Leaders of the main parties cast their ballots, saying they did not want to announce the election results while waiting for the Australian people to decide.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and opposition leader Anthony Albanese have said they want their party to form a majority government.
They both declined to entertain or disclose what their negotiating strategy would be in the event of a suspension of parliament.
Voting in Sydney, Prime Minister Scott Morrison grabbed to intercept a boat seeking asylum from Sri Lanka to discuss the coalition’s powers on border security in a final address to voters before polls closed at 6 p.m.
“I was here to stop this boat, but in order for me to be there to stop those who can come from here, you need to vote for the Liberals and the citizens today,” he said after voting in his Cook polling station in elementary school. Lily Pili.
Australian border forces have confirmed that the ship from Sri Lanka was intercepted on Saturday morning as it tried to enter Australian waters.
“The policy of the Australian government remains unchanged,” ABF Rear Admiral Justin Jones said in a statement.
“We will intercept any vessel seeking to reach Australia illegally and return safely those on board, to the point of departure or to the country of origin.”
Mr Morrison said the outcome of the election would concern the Australian people.
“This election has never affected me, my feelings or anything like that. It’s always about the Australian people,” he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison tells how to vote for cards at Laurimar Elementary School on the day of the federal election in Doreen, McEwan’s mansion in north Melbourne, on Saturday. Source: AAP / MICK TICCAS / AAPIMAGE
“I want the aspirations of Australians to be realized, and that is by supporting Australians, not telling them how to live and what to do, and expressing the government in person.”
Mr Morrison continued to stress the coalition’s economic powers on Saturday, starting day north of Melbourne, in the marginal location of McEwan.
There he handed out cards on how to vote with candidate Richard Welch at Laurimar Elementary School.
He also spent time flipping sausages on the grill for voters after Fr. .
More than eight million Australians are due to vote nationwide on Saturday following an increase in early voting and postal voting.
Competition for voting is particularly fierce in marginal places with the Australian Election Commission and posters with voting rules that were described as “deceptive”.
“Here to change the country”
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese also cast his vote in Sydney, at Marquisville City Hall.
He said that no matter who the Australians vote for, he wants the country to be united.
“My message is: I want to represent all Australians. I want to unite the country,” he said.
“I want to unite people. No matter how people vote, it is good that people express their opinion at the ballot box, then we unite and move forward. “
He said he wanted to end the “wedge policy” and said: “I’m here to change the country, that’s what I’m going to do.”
He said he seeks to form a majority government with a minimum target that will be as low as the current coalition number of 76 seats in the House of Parliament during its term.
But he said he expects the results to be accurate.
“I was not ahead of myself. I am convinced that I am on the ground,” he said.
“When you come from where you are from, you are not ahead of yourself. Everything is a bonus, ”he said, referring to his childhood, when he was raised as a single mother and lived in public housing.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanez is petting a dog while campaigning with Labor candidate Michelle Ananda-Raja at a polling station at Carnegie Elementary School. Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH / AAPIMAGE
Earlier in the day, Mr. Albanese campaigned in Melbourne, Higgins, along with Higgins candidate Michelle Ananda Raja and first Victorian aboriginal senator, Jan Stewart.
Welcoming voters, he posed for photos and stroked the dogs.
Mr Albanez said his party had a plan for a “better future”, including measures to combat climate change, strengthen safe work and boost local production.
Work begins with 68 seats, plus a conditionally new Victorian Hawk seat. The main parties will need 76 seats to get a majority in the lower house.
Independents are trying to get a place
The success of the independents, who have conducted a well-funded campaign on climate change, the integrity and security of women among a number of liberals, will be closely monitored.
Kylie Zinc, who is running to usurp the moderate liberal Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney, says her volunteers outnumber the major party volunteers.
“I’m very excited that people in North Sydney want politics to be different,” she told Nine.
Allegra Spender, who faces liberal Dave Sharm at Wentworth, has vowed to be the voice of her electorate’s values “every time”.
The campaign focused on the cost of living, economic governance, national security, the Federal Commission on Voluntariness, Climate and Equality, and women’s safety – issues that independent people used in their appeal to voters.
Approximately one in three eligible voters cast their ballots before election day, and nearly 6 million Australians went through the pre-voting centers.
The sum of votes before the poll, postal and telephone votes means that only about 8 million of the 17 million voters have to pass on Saturday.
The Australian Electoral Commission will begin counting ballots from 6pm when the country votes for its next government.
151 seats will be voted for 1203 candidates for the House of Representatives.
The Senate has 421 candidates vying for 40 seats in the states and territories.
SBS News will receive updates until the evening as the vote counts. Follow our live blog from 5.30pm AEST to get the latest.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/scott-morrison-and-anthony-albanese-cast-their-votes-refuse-to-entertain-possibility-of-hung-parliament/ij88ixmg6
