<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>336222</docID> <postdate>2025-01-07 11:49:14</postdate> <headline>Political battlelines drawn as PM presses on with blitz</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-336223" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20231018001853606240-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Anthony Albanese is attacking the economic credentials of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Tess Ikonomou</strong> and <strong>Kat Wong</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Anthony Albanese has issued a stark warning about the economic consequences of a coalition government, sharpening his attacks as he continues courting voters in key election battlegrounds.</strong></p> <p>The prime minister has embarked on a whirlwind tour of Queensland, the NT and WA ahead of the official start of the federal election, which is due by late May.</p> <p>Home to a handful of knife's-edge electorates, Queensland remains a crucial political asset and Labor is keeping a close eye on the seat of Leichhardt in the state's north, held by retiring Liberal National MP Warren Entsch on a 3.4 per cent margin.</p> <p>And when Mr Albanese began his day in Rockhampton, on Queensland's central coast, he did not pull his punches as he lashed the opposition leader.</p> <p>"If Peter Dutton ever gets his hands on the levers of the economy, (people) will be worse off," he told reporters on Tuesday.</p> <p>"Under Labor, we will continue to build Australia's future, under the coalition, we will go backwards ... and things will cost more."</p> <p>Labor has renewed its offensive against the coalition's $330 billion bid to set up seven nuclear reactors, with a particular focus on the consequences it could have for the sunshine state.</p> <p>Analysis released by Labor shows the coalition's plan assumes it will cost Queensland more than $872 billion in lost output by 2050.</p> <p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Mr Dutton's "economic madness" would leave Queensland households worse off.</p> <p>"As a Queenslander, I won't sit back and watch Peter Dutton push energy prices up and growth down right across the state," he said.</p> <p>"Peter Dutton is the biggest risk to household budgets and Australia's economy because he wants to push up power prices, slow growth and come after wages and Medicare."</p> <p>Federal shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said the greatest hit to Queensland's economy was a Labor government.</p> <p>"The thing that's made the economy smaller is Labor ... not the lower cost of electricity, which is what our plan will deliver," he told ABC radio.</p> <p>"They can make up all the nonsense they like, they're desperate."</p> <p>Later in the day, the prime minister will head north to Cairns and before travelling west to Mount Isa.</p> <p>Fresh polling released by Roy Morgan shows if an election was held now, the coalition would win with a two-party preferred vote of 53 per cent to Labor's 47 per cent.</p> <p>Primary support for the coalition has dropped slightly to 40.5 per cent while Labor's primary vote increased to 31 per cent.</p> <p>While Australia is not immune to the global factors influencing inflation, the prime minister noted his government had avoided any quarters of negative growth and created a million jobs.</p> <p>"Things are heading in the right direction, but we understand and are certainly not complacent about it," he said.</p> <p>Mr Albanese visited Gympie, north of the Sunshine Coast, on Monday to announce $7.2 billion in funding to upgrade the 1600km-long Bruce Highway.</p> <p>Federal coalition members said the pledge showed Mr Albanese only cared about Queensland's regional infrastructure when an election was looming.</p> <p>But the prime minister said the announcement was "about the national interest in doing the right thing".</p> </body>