Australia’s prime minister has called for a May election that will be fought on issues including climate change, asylum seekers and economic management.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison advised Governor-General Peter Cosgrove as representative of Australia’s head of state, the Queen, to set the election date.
I’m proud of how far our country has come over the past few years. And I know there is still more work for us to do to make life better for all Australians. My vision for Australia is about everyone having the chance to realise their full potential. pic.twitter.com/KJyRSj6zPz
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 10, 2019
Mr Morrison is expected to announce that Australia will go to the polls on May 18.
Mr Morrison’s conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term. But Mr Morrison is the third prime minister to lead a divided government in that time and only took the helm in late August.
Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian prime ministers on election day.
The polls suggest centre-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth prime minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.
Time to deliver a fair go for Australia. pic.twitter.com/5zVNFEJHko
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) April 10, 2019
The election pits Mr Shorten, a former labour union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, and Mr Morrison, a leader who the Australian public is still getting to know.