Live: Australians head to the polls as Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese make 11th-hour pitch to voters

Scott Morrison kicks off the morning in McEwan

McEwen covers 2,676 square kilometres to the north of Melbourne, and is currently held by Labor.

This morning, Scott Morrison was out and about handing out how-to-vote cards with Liberal candidate Richard Welch at Laurimar Primary School.

Mr Morrison said the community needs “someone who understands how it’s growing”.

“If you get that opportunity today, I think you’ll be an outstanding member of parliament,” he said.

During his visit, the Prime Minister was heckled by minor party supporters repeating conspiracies such as “don’t sign the WHO pandemic treaty”.

“Keep our bodies away from the WHO,” one UAP supporter yelled.

Mr Morrison was quick to reply “we’re not”.

“That’s a complete lie,” he said.  “You’re just making stuff up.”

Reporting by Jane Norman

Voting gets underway in the Northern Territory

A steady stream of voters are turning out to the voting booth at Parap Primary School in Darwin, including incumbent Solomon MP Luke Gosling.

He’s looking to win his seat for a third time, running against Country Liberal Party candidate Tina MacFarlane.

Speaking shortly after voting, he said “there’s a mood for change”.

While there’s no democracy sausages sizzling at this polling booth, with Darwin’s famous Parap Markets just next door, punters can always pick up a democracy laksa instead.

Polls open in Western Australia

The last state to open its polling booths, Western Australia has just officially opened the booths. 

Long queues in Melbourne’s electorate of Higgins 

That’s the one Anthony Albanese visited early this morning. 

Here’s why the seat of Boothby is one to watch

Boothby covers the southern suburbs of Adelaide, beginning on the coast between Glenelg and Marino and extending inland to include southern hillside suburbs. It includes the suburbs of Sturt, Marion, Ascot Park, Eden Hills, Torrens Park, Mitcham, Blackwood and Belair. 

As the ABC’s Eric Tlozek notes, the seat is held by a 1.4 per cent margin by departing Liberal MP Nicolle Flint:

“It is the only marginal seat in this state, but it is probably one of the country’s most geographically and demographicicly diverse. It starts in the Adelaide Hills in the east where most of the booths go green, and then [moves] to more affluent areas wither they go for the Liberals, and then to the Labor and then once you get to the coast, back to the Liberals.

“It has been gradually creeping closer to Labor after being held by the Liberals for a very long time. You get a taste of the mood of the country with a different spread across demographics, across different parts of South Australian society and I think what has been really interesting this election is how tight the contest has been in Boothby, and how much attention this seat has received from the major parties.”

The best baked good puns

Bill Shortenbread or Jacqui Lambingtons – plenty of quality baked good puns kicking around. 

Everything you need to know about how to vote on election day

For some folks, today means democracy sausages and a chance to have your say on how the next three years will look. For others, it’s all a bit confusing.

If you’re in the dazed and confused category, never fear.

Triple J Hack political reporter Claudia Long explains preferential voting and how to vote above and below the line here:

Wondering how politics actually affects you?

What are all the different levels of government, and how do they work together – and against each other?

Nour Haydar breaks it down for us:

What about money? The government racked up more than $300 billion in debt during COVID … so who’s going to pay for that? And how bad is it?

David Chau explains government debt:

If all this polling day stuff has whet your appetite for politics, we can also help you there.

Our Politics Explained (Easily) series is geared up to as the name suggests, explain politics in simple terms.

Politicians begin to cast their vote in marginal seats

Kristy McBain has been the member of Eden Monaro since 2020, after retaining the seat for Labor in a by-election.

The margin was just 0.9 per cent but Labor are favourites to retain. Ms McBain says she’s been campaigning hard and isn’t taking anything for granted. 

Meanwhile, over in the marginal seat of Gilmore, on the NSW South Coast, Labor’s Fiona Phillips is starting her day at the Bomaderry polling booth where she’s expected to cast her vote. 

Anthony Albanese starts the day in Higgins

ABC political reporter Matt Doran is travelling with the Labor leader:

“Anthony Albanese is trying to catch the early voters at this polling station in the Melbourne electorate of Higgins. It’s currently held by the Liberal Party by Katie Allen, one of the more moderate voices within the Liberal Party.

“But she’s facing quite a challenge from Labor and also some of the other independent candidates, the minor party candidates in the seat, hoping to capitalise on what could be voter dissatisfaction with Scott Morrison and his government.

“It’s an early start for Anthony Albanese here in Melbourne. He’s then going to be heading to his home state in NSW where he will cast his own ballot. I guess he will be voting for himself.”

Pre-polling gets colourful 

These guys rocked up to the pre-polls yesterday in Newcastle kitted up in their finest for voting. 

Tim Wilson looks to defend seat of Goldstein 

Reporting by Kristian Silva

A bitter campaign on Melbourne’s bayside will finally come to an end today, as voters cast their ballots in the seat of Goldstein.

At the Beaumaris Secondary College, the cheery volunteers and democracy sausages bely what a tense local campaign this has been.

The affluent Bayside seat of Goldstein has been a Liberal stronghold for decades, but the sitting member Tim Wilson could be toppled today by independent Zoe Daniel.

In recent months, there’s been legal threats, smear campaigns, and posters of the candidates have been defaced. It’s shaping up as a two-horse race, and both candidates have been talking up their chances of winning.

Mr Wilson is out making his last-ditch pitch to local voters, chatting to them as they line up on a chilly Melbourne morning.

Early birds get the snacks

Many Aussies have already gotten to the polls to cast their vote and obtain some sustenance. 

In some lighter election news…

Very important question – has an Antony Green bingo card for tonight been released yet??

-Bingo fan (yes Bluey fan too)

I don’t have one for tonight, Bingo fan, but I reckon this stands the test of time.

Voting has now opened in South Australia

That includes at Black Forest, in the state’s only marginal seat — Boothby, held by the Liberals on a 1.4 per cent margin.

Nicolle Flint has retired, opening up the race to Liberal Rachel Swift and Labor’s Louise Miller-Frost.

The Greens and independent Jo Dyer may also go well in the inner-southern Adelaide seat.

Other seats to watch in SA include Sturt (held by Liberal James Stevens) and Liberal vs independent contests in Grey and Mayo.

Labor to seek injunction to have election signs removed

The Greens and Victorian Labor have accused the Liberal Party of putting up misleading signs in the Victorian seat of Higgins. 

Green-coloured signs telling voters to place Labor last in preferences have been posted to social media, with the Greens calling the signs “desperate tricks”. 

The signs state they are authorised by a Hendrick Fourey of the Business Owners and Contractors Union. 

Labor said it would seek an injunction from the Federal Court to remove the signs.  

The AEC confirmed to the ABC it had received a complaint about the signs and was reviewing the matter.  

The commission said it lacked the legal means to immediately remove the material without an injunction.