A DATE has been set for the 2025 federal election. The election will be held on 3 May. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the election date at a press conference last Friday, 28 March.
Incumbent Isaacs MP Mark Dreyfus will seek another term – the Labor MP has been the local member since 2007. Dreyfus is the Attorney-General. The Liberals have preselected Fiona Ottey to contest Isaacs. Her profile reads “having worked since 15, she has enjoyed a successful career as a lawyer and now works in dispute resolution. Fiona is no stranger to hard work. With a husband running a small business and three busy children, she understands the pressures on local business and families.”
Other declared candidates for Isaacs include Matthew Kirwan (Greens), and Audrey Harmse (Family First).
Dreyfus won the seat by a margin of 9.5 percent in 2022. His 2019 Liberal opponent was disendorsed prior to the election, and 2022 Liberal candidate Robbie Beaton ended up in hot water for listing a false residential address.
Last Friday after calling the election, Albanese spruiked his future plans. “Take 20 percent off your student debt and cut taxes again and again for every taxpayer next year and the year after. Our top-up tax cuts will mean an average tax cut of more than $2500,” he said. “And only a vote for Labor is a vote for stronger Medicare. The biggest ever investment in bulk billing for all Australians, so you can see a GP for free wherever you live. Cheaper medicines, capping the cost of a PBS script to no more than $25. “Today, because of all the hard work that Australians have done, inflation is down, real wages are up, unemployment is low, interest rates are falling, and we’re cutting taxes for every taxpayer again. In challenging times, we have laid very strong foundations. We want to keep building.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton returned serve later in the day during his budget reply, saying “we oppose these tax cuts and will repeal them – because we think there is a better way to provide assistance to Australians. “We will provide immediate cost-of-living relief for Australians. A Coalition government will halve the fuel excise for 12 months, and then we’ll review it, and we’ll make sure that that comes in on the first day that our Parliament sits,” he said. “A Coalition government will do three things. First, we will rein-in inflationary spending. Second, we will reduce the cost of energy. And third, we will strengthen the economy to work for you.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 2 April 2025