Anthony Albanese vows to ‘leave nothing on the field’ ahead of Federal election

Anthony Albanese has vowed to “leave nothing on the field” while Peter Dutton urged colleagues to keep their eyes on the cost of living — and the election — as the future leadership of the nation comes into sharp focus.

The Federal election must be held by mid-May and political leaders are honing their attacks in the final days of Parliament as speculation mounts that MPs won’t return to Canberra as scheduled in February.

Unsurprisingly, each side insists only it has the answers to continue helping people bear the cost-of-living load.

The Prime Minister told caucus colleagues meeting in Canberra for the final time this year they should have a break to recharge over the next two months — but not a long one.

“We need to continue campaigning over summer,” Mr Albanese said, after a colleague noted they met a constituent this week who still didn’t realise they had received a tax cut in July.

“I’ll leave nothing on the field to make sure we continue as a majority Labor government.”

Ministers reminded colleagues of the “usual processes” for two types of non-competitive grants that give incumbent MPs $216,000 to fund community projects and groups in their electorates.

A fresh round of the stronger communities grants is imminent, giving MPs plenty to announce in their seats during the campaign.

In the Coalition party room, Mr Dutton highlighted the importance of tenacity, decency and dedication.

“People believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction, but they also understand that if you get the economics right, if you support families, and if you focus on what matters, that the country can get back on track,” the Opposition Leader said.

“But you can only imagine what would happen under the chaos of a Greens-Labor coalition.”

His deputy Sussan Ley told MPs to have a “well-deserved rest” while raising the spectre of Mr Albanese calling an election on Australia Day for the start of March.

She urged them to maintain unity, discipline and “determination to get the job done”.

Minutes later, nearly two dozen MPs raised concerns about the social media ban on under-16s.

Pushing for the ban was a captain’s call by Mr Dutton months ago and it will pass this week with bipartisan backing, despite fears it may not actually work.

Cost-of-living woes continue to be the top concern for voters around the country, with interest rates now tipped to remain high until at least May despite inflation more than halving from its peak.

The economic slowdown in China and falling commodity prices has also wreaked havoc on the budget, making the Government’s planned “strong economic managers” narrative a more difficult sell.

The Opposition hammered Labor with accusations of weakness and making Australians worse off, in a preview of a Trump-like campaign pitch on how well people feel they are faring.

“Under Labor, groceries are harder to buy, rents and mortgages are up and energy is more expensive every month. Now with Labor’s attempt to raid the nation’s piggy bank, the Future Fund, this weak and incompetent Government is taking Australia further in the wrong direction, looking more like the Whitlam government every day,” Mr Dutton said to laughter from Labor benches at their hero being used as an insult.

“How can Australian families and businesses possibly afford another three years of Labor?”

Labor strategists are alive to the risk that how people feel about their finances lags behind the indicators economists examine to see how things are going.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth labelled Mr Dutton “a risk to living standards” for Australians.

“I’ll tell you what’s reckless and wasteful. It’s this Leader of the Opposition, who has a plan for $315 billion of cuts,” she said.

“Only Labor — and they don’t like to hear this — only Labor has a plan to build a better future for this country.”

Mr Albanese and ministers continue to reel off their laundry list of cost-of-living support and measures to boost wages.

They will add another one on Wednesday with the release of legislation to enforce a code of conduct for Coles and Woolworths to make sure they give farmers a fair deal and genuinely pass savings on to shoppers.

The measure, first announced in June, will come with the threat of $10 million fines for breaches.

“We’ve put supermarkets on notice: dodgy behaviour that costs Australians will not be tolerated,” Mr Albanese said.

The new code would come into effect from April, backing in other measures to crack down on shrinkflation, give the competition watchdog more powers and money, and end anti-competitive land banking.