From homes to a hung parliament: Here's what happened on day 36 of the election campaign

Thanks for joining the SBS News' live blog on day 36 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: Brisbane (Blair)
• Opposition leader Anthony Albanese: Perth (Swan, Hasluck, Pearce)

Its plan to allow first home buyers to take 40 per cent of their superannuation up to $50,000 to buy a house, as well as an expansion of the superannuation contribution scheme for people who are downsizing their primary residence to free up housing stock.

Labor's $150 million package for a Perth surgery centre which would be jointly funded by the federal and state governments. The centre would have six new surgical theatres, two new procedure rooms, a 24-bed surgical ward and a new central sterilisation services department.

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume conceded the government's proposed housing policy would temporarily increase prices. The prime minister denied this, saying the scheme would work in combination with proposals to increase supply which would make prices go down.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie tested positive for COVID-19.

Mr Morrison has defended the handling of the AUKUS negotiations after reports he misled the US on the level of bipartisanship.

Conservative political lobby group Advance Australia was found to be in breach of federal electoral laws over their campaign signs depicting two independent candidates as Greens.

READ MORE

'Corrosive for our democracy': David Pocock calls for Advance Australia to be prosecuted over election signs

Crossbenchers Adam Bandt, Zali Steggall, Craig Kelly and Rex Patrick took part in a forum at the National Press Club in Canberra.

Mr Morrison suggesting the Labor Party could have leaked the AUKUS security arrangement with the United States and United Kingdom: "This was a process that, for 18 months, painstakingly working through incredible detail, incredibly sensitive issues, highly confidential. This wasn't something I was going to be loose with."

Mr Albanese on the prime minister's AUKUS comments: "I have national security briefings all the time. What this prime minister always does is put his political interests first before the national interest, it's always about the politics."

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

As the election draws closer, the voting patterns of some polling booths are worth paying particular attention to.

There are a number of places in Australia that have accurately selected the winning party that ended up forming government for the past nine federal elections since 1996 - as far back as the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) provides data for.

SBS News has analysed the data and revealed 31 'bellwether' booths that have consistently picked the winner on a two-party preferred basis.

Was your electorate one of them?

READ MORE

These Australian communities have picked the winner at every federal election

Scott Morrison has dismissed suggestions the Australian economy faces the risk of a recession at a time when figures this week could see the unemployment rate fall below 4 per cent.

Recent volatility in global financial markets has been sparked by fears the US Federal Reserve will overshoot on lifting interest rates to combat heated inflation pressures in the US.

The Reserve Bank has already started lifting the cash rate in the face of the highest rate of inflation in Australia in more than 20 years and with little sign of pressures receding with petrol prices on the rise again.

READ MORE

From food to fuel and housing: As inflation surges, this is what it means for your hip pocket

On the election campaign trail in the southern Queensland seat of Blair, the prime minister was asked whether he could guarantee the Australian economy would not fall into a recession.

"Rising interest rates and rising inflation, as we all know, is the product of what we're seeing with a global set of forces on Australia," Mr Morrison said.

"Unemployment is at four per cent and falling. That is not a sign of a weakening economy. That's the sign of a strengthening economy."

April jobs figures will be released on Thursday, two days out from election day.

READ MORE

Just 2 per cent of rentals in Australia are affordable for people on a low income

Economists expect the unemployment rate to have eased to 3.9 per cent in April from 4 per cent in March, the lowest level since in 1974, as 30,000 people joined the workforce.

However, Wednesday's crucial wages figures will confirm that despite all the government's chest-beating about a strong economy, voters' pay is growing at about half the rate of inflation.

The wage price index - data used by the RBA and Treasury to assess wages growth - is forecast by economists to have grown at a slightly more upbeat 0.8 per cent in the March quarter.

However, this would still leave the annual rate at 2.5 per cent.

READ MORE

Australia's wholesale energy prices rise by 141 per cent, adding to cost of living pressures

While the highest rate since 2014, it would be substantially below the annual rate of inflation at 5.1 per cent as of the March quarter.

"We want to see the unemployment rate come down as low as possible, but .... the defining challenge in the jobs market is real wages going backwards," Labor's treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers told reporters in Brisbane.

"The government always wants to pat themselves on the back for the unemployment rate as a desperate distraction from all of the other economic challenges that we have."

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says signs depicting two independent candidates as Greens are in breach of federal electoral laws.

The signs were authorised by conservative political lobby group Advance Australia, and depicted ACT Senate candidate David Pocock and independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, wearing clothing containing the official logo of the Australian Greens.

Advance Australia has agreed not to display the signs, to avoid court action.

READ MORE

'Corrosive for our democracy': David Pocock calls for Advance Australia to be prosecuted over election signs

Mr Pocock welcomed the AEC's findings, and said he was disappointed it had taken more than three weeks for the decision to be reached.

"We have received hundreds of emails, calls, and messages from people across the ACT outraged and confused by Advance Australia's false and misleading advertising," he said in a statement.

"We have today written to the AEC requesting that Advance Australia be prosecuted for this flagrant breach of Australian electoral law."

Crossbenchers Zali Steggall, Adam Bandt, Craig Kelly and Rex Patrick have appeared on a National Press Club panel, hosted by club president and ABC 7.30's chief political correspondent Laura Tingle.

With a hung parliament a possibility following the 21 May election, Ms Tingle questioned the panel on what the crossbenchers might seek to gain from the major parties if they hold the balance of power.

Greens leader and federal member for Melbourne Adam Bandt said the party would push the next government to act on the climate crisis and stop opening new coal and gas projects.

“We also want to tackle the cost of living crisis, getting dental and mental health into Medicare will be a priority for us,” he said.

“I want to see justice for First Nations people with progress on truth and treaty as well as voice. And also push to wipe student debt and lift support for people who are doing it tough by lifting income support.”

 “So those things would be on the table and, yes, there is a real opportunity and a power-sharing parliament to reform parliament and the institutions to make them work better and more transparently."

READ MORE

How does a hung parliament work and does it lead to instability?

Independent Senator Rex Patrick said the things Mr Bandt listed were already happening in the Senate.

“One of the things that people need to do, however, when they're considering who they vote for is [to] understand that it's a long game,” he said.

“I often see people poking and trying to get a quick answer from parliamentarians but actually in most cases it's best done in a slow and methodical manner and that's what happens in the Senate and it would be good to see some of those changes in the House.”

READ MORE

'Stop vaccine mandates': Craig Kelly delivers protesters' demands to Scott Morrison

United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly's priorities were primarily health-related, saying he would push to reject the World Health Organisation’s global pandemic accord, end vaccine mandates, and improve health care and funding.

Mr Kelly claimed Bureau of Statistics data showed a 22 per cent increase deaths in January and “no one can explain it”.

“There is a crisis in healthcare in our nation. We have had these government bureaucrats, health ministers - both federal and state, Labor and Liberal - running around saying they're keeping us safe,” he said.

Independent MP Zali Steggall said she would focus on bringing “integrity and truth” to politics.

“We must have a clear and detailed framework around how we are going to address global warming and climate change. We need to embrace the opportunities that come out of the biggest challenge we face which is the transition to net zero. But to do that, we need fiscal discipline," she said.

“We need to end the rorts. We have to have a federal integrity commission and anti-corruption with teeth, with powers, to ensure Australians can trust that their taxpayer dollar is being spent to their best benefit.”

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has described Defence Minister Peter Dutton's language as "highly dangerous" when questioned about a Chinese warship spotted off the state's coast.

Mr McGowan was questioned about the ship while speaking to reporters in Perth about the Coalition's proposed housing policy.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the ship, which was spotted on 13 May, remained in international waters and obeyed international law.

Mr Dutton claimed the incident was an "act of aggression" and the ship had crossed into Australia's exclusive economic zone.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Beijing had not broken any rules.

READ MORE

China accuses Peter Dutton of 'fear-mongering' over Chinese spy ship off Western Australian coast

"The Australian politician concerned should view the situation with objectivity and calm, instead of making sensational comments aimed at fear-mongering."

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has criticised the Coalition's superannuation for housing scheme, describing it as a "thought bubble" made in "desperation".

Mr Albanese made the comments when questioned by journalists about his own housing policy.

"The government in its desperation has come up with a thought bubble according to itself, has not been modelled. They have no idea what the impact will be," Mr Albanese said.

"Minister Hume said that it will put upward pressure on housing prices. That's what they've said. They've acknowledged that that is the case. The government now have a policy to cut super, to cut real wages of those on the minimum wage and to increase the cost of living pressures on people who are doing it really tough at the moment."

"In contrast, our policy includes the establishment of a housing supply and affordability council, working with Mark McGowan and other state premiers and chief ministers on how we have a national strategy to increase supply of housing."

"The key is - you've got to increase supply if you want to deal with some of the housing affordability issues."

READ MORE

Will either of Liberal or Labor's housing policies help you buy your first home?

Mr Albanese said Labor's policy would also include 20,000 additional social housing dwellings, 10,000 affordable housing dwellings for essential workers, emergency housing for women and children escaping domestic violence, and a remote housing policy.

"Our Help to Buy scheme is based upon a scheme here in WA that has operated effectively for three decades. For three decades."

"The difference is, as well, the policy that we announced, Help to Buy, was endorsed by Scott Morrison and other Liberals for a long period of time until we announced it, and then they opposed it."

"Their policy that they announced yesterday has been opposed by their own ministers in their own government over a long period of time."

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has announced Labor will fund $150 million toward new surgical facilities in Perth if it wins the election.

Mr Albanese said the investment would deliver six new surgical theatres, two new procedure rooms, a 24-bed surgical ward and a new central services department.

“We want to work with Mark McGowan and with other state governments around the country to deliver better health outcomes,” he said.

“This announcement today is a practical announcement that will deliver on that capital upgrade, that will deliver, particularly when it's needed arising out of the COVID pandemic.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied he deliberately misrepresented the bipartisan nature of AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Over the weekend, Nine newspapers reported the Biden administration had sought assurance the pact would be supported by both Australia’s major parties, yet Labor were only briefed about the pact a day before it was announced.

“That report is absolutely false,” Mr Morrison said.

“We understood absolutely what the requirements were and we met them 100 per cent.”

“We absolutely complied with all of the issues that needed to be addressed in forming that partnership, and the policy did receive bipartisan support.”

“I find it strange that you think that we wouldn’t have maintained the absolute discretion, as we did with so many of our own cabinet.”

READ MORE

The battle for deputy prime minister: Barnaby Joyce vs Richard Marles

“I mean, you've got the deputy leader of the Labor Party, who would have been sitting in such a briefing, who had, you know, frequent flyer points for visiting the Chinese Embassy in Australia,” Mr Morrison said.

“I mean, seriously, this was one of the most secure and highly confidential agreements the Australian government had entered into since ANZUS.”

Mr Morrison criticised Richard Marles earlier this month, after The Australian newspaper reported the deputy Opposition leader had held 10 meetings with the Chinese embassy or officials in the past five years.

At the time, the prime minister said it was a “very strangely high number of meetings between an opposition member of Parliament and Chinese government officials”.

“I mean, something doesn't sound right to me,” he said.

The Coalition's superannuation for housing scheme was announced at the Liberal Party's official campaign launch on Sunday.

If re-elected, the Coalition government would allow first home buyers to take up to 40 per cent of their super (up to $50,000) to put towards buying a home. The scheme, dubbed the Super Home Buyer Scheme, would start by 1 July 2023.

The scheme would apply to new and existing homes with the invested amount to be returned to their superannuation fund when the house is sold, including a share of any capital gain.

READ MORE

Scott Morrison unveils plan for first home buyers to use super under re-elected Coalition

First home buyers must have saved 5 per cent of their deposit separately and live in the home for at least 12 months.

Labor was quick to oppose the plan, with housing spokesperson Jason Clare calling it a "last desperate act from a dying government".

Labor campaign spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said even Liberal stalwarts like former prime ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, and former treasurer Peter Costello, had opposed the policy in the past.

"You shouldn't have to choose between housing today and poverty in old age," she told the Seven Network on Monday.

"We know that this will push up housing prices, we know it'll mean people have less super to retire on."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is fronting a media conference and defending the Coalition's proposed Super Home Buyer scheme following its announcement yesterday.

Mr Morrison said the scheme would provide people with “more independence”, despite Superannuation Minister Jane Hume's admission this morning that the scheme would raise house prices.

READ MORE

Scott Morrison denies housing policies will push up prices

“This plan is about utilising people's own savings, their own superannuation, so they don't have to stand on the curb and watch house prices run away from them and they're unable to get in and own their own home,” Mr Morrison said.

"Our plan is putting Australians in charge of their future with their own money. It’s their money. We’ll not tell them what to do with it. They’ll make their own decisions. But we’re not going to lock them away from it. We’re not going to let them stand on the kerb while housing prices run away from them and they’re not getting that opportunity.

“It's a well-calibrated scheme. It's well-designed. We've thought it through carefully.”

Good morning. It's the final week of the federal election campaign and we're here to keep you posted about all the noteworthy moments of the day.

Minister for Superannuation Jane Hume spoke to ABC’s RN Breakfast this morning about the Coalition’s new housing policy, and admitted it could result in a “bump” in housing prices, but said it would be short-term.

"But that doesn’t play out the long-term benefits of more home ownership, fewer people relying on rent," she told host Patricia Karvelas.

When asked whether the house price impact had been modelled, Ms Hume did not directly answer the question.

"There are too many factors that play into the prices of housing temporarily and permanently," she said.

Federal Labor housing spokesperson Jason Clare has criticised the policy, saying it would drive up prices and hurt young Australians

READ MORE

Scott Morrison denies housing policies will push up prices

Meanwhile, the Greens are set to officially launch their campaign in Brisbane today.

In his speech, leader Adam Bandt will announce urgent action on climate change, dealing with the cost of living crisis, and progressing the Uluru Statement from the Heart for Indigenous people will be their main priorities if they have to negotiate with either the Coalition or the Labor Party to form a government in a hung parliament.

The Greens currently hold one seat in the House of Representatives and nine seats in the Senate.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison plans to begin the day campaigning in Brisbane, while Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is in Perth.