Date for third leaders' debate between Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese confirmed

A third leaders' debate between Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese has been locked in for 11 May - more than a week out from the 21 May election day date.

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The second and third leaders' debate between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese will be held three days apart. Credit: AAP

The Seven Network will host the third leaders' debate on 11 May - coming more than a week before Australians cast their vote on election day on the 21 May.

On Saturday, the arrangements for the second leaders' debate was finalised for 8 May on free-to-air channel Nine in prime time at 8.30pm, replacing 60 minutes.

Requests to host a leaders' debate on the ABC and at the National Press Club have so far been rebuffed with Mr Morrison indicating a preference for commercial television networks.
The first leaders' debate hosted on pay TV channel Sky News in Brisbane was watched by 400,000 viewers on 20 April, day 10 of a six-week election campaign.

Cost of living continues to feature as a major election issue with Scott Morrison on Monday distancing himself from a possible interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank set for Tuesday.

Following high inflation figures last week, the RBA is widely tipped to increase the official interest rate the first rise since 2010. It comes after inflation rose to a 20-year high.

However, the prime minister said such an increase would not be representative of the government's economic handling.

"So tomorrow, it is not about me. It is not about Mr Albanese... it is about Australians themselves and the decisions they are making," he told reporters near Geelong on Monday.

"The pressures on interest rates, I think, highlight ... just why the economy is so important this election."
Regardless of the result on Tuesday, the prime minister insisted a rate hike would have no bearing on the election.

"It is not about politics. What happens tomorrow deals with what people pay on their mortgages," he said.

Mr Morrison on Monday has promised an extra 50,000 older Australians will have access to the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card if the Liberal-National coalition is re-elected by increasing the income test threshold.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese immediately matched the commitment in remarks made while he attended the Labour Day march in Brisbane.

Mr Albanese said Labor would always support good policy ideas and ruled out increases to superannuation taxes or policy changes for self-funded retirees.

"We have no intentions of making any super changes ... we're making all of our policies clear, we're putting them out there for all to see," he said.

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Source: AAP, SBS


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