Dutton argues welcome to country ceremonies ‘overdone’
Both leaders are being asked about the booing that occurred at Anzac Day ceremonies during welcome to country ceremonies.
Peter Dutton was asked if he would acknowledge traditional owners at his official events? Speaking on flags first, he answered:
I don’t believe [we are] the best country we can be if we’re asking people to identify under different flags. I want to unite our country. I want every Australian to be equal … You can have respect as I do for the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Islands flag but I want our country to be one and that is the best chance.
On welcome to country ceremonies, Dutton argued it was “overdone” and said:
It is respectful to do, but for the start of every meeting at work, or the start of a football game, I think other Australians think it is overdone and cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do, it divides the country, not dissimilar to what the prime ministers did with the voice.
Key events
What we learnt from the final leaders’ debate
Emily Wind
There we have it, folks – we’ve made it to the end of the final leaders’ debate of the 2025 federal election campaign. Here were all the key takeaways, as Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton went head-to-head on television for the last time:
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Anthony Albanese won the final leaders’ debate with 50% of the vote from a group of 60 undecided voters – 25% voted for Peter Dutton, and 25% remained undecided.
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Dutton argued that welcome to country ceremonies are “overdone” when asked about the booing that occurred at Anzac Day dawn services.
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Albanese said the ceremonies were a “matter of respect” and up to event organisers to decide whether or not they should take place.
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Both leaders said the date of Australia Day should not change.
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Albanese received an overwhelming win when it came to the cost of living at 65% of votes from the panel, while Dutton received 16% and 19% were undecided.
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The PM talked up Labor’s tax cut, cheaper medicines policy, energy bill relief, cheaper childcare and free Tafe, and argued that what the Coalition is offering is “all temporary.”
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Dutton argued the Coalition were the better economic managers and that it would “take us time to clean up Labor’s mess,” continually pointing to the Coalition’s fuel excise.
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On housing, the PM was given 35% of the vote, Dutton 30% and 35% were undecided.
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The opposition leader said the Australian housing dream “looks like a nightmare” for young people today, continuing to blame migration. Albanese said the housing crisis was decades in the making, and that Labor was focused on supply.
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Dutton won over a majority of the undecided voters on defence at 43%, while Albanese got 35% and 20% were undecided.
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The opposition leader said China was the biggest threat to security in Australia, while the PM said China “seeks to increase its influence in the region”.
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In a quick-fire round, the leaders were quizzed on the price of a carton of a dozen eggs. Dutton said $4.20 and Albanese said $7 “if you can find them”. The answer was around $8 or $8.50.
Krishani Dhanji will be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning, as the election campaign enters its final week. In the meantime, take care and enjoy your evening.
Albanese declared winner of the debate
The winner of the debate has been revealed as Anthony Albanese on 50%, as decided by 60 undecided voters.
Peter Dutton picked up 25% of the vote, and 25% remained undecided.
More results are coming through from the undecided voters, showing Peter Dutton with a clear majority on defence at 43%.
Anthony Albanese got 35% of the vote, while 20% were undecided.
On the “hot takes” at the end of the debate, Albanese won a majority 50%. Dutton got 14%, while 36% remained undecided.
Paterson: welcome to country ceremonies ‘tokenistic’
James Paterson has also weighed in on welcome to country ceremonies, after Peter Dutton’s comments that they had become “overdone”. Paterson said:
Most Australians are very respectful of our Indigenous heritage and culture and they value it. We have all been to events and conferences where every speaker does an acknowledgment of country and there are five acknowledgments and it becomes tokenistic. Australians want it to be meaningful and not excessive.
Katy Gallagher argued there was “a fair bit of aggro and interrupting when it came to that part of the debate” from Dutton.
I saw aggro and I saw someone, an opposition leader, under pressure who is prepared to interrupt and try to disrupt.
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and the Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, James Paterson, have joined the panel to weigh in on the debate and the results.
Gallagher said Anthony Albanese “nailed it” after being asked about his result on the cost of living.
I think certainly the response from those audience numbers show that people understand while doing it tough the government is trying and looking at ways to help them through these times.
Almost 50% of undecided voters side with Albanese on tax cuts
We’re back from another break with more results from the 60 undecided voters.
On tax cuts, Anthony Albanese received 49% of the votes, and Peter Dutton 21%; 30% remained undecided.
On Indigenous affairs, Dutton received 46% of the votes and Albanese received 27%; 27% were undecided.
Undecided voters give Albanese a win on housing and cost of living
The undecided voters have weighed in on how they think the leaders performed on a matter of issues.
On the cost of living, it was a major win for Anthony Albanese at 65%; 16% voted with Peter Dutton, and 19% of voters remain undecided.
The PM got 35% on housing, and Dutton got 30%; 35% were left undecided.
Leaders quizzed on price of eggs
Before we hear from the undecided voters, let’s just circle back to an earlier rapid-fire question the leaders were asked – about the price of eggs.
Peter Dutton answered that it would cost $4.20, while Anthony Albanese said the cost would be $7, “if you can find them”.
The actual price was shown to be about, or just more than, $8.
The debate has now wrapped – and a studio audience of 60 undecided voters are gearing up to give their verdicts and decide a winner of the debate.
Albanese’s final pitch: education key to country’s future
The prime minister is giving his closing remarks, saying he is “optimistic about Australia’s future”.
What gives me hope is the resilience, the courage, the optimism of the Australian people. We are the greatest country on the planet. We are driven by our people as well as of course the natural assets that we enjoy.
I want to back our people through skills and training. That’s why we’re investing in every school by giving a better and fairer schools funding. That is why we are investing in early childhood education. That is why we are investing in free Tafe, to give people the opportunity to be the best they can.
Anthony Albanese said that “if we get it right, the future is so bright for us because we live in the fastest-growing region of the world in human history and our people are our greatest asset.”
Dutton’s final pitch: Coalition will provide good economic management in cost-of-living crisis
Questions have now wrapped, and the leaders are giving their closing statements – Peter Dutton is up first.
He echoed the sentiment of his opening remarks and said, “I don’t believe Australians can afford three more years of increased costs of everything.”
I want to make sure we can deliver support immediately through the 25 cent a litre cut in fuel tax, the $1,200 tax rebate and I want to make sure that we can transform our energy market, get more gas into the system, bring the wholesale price of gas down by 23%. If we do that, we can bring down the costs across the economy.
Dutton said that good economic management is “exactly what is required in our country right now”.
If we make the right decisions now, we can protect our generation and future generations and make our country and our communities safer.
Peter Dutton was also played an audio clip of himself and asked about the Coalition’s backflip on its work from home policy. He said:
I’ve apologised for the decision that we took in relation to work from home … What the prime minister did, as he’s done with a number of other issues, is twisted and contorted it into something it wasn’t.
The point I made was that, yes, the prime minister’s scared, particularly women, and others into believing that we were doing something that we weren’t and I apologised for that.
Albanese admits he changed his mind on stage-three tax cuts – and notes the Coalition voted for it
Anthony Albanese was played a clip of him saying “my word is my bond” and said “yes, I changed my mind” in relation to the stage-three tax cuts.
What I did is fronted up, I went along to the National Press Club and did not pretend we had not changed our position, and I went along and argued the case and guess what? The Coalition voted for it.
Peter Dutton was asked if his word is his bond? He replied, “Yes, it is.”
If you’re talking about the stage-three tax cuts, don’t forget … stage one and stage-two tax cuts were introduced by the Coalition government.
The PM shot back and said:
You voted for the change. Not only did we change our position, but it went through the parliament unanimously.
Peter Dutton has been asked about comparisons between him and Trump, and whether he has tried to distance himself from the US president. He said:
I have not sought to be anybody other than myself.
The debate has returned from a short break, and the leaders are now being asked a series of rapid-fire questions.
They were shown images of their homes. The PM said “marriage” and the opposition leader answered “retirement home”.
They were also shown a photo of Elon Musk and asked what comes to mind. Anthony Albanese responded:
Telsa, and very rich man.
Peter Dutton responded:
Evil genius.
Nuclear power policy ‘will get lots of votes’, Dutton says
If the Coalition’s nuclear policy is so good, why has Peter Dutton not visited any of the proposed nuclear reactor sites?
The opposition leader said he had been to “three communities” and answered:
I am proud of the fact we have taken the decision – and I have not taken it for political reasons because I think we will get lots of votes.
Will Australians see you at a nuclear power plant site in the next six days? Dutton again said, “we have been to three communities”.
The debate has now paused for a short break, after a bit more back-and-forth on the topic.
Dutton happy to have nuclear power plant in his suburb
Moving to energy, Peter Dutton is touting the Coalition’s nuclear policy backed by gas, arguing it would reduce prices:
If we have a look around the world, the top 20 economies, Australia is the only one that has not signed up to nuclear power.
Anthony Albanese said that under the former government, 24 out of 28 coal-fired power stations announced their closure.
We are way behind, nothing was happening in terms of the investment that was needed and with renewables, already there has been a projects approved to power 10m homes. We think the future is renewables backed by gas, backed by hydro, backed by batteries.
Dutton answered that he would be happy to have a nuclear power plant in his suburb.
Which country poses the biggest threat to Australia’s security?
Peter Dutton referred to intelligence he received as defence minister and leader of the opposition, saying his biggest concern was China.
[Intelligence agencies] are worried about the conflict in our region, and what that will do to impact on our trade and what it will do to our own security settings and what we would need to do to respond to a cyber-attack on our country.
Asked if he is afraid of China, Anthony Albanese said he notes China “seeks to increase its influence in the region”.
China is the major power in the region which is seeking to increase its influence. But the relationship is complex as well because China is our major trading partner.
The PM was asked clearly what the biggest threat to Australia is, but deflected and responded:
I am the prime minister of a country and how you deal as prime minister is diplomatically and that is what we continue to do.
