The Japan Times - Australian PM says battle ahead to win election

Surveys give Albanese's left-leaning Labor Party a narrow lead over the conservative opposition on a two-party preferred basis.

If they are right, Albanese, 62, could lead his party to a majority in the 150-seat parliament.

"On polls there's a lot of undecided voters. We have a mountain to climb," Albanese said Friday.

"My job is to maximise Labor's vote in the next 48 hours. That's what I'm intending to do."

Albanese has promised to embrace renewable energy, tackle a worsening housing crisis and pour money into a creaking healthcare system.

He warned of "cuts and chaos" under a right-leaning coalition led by former police officer Peter Dutton, 54, who wants to slash immigration, crack down on crime and ditch a longstanding ban on nuclear power.

Dutton, leader of the Liberal Party, has predicted "a lot of surprises, seat by seat" on Saturday night.

"I haven't met an Australian on this campaign who said that they're better off today than they were three years ago," he said.

A result could come as soon as Saturday night, unless the vote is very tight.

- 'Big thinker' Trump -

A total 18.1 million voters have enrolled for the election. More than a third of them have cast an early ballot, the election authority says.

Voting is compulsory, enforced with fines of Aus$20 (US$13), leading to turnouts that top 90 percent.

Sizzling snags (sausages) cooked by local fundraisers also entice voters at more than 1,000 polling sites, searchable at democracysausage.org.

High prices are the top voter concern, polls show.

Albanese is promising modest tax cuts, cheaper healthcare and new homes for first-time buyers.

Dutton says he would slash fuel tax, curb gas prices and invest in infrastructure for half a million homes.

Both sides have had to grapple with US politics too.

The six-week election campaign had barely started when US President Donald Trump unveiled his trade tariffs, with a 10-percent levy on Australia.

Some polls showed Dutton leaking support because of Trump, who he praised earlier this year as a "big thinker" with "gravitas" on the global stage.

As Australians soured on the US president, both Dutton and Albanese took on a tougher tone, promising to stand up for Australia's interests.

- Nuclear reactors -

Coal mining superpower Australia will choose between two leaders with sharply contrasting ideas on climate change and emissions reduction.

Albanese's government has embraced the global push towards decarbonisation, warning of a future in which iron ore and polluting coal exports no longer prop up the economy.

Dutton's signature policy is a US$200 billion scheme to construct seven industrial-scale nuclear reactors, doing away with the need to ramp up renewables.

Growing disenchantment among voters has emboldened independents pushing for greater transparency and climate progress.

Polls have suggested 10 or more unaligned crossbenchers could yet hold the balance of power -- making a rare minority government a possibility.

T.Sasaki--JT