Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has returned to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s electorate of Dickson in Brisbane, reinforcing Labor’s aggressive push into Queensland as the federal election campaign enters its final hours.
Albanese’s visit to Dutton’s marginal seat marks the second time he has directly campaigned in the opposition leader’s backyard, signalling Labor’s intent not just to hold ground but actively challenge the Coalition in one of its most high-profile battlegrounds. His stop at a local medical centre in Murrumba Downs, alongside Labor candidate Ali France and key ministers, served as both a symbolic and strategic move.
“This is where the campaign began, and I’m back here to finish what we started,” Albanese said.
“I want a majority Labor government and I’m out to win seats like Dickson.”
While public polling shows Labor is ahead nationally, leading 51.5 to 48.5 on a two-party preferred basis according to the final AFR/Freshwater Strategy poll—internal party numbers reveal the outcome still hinges on a handful of ultra-marginal seats. Labor’s internal projections put the party at 72 to 78 seats, shy of the 76 needed for a majority, intensifying the importance of late pushes in seats like Dickson, Lindsay, and Deakin.
In contrast, Dutton remains defiant and confident, drawing on the Coalition’s upset win in 2019.
“We’ve been here before. We know how to win from behind,” he said while out campaigning in Brisbane’s north.
“People are waking up to Labor’s cost-of-living failures and the damage they’ve done to small business and energy prices.”
Dickson, which Dutton has held since 2001, was retained by a slim margin of 51.7 per cent after preferences in 2022. Labor has since targeted the seat aggressively, funnelling an additional $130,000 into the local campaign. Adding pressure is the Climate 200-backed independent Ellie Smith, whose campaign has focused on climate action and integrity in politics, potentially splitting the anti-Dutton vote.
As both major party leaders blitz marginal electorates, Albanese continues to downplay expectations of an outright majority.
“We learned from 2019—nothing is guaranteed. My job is to maximise Labor’s vote in the next 48 hours,”
he said.
In an election marked by voter uncertainty and shifting economic concerns, the final day of campaigning has underscored a deeply competitive race. Dutton and Albanese are making their last appeals in person, shaking hands, posing for selfies, and holding media events across Queensland and New South Wales to court undecided voters.
With polling booths opening Saturday morning, the outcome may once again come down to a handful of seats, and the party that was able to hold its nerve and swing the final votes.
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