Australia votes as opposition makes headway
After a decade of conservative rule, Australians are voting in a close-fought election.
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Morrison (right) is warning that Albanese is a "loose unit" incapable of managing the economy.
The frontrunner in the Australian elections, Anthony Albanese, said that after a decade of rule by conservatives, his center-left party should be allowed a "crack" at running the country by voters.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was behind in the pre-election polls, was telling voters to vote for him again and boasted about his achievement of a 3.9% unemployment rate and warned that his rival was a "loose unit" incapable of managing the economy.
59-year-old Labor Party leader Albanese, who has a slight lead over Morrison in polls, said he was "very positive" about the results of the election, pushing people not to vote for the "divisive" Scott Morrison.
Albanese has pledged to end Australia's sluggish policies in climate change, while also promising to help people struggling amid rising prices and to hold a referendum on giving indigenous people an institutional voice in the country's policymaking.
"Give Labor a crack. We have plans for this country," Albanese said as the day began. He promised to take action against corruption after Morrison failed to deliver promises on a federal anti-graft watchdog and called Morrison's administration the "least open, least fair-dinkum government in Australian political history".
Voting is compulsory in Australia, and those who do not vote are fined Aus$20.
According to the Australian Electoral Commission, almost half the electorate, meaning seven million people, will cast their ballots by mail.
