Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull has been campaigning hard ahead of a general election that’s too close to call.
ADVERTISEMENTAustralian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull has been campaigning hard ahead of a general election that’s too close to call.
Australians will vote on Saturday, and the million dollar question is whether they’ll back the 61-year-old Liberal party leader or change prime minister for the fifth time in as many years.
His main rival is Labour leader Bill Shorten. The 49 year-old is pledging more funding for schools and hospitals.
But Turnbull, who called the early election in the hope of cementing his majority in parliament, is waving the Brexit card — saying that with the current market turbulences threatening the global economy, Australia needs stability above all.
“This is not a time to make a protest vote. This is a time to treat your vote as though that is the single vote that will determine the next government,” he told reporters in Sydney.
Malcolm Turnbull urges Australia to avoid 'protest vote' in elections https://t.co/9mGEa6d67J
— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) July 1, 2016
Column:Turnbull looks set to remain https://t.co/auxkfYUfQt
— LaurieOakes (@LaurieOakes) July 1, 2016
The first to cast their ballots were two dozen Australians in Antarctica, where it’s minus 20 degrees.
Voting is compulsory in Australia, no matter the weather.
#ausvotes in Antarctica. Not all polling places are quite this scenic… pic.twitter.com/08TjWQVTpZ
— AEC (@AusElectoralCom) June 30, 2016