ MORE

'A horror result for workers': New wages growth figures released

With inflation sitting at 5.1 per cent, the new data is likely to spark further debate around "real wage growth".

Today is the final day to apply for a postal vote, with applications closing at 6pm.

If you have contracted COVID-19 since Saturday 14 May, you are eligible to apply for a postal vote.

Legislation was passed this year to allow for COVID-affected voters to cast a telephone vote, however this is designed to only be used as an emergency measure.

Telephone voting for the election will only be available for voters who test positive for COVID-19 from 6:01pm on Tuesday 17 May.

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Just tested positive for COVID-19 and need to vote? Here's how

The prime minister was also quizzed about housing affordability, with reporters referring to the Coalition's new housing policy that some experts have said could further drive up house prices.

"There are many solutions that our government has put into place, and over the last three years, 300,000 Australians have been able to get into their own homes directly because of the policies of our government," Scott Morrison said.

READ MORE

Scott Morrison denies housing policies will push up prices

Mr Morrison referenced the Coalition's previous housing programs - the First Home Super Saver Scheme, HomeBuilder, National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation and the current downsizing program - which he says will ensure "other houses are freed up in the housing market".

"That's how it works, and $9 trillion valued market here in Australia, $680 million of turnover and housing transactions every year, and what this means is it is freeing up stock, so our housing policies work right across the spectrum.

"It's important that we see more land release, it's important that we see more units approved, so we can put downward pressure on house prices."

As Australia records the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the world, the prime minister has defended his handling of the pandemic, saying rising case numbers and deaths were "always going to happen".

Scott Morrison told reporters a number of the deaths of people with COVID-19 have not necessarily been caused by the virus.

“Every single one of these deaths … is a terrible loss for the families of those who have been lost,’ he said.

“The number of case numbers has risen and that’s what was always going to happen, as part of the national plan that we put together with the states and territories, the case numbers would rise, and there were some 53,000 case numbers yesterday.

“What you see when you have case numbers of that level is that people when they pass away, from many other, many other causes, they will die with COVID, and their deaths are recorded as COVID deaths but that doesn’t necessarily mean they passed away because of COVID, that’s a very different proposition.”

The prime minister reiterated that his government would continue to carefully monitor developments.

"I think it is incredibly important that we manage the pandemic and its future carefully, but we don't go back to those days of shutdowns and lockdowns," he said.

-With AAP

The prime minister is campaigning in Geelong this morning, where he was quizzed on wages ahead of the release of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics results at 11.30.

"Isn't it a fact that everything keeps going up except wages?" Mr Morrison was asked by a reporter.

"Wages are going up. Inflation is the challenge. Wages are going to go up because unemployment is coming down."

"And unemployment has fallen to 4 per cent in this country," he said.

"Youth unemployment has fallen to 8.3 per cent. There are 40,000 more people in jobs today on this side of the pandemic than there was before."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair last night, where he was questioned by host Tracy Grimshaw about comments he made during the Black Summer bushfires.

Mr Morrison made the initial comment when asked to justify his choice to holiday in Hawaii during the bushfires.

“I don't hold a hose, mate,” Mr Morrison said at the time.

Ms Grimshaw asked whether he would make the comments if he had his time again.

“Certainly, that wasn't a comment at the time that was helpful, of course,” he told Ms Grimshaw on the program last night.

The prime minister also said he “could have certainly been more sensitive at times”.

Good morning and welcome to today’s SBS News federal election live blog.

It’s day 38 of the federal election campaign, and we are here to keep you updated with all the major moments of the day.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is set to address the National Press Club today, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be campaigning in Melbourne.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is due to release the latest wage data at 11.30am, which is set to be a talking point throughout the day.

Earlier this morning, Labor's treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers appeared on ABC’s RN breakfast, where he was asked about the prospects of a Labor victory.

“Well I think anything is possible on Saturday," Dr Chalmers said.

"We always thought this race would be very tight.”