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Australian election campaign gets underway

CCTV.com

05-19-2016 19:36 BJT

It all began with a gamble when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called for an election in July. He was hoping to ride a wave of momentum through one of the country’s longest campaign seasons.

But Labor leader Bill Shorten has made the gamble even riskier - he's improving in the polls and giving Australian voters a real choice in the upcoming election. Greg Navarro has more.

In Australia’s cities and suburbs - the politics of a national election are tough to ignore.

“The main thing people are thinking about in terms of how the main parties will handle the economy and there there is a very very stark difference,” said Bligh Grant, senior lecturer of University of Technology Sydney.

There are also stark differences among the candidates.

Malcolm Turnbull enjoyed a successful career as an investment banker and venture capitalist before going into politics.

The multimillionaire became Prime Minister last year without an election- when he wrestled his party’s leadership from struggling former liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“I think people have gotten used to that you can change the leader. If one is not doing well - you get rid of them and you get another one so I don’t think it is actually that bad,” said Stewart Jackson, lecturer of University of Sydney.

Bill Shorten is considered a traditional labor party leader - having served as the head of the Australian Workers Union before stepping into politics.

He became the labor party leader last year - and has helped close the gap in the polls - by seizing on a number of government missteps.

“Bill Shorten’s trajectory of performance is such that people are genuinely pleased I think that we have someone who can contest the government in the way that our system of representative democracy and government and opposition demands,” Bligh Grant said.

Australia’s tough border protection policy has come under the spotlight recently - but it has not become much of a campaign issue - because both parties support efforts to turn back boats filled with asylum seekers.

It's taken a back seat to concerns about inflation and a slowing economy.

“The coalition government will lead with a very strong line saying they are the natural party of government and they are the people who can lead a strong economy - on the other hand labor is sending very strong signals that they will pursue precisely the same goal but they will do it far more equitably,” Bligh Grant said.

One interesting note about all of this - every time a current political party in power asks for re-election in Australia, after winning it from the opposition party, which the liberal party did in 2013, they’ve received it for more than 80 years.

But political analysts say history isn’t a deciding factor in this election - it’s the economy, and the candidates' approach that appeals the most to voters.

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