Debate

From the NDIS to housing affordability, nearly every question addressed issues that matter. No one in the audience tried to trick the leaders with a ...

Anthony Albanese was less polished but more empathetic, and connected questions to his well-honed attack lines, pulling the government up repeatedly on its record. There was a minimum of point scoring and griping – Morrison’s claim that Labor was on China’s side a notable exception – and most questions were largely answered. But once the two leaders were able to speak for themselves, it was engrossing – and moderator Kieran Gilbert was impressively even-handed.

Albanese needed a mulligan, a chance to revitalise a campaign noticeably lacking in energy or enthusiasm.

Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018. Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will face off in the first leaders' debate of the 2022 federal election campaign ...

In an Australian-first, SBS will live stream the debate in both Arabic and Mandarin, which can be viewed on. The event will be hosted by Sky News and The Courier-Mail. In an Australian-first, SBS will live stream the debate in both Arabic and Mandarin, which can be viewed on.

After spending the start of the election campaign well away from each other – indeed, on opposite coasts of the country this week – Scott Morrison and ...

Morrison, who has been setting a more energetic campaign pace than Albanese with several events a day, took a potshot at his opponent by saying on Wednesday “my approach is not to lock myself away in rooms before having these things”. Of course, nobody believes the PM is simply going to rock up and ad lib this debate on vibes alone. Considering only a few of these photos make their social media feeds, what do politicians do with all the selfies at the end of the day – do their media advisers go through the camera roll each evening, dumping off all the discarded selfies to free up memory space? Debate: But really the day’s politicking was a warm-up for Wednesday night’s Sky News “people’s forum”, the first public face-off between Morrison and Albanese. Held at the Gabba in Brisbane, 100 undecided voters will get a chance to ask questions of the leaders in a Q&A format. Were Whitlam and Menzies and Chifley out there signing autographs on the campaign hustings? The PM started in Adelaide, stopping in for a quick visit to the marginal seat of Boothby, which Labor wants to grab. The number of percentage points Albanese’s net approval dropped in the last week, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. He also talked up the Coalition’s plans to double penalties for “thuggish” unions under the Building and Construction Commission. The foreign minister, Marise Payne, said she was “disappointed” at the deal but Australia respected the Solomons’ sovereignty. He took selfies with employees and railed against the Coalition’s revived industrial relations policies, which Labor claims could include changes to the Better Off Overall test (Boot). Considering how personal and snippy the campaign has been already, with still more than four weeks to election day, some real sparks could fly on Wednesday night. People still talk about Bill Shorten’s famous zinger at the 2019 debate, calling Morrison a “space invader” for getting too close to him on the stage. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg came under fire for ads featuring Guide Dogs Victoria’s CEO, which he later decided to pull from circulation; Morrison invoked “cancel” culture in defending Warringah candidate Katherine Deves; while comments were unearthed from another Liberal candidate describing far-right former senator Fraser Anning as a “god”.

Questionable stats, misleading figures - and even a call that was on the money. RMIT ABC Fact Check examines claims from tonight's first leaders' debate.

Similarly, hearings relating to the law enforcement division would be held in public. The ABS has noted that its "automotive fuel series" was at a record level in the December quarter. Over the 12 months to December, the CPI rose 3.5 per cent while the WPI rose a slower 2.3 per cent. Fact Check has checked a claim from Mr Morrison on this topic before. He also called for the body to have the power to hold public hearings "if it deems that it is in the public interest". In the case of that claim, Fact Check found there was more to the story. In a previous investigation, Fact Check examined a claim made by Social Services Minister Anne Ruston that draft legislation for the government's Commonwealth Integrity Commission published in 2020 showed it would have "powers … well in excess of a royal commission". The first is a "law enforcement integrity division" that would have jurisdiction over certain federal law enforcement agencies, such as the federal police, as well as public sector agencies with investigative functions, like the Department of Home Affairs. As a quick refresher, Operation Sovereign Borders is "a military-led border security operation that was established in 2013" by the Coalition government for the purpose of "combating people smuggling in our region, and preventing people from risking their lives at sea". It shows that between June 2013, three months before the Coalition was elected, and June 2019, seven months before the pandemic, gross debt as a share of GDP grew by 65 per cent, and net debt by 85 per cent. As for economic management, Mr Morrison justified the level of government debt accrued under the Coalition by pointing to the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which he claimed had dwarfed any crisis Labor had faced when last in office. One of the Opposition Leader’s opening contributions to the debate was a claim that was central to his budget reply speech: "the cost of everything is going up but your wages aren't."

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese dragged each other to a nil-all draw on Wednesday night in an election debate where both leaders played it so safe that ...

That result is similar to the findings in this week’s Resolve Political Monitor, which showed that 27 per cent of voters described themselves as uncommitted to either side. The headlines about the winning margin will have a bigger impact on more people than the debate itself. Albanese gained an edge for a moment with a memorable line. “But it’s always the Liberals that have to pay for these things,” Morrison continued. In that sense, it was a successful debate. More than anything, it seemed a small debate. Morrison had a greater challenge at this debate than his counterparts in recent campaigns. The host, Kieran Gilbert, said staff would be in touch to follow up. The result in the room shows this election is very competitive. The Labor leader’s preparation for the debate paid off after his stumbles last week. “That’s an outrageous slur from the Prime Minister,” Albanese responded. It’s a good idea, it worked, therefore we embrace it.

The first leaders' debate of the election campaign starts out as a friendly affair but ends with Labor leader Anthony Albanese accusing Prime Minister Scott ...

You were on the national security committee so why did you not support turnbacks? "The truth is, we all know China has changed. "Labor does the big things and we also do the big reforms and what the PM has attempted to say there is we have an issue paying for things," Mr Albanese said. Mr Albanese said the economy was in good shape because of the Labor Party. Mr Morrison acknowledged that the Labor Party is responsible for some of the country's biggest reforms. - The debate got heated when Mr Morrison accused Mr Albanese of siding with China

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has claimed a narrow win from the first leaders' debate, as he seeks to...

French President Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen are preparing for a debate ahead of the country's presidential election.

Le Pen, who has toned down her once staunchly anti-EU rhetoric as part of a bid to broaden her electoral appeal, dismissed both the charge of wanting to leave the EU and of being compromised politically by the Russian bank loan. For Le Pen, who lags Macron in voter surveys by as much as 56-44, the debate was a chance to persuade voters she has the stature to be president and that they should not fear seeing the far-right in power. French President Emmanuel Macron has accused his far-right rival Marine Le Pen of being in thrall to Russian President Vladimir Putin over a years-old Russian bank loan to her party during a fiery TV debate ahead of this weekend's election.

Le Pen won lots to speak first and chose to focus on cost of living, vetoing the broadcaster's preference to address Ukraine.

“I am for the banning of the headscarf in the public place, it’s a uniform imposed by Islamic extremists,” she added. “I have a lot to say on this issue,” she said when reminded of her time limit. I have always defended France and the French. Always and in all circumstances,” she said. “You cannot defend the interests of France because your interests are linked to Russian powers,” Macron said. The face-off was moderated by two journalists well known to French audiences, and each candidate had equal time to answer questions on a range of subjects and their policies. After a disastrous performance in the 2017 presidential debate, Le Pen was far better prepared this time. Much of the debate was technical. “In 2015 you took out a loan with a Russian bank and you still have not paid it back.” This prompted Le Pen, a cat breeder in her spare time, to show her claws. “The president doesn’t decide salaries, that’s down to employers,” Macron said. Le Pen had drawn lots to speak first and opened by addressing the cost of living crisis, which polls show is the number one concern for French voters. Macron is an experienced and sharp debater, which Le Pen is not. “And you voted against it.”

* Asked on getting debt down, the prime minister said there had been a $100 billion budget turnaround, with economic stimulus measures such as JobKeeper saving ...