Sawt Falasteen - Australian PM tells voters he's ready for Trump tariffs

The US president's "act of economic self-harm" will dampen global growth, 62-year-old Albanese said as he faced right-leaning opposition leader Peter Dutton.

The US tariffs -- including a 10-percent levy on Australia -- present a challenge but "no country is better prepared", the centre-left Labor Party leader told a televised town hall debate in Sydney.

Australia will be able to seize trade opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, Albanese said.

"We'll continue to negotiate, of course, with the United States looking for a better deal for Australia because reciprocal tariffs would, of course, be zero, because we don't impose tariffs on US goods."

Dutton, a 54-year-old former policeman, suggested he would show a stiffer backbone.

"The prime minister of the day should have the ability and the strength of character to be able to stand up against bullies, against those that would seek to do us harm, to keep our country safe," he said.

After suffering a decline in the polls towards the end of its three-year term, support for Albanese's Labor Party appears to be creeping higher in the final stretch to election day.

Latest surveys give his party a narrow lead in the polls as it offers tax cuts and cheaper healthcare to struggling Australians while condemning Trump's imposts on trade.

Dutton's Liberal-National Party coalition is courting voters with promises to lower the excise on fuel for a year and to reserve a portion of local gas production for Australia.

The opposition leader rejects accusations that he has adopted aspects of the Trump playbook for the campaign.

With an election slogan of "Let's Get Australia Back on Track", Dutton initially vowed to axe 41,000 public service jobs and end work from home for Canberra-based public servants in a drive for efficiency.

- Nuclear reactors -

But he retreated from both schemes this week, saying he "made a mistake" with the return-to-office plan, and that the job cuts would be made over time as people leave of their own accord.

Voters consistently cite the cost of living as a top concern, with annual inflation still running at 2.4 percent in December -- down from a 2022 peak of 7.8 percent.

The starkest difference between the prime minister and his opponent is their approach to climate change.

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.

His election catchcry is "building Australia's future" -- an agenda that includes big subsidies for renewable energy and green manufacturing.

Dutton's signature policy is a US$200 billion scheme to construct seven industrial-scale nuclear reactors while slowing the rollout of solar and wind-generated energy.

On the eve of the election debate, a Roy Morgan poll gave Labor 53.5 percent support against 46.5 percent for the conservative opposition, on a two-party preferred basis.

Other surveys have been pointing to a tight race possibly leading to a hung parliament, with neither side in a majority.

E.Aziz--SF-PST