(March 27): Australia’s centre-left government rushed its new round of tax cuts through Parliament in the early hours of Thursday morning, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the start of the 2025 election campaign is imminent.

The tax cuts, which were announced on Tuesday evening in the Labor government’s annual budget, will cost about A$17 billion (US$10.7 billion or RM47.5 billion). They were passed by both the lower and upper houses in the face of opposition from the centre-right Liberal-National Coalition, which described them as a “cruel hoax”.

The surprise new policy comes as speculation intensifies that Albanese will call an election as soon as Friday, with a vote to be held on either May 3 or May 10. Australia must hold an election by May 17, and a ballot is typically preceded by a five-week campaign.

When asked on Thursday about the timing of the election, the prime minister said it would be called “pretty imminently”.

“I can confirm that I am not calling it today, but I will call it soon,” Albanese said in a radio interview. “I think that Australians want to get on with it.” 

Both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers reported, citing senior government sources, that Albanese would call the election on Friday morning.

In the first part of his response to the budget, opposition Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton has revealed plans to halve Australia’s fuel excise for 12 months at a cost of about A$6 billion. The opposition has pledged to repeal Labor’s tax cuts if it wins power, setting up an election campaign fought over contrasting efforts to ease cost-of-living pressures for the electorate.

Dutton will deliver his full budget reply on Thursday evening, when he will lay out his alternative economic vision for Australia.

Labor is currently running neck-and-neck with the opposition in opinion polls, as Albanese struggles to convince voters that the worst of the cost-of-living crisis has passed. The government is pointing to an easing of inflation and the Reserve Bank’s first interest-rate cut in four years to buttress its argument.

The centrepiece of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget was staggered tax relief that will take effect in 2026 and 2027. Under the plan, the lowest bracket will be cut to 15% from 16% next year and then down to 14% in the following one.

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