In the middle of the Anzac long weekend, over 650,000 Australians today turned out to cast their votes early in the federal election. It brings the national tally for pre-polling to almost 2.4 million. The surge is being matched by a strong final-week burst of activity by the major party leaders and their candidates.
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00:00Too young to vote, but old enough to school the Prime Minister.
00:10Can you say, nice to meet you in Chinese?
00:16Money talked when Anthony Albanese went to Labour's richly diverse Chisholm electorate
00:22with $25 million for 600 community language schools.
00:27We need more languages with the communities.
00:31In Kansas' Mount Peter corridor...
00:34Is this the last stage of this development?
00:36..the opposition's downhill run to polling day gathered pace.
00:40Support to those blocks of land being developed more quickly.
00:43With $34 million on offer to fast-track housing.
00:47We're the only party with a plan.
00:49Peter Dutton reckons there's still smoke, if not fire,
00:53surrounding Labour's intentions on investment property tax breaks.
00:57We can't afford to see negative gearing abolition.
01:00Even as the government edges closer to ruling out any future move
01:04on negative gearing or capital gains tax.
01:07The proof is we haven't made any changes.
01:10And do you rule out future changes, Prime Minister?
01:12Well, I've done that multiple times.
01:14Democracy sausages aren't waiting for the 3rd of May and nor are the leaders.
01:19Seven sleeps to go.
01:22So don't leave anything in the tank.
01:25Anthony Albanese covered three states in one day,
01:28sensing the end of the trail approaches.
01:31It is destination chaos and destination shambles
01:35and destination cuts from Peter Dutton.
01:39The violence has escalated.
01:41The opposition leader maintained a similar pace.
01:43He was in two states and the NT,
01:47promising to press into Labour's suburban heartland in the days ahead.
01:51I think this election is going to be decided this week.
01:53It will be.
01:54Voters are throwing their time and patience at this poll as never before.
01:59Urgency, pace and repetition become the driving force in campaigning from here,
02:03but the audience left to persuade is rapidly shrinking.
02:07That's because the number of voters casting early ballots
02:10is tracking towards a record level.
02:13And by the time we get to next Saturday,
02:15more than half are likely to have already put their ballot in the box.
02:20At Old Parliament House, just over 1,800 voters
02:23and many more around the country are probably making history.
02:28On a long weekend, long lines with a price to pay for having their say.