Anthony Albanese held his nerve in the final leaders debate, even though Peter Dutton clearly won it.
The issue that haunted the PM throughout was that he can’t be taken at his word. Having made promises three years ago that he has since broken, each time he sought to neutralise fears during the debate, his past performance was used against him.
But it almost certainly won’t be enough to shift the election result, which is why the PM was so careful with his tone and commentary.
Channel Seven hosted the final leaders debate of the 2025 election campaign and started with a not so humble brag plastered across people’s television sets: ‘This broadcast across Australia will determined who will be the next Prime Minister’.
Who needs democracy when you have Natalie Barr hosting right? At least Seven’s political editor Mark Riley was there with her – one of the few remaining adults in the press gallery.
Although he did open proceedings by asking both candidates: what will you do to make people’s lives easier and cheaper from next weekend?
Just what we needed, to finish a campaign completely lacking in fiscal responsibility: another list to prove it, which both leaders helpfully provided.
Although in political terms it was slightly more awkward for Albo, because his handouts haven’t been crafted with the immediacy of Dutton’s, leaving the PM to only offer up his code of conduct for supermarkets.
Anthony Albanese held his nerve in the fourth and final leaders debate on Sunday night
Talk about being hit over the head by a wet lettuce!
It didn’t take long before the PM was asked to definitively rule out changes to negative gearing, a policy script I wouldn’t mind getting proper analysis if we’re serious about embracing proper tax reform.
But that’s not how Labor sees the issue. It privately would love to cut access to negative gearing, but it sure isn’t going to say that on the campaign trail, lest it result in a tightening of the polls.
The problem the PM has on such issues of what he will or won’t promise to rule in or out is that he has form breaking such pledges.
He promised no changes to super and to stick by the stage three income taxes during the last campaign, only to break both commitments once in government.
Albo ruled negative gearing changes out with a straight face, but because his word means nothing anymore it was a meaningless moment based on his past performance.
A point Dutton gleefully made. Perhaps he should have added the fact that Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked his department to model the effects of cutting negative gearing.
Having witnessed leaders talk overtime during previous showdowns, Channel Seven instituted loud dramatic music to signal time was up when the leaders answered questions.
Peter Dutton (pictured) won Sunday’s night leaders debate, according to Daily Mail Australia’s Peter van Onselen
It was clunky and ridiculous, but served its purpose of shutting them up.
The PM sought to list achievements during his three years in office, but as is too often the case, a real time fact check wasn’t cast across his claims.
He said Labor has gotten real wages moving, but they are actually down by two percent his the change of government.
Albo also claimed to have addressed childcare challenges, but the data tells us that nationally childcare is 22 percent more expensive than it was in 2022.
And talking up the Housing Future Fund might be in the Labor talking points, but I bet they don’t mention that not a single how home has been completed since the initiative was legislated.
It took roughly halfway into the debate for the welcome to country issue to be raised. Dutton didn’t mince his words, declaring they are overdone and their value diminished when that happened. The PM said that his personal view is that he’s fine with them being used whenever people want them to be.
Riley finally grew sick of Albo sticking to the talk points and called him out for it. It highlighted that the PM knows this election is his to lose and that he didn’t want to risk moving off script.
A funny moment came when the PM was asked if Donald Trump has his mobile number. He responded that he’s not sure if the US President even has a phone. If Trump doesn’t have it, I’d be happy to pass it on…
Albanese (left) and Dutton (right) faced off for a final time six days out from the election
In the back half of the debate, the attention turned to national security and the region. Dutton was very direct about the threat China is. The PM eventually conceded China is the greatest threat to our region, but you could almost see his brain ticking over as he waffled away thinking about whether or not he should admit as much.
This was comfortably the most assured performance by the opposition leader. The first time he likes truly comfortable and dare I say it, prime ministerial.
It was probably too little too late with Labor seemingly on course to win (even if only as a minority government), but Dutton won this debate and Albo looked too guarded and too afraid to be genuine.
His talking points were more than a friend tonight, they were a crutch to try and keep his winning election campaign on track.
Dutton knew he needed a good start to the final week of the campaign to have any chance of pressing for a close result, and his debate performance did just that.
