National security continued to be a key election issue as both major parties targeted the north of the country in the third week of campaigning.
Look back on all of Tuesday's updates as they happened in our live blog.
Key events
- Labor pledges aid boost of $525m to Pacific, Timor-Leste
- 'Have to do more than play the ukulele': Labor frontbencher hits back at PM's comments
- Marise Payne labels Labor's Pacific package as 'nothing new'
- Malcolm Turnbull criticises government over China-Solomon Islands deal
- Labor promises to recruit overseas workers to deliver health plan
- Morrison on Dutton's 'prepare for war' comments
- Labor to announce Pacific plan to boost diplomatic relations in region
Live updates
By Jessica Riga
We'll wrap up our live coverage here
Thank you for your company today!
We'll be back tomorrow with all the latest updates. You can continue to stay up to date here on the ABC News website or on our app.
Until then, have a lovely rest of your Tuesday. Bye!
By Jessica Riga
Love podcasts? Can't get enough of the election campaign?
Well our Australia Votes podcast is for you!
You can listen to it here or on the ABC Listen app.
This is the daily show that will keep you across all the developments in the 2022 Australian federal election.
Hosts David Speers, Melissa Clarke and James Glenday speak to the ABC’s best reporters around the country every afternoon from Monday to Thursday to run through the issues that matter to voters.
On Fridays, David Speers and a cast of ABC analysts will wrap up the week’s developments and answer your questions about the election.
To send a question to the show, email australiavotespodcast@abc.net.au, or use this form and be sure to address your question to the Australia Votes podcast.
By Jessica Riga
Labor confirms it will recruit overseas doctors and nurses to fulfil health, aged care plans
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has admitted the party will need to recruit overseas health workers as a "stopgap" measure, if elected, to meet its promise to increase the number of nurses in aged care.
Labor has committed to having a registered nurse in every aged care facility around the clock as part of a $2.5 billion promise to improve conditions in aged care.
The pledge goes further than the aged care royal commission recommendations, which called for nurses to be in every aged care facility at all times from July 2024.
Since Mr Albanese announced the plan four weeks ago as the central piece of his budget reply, Labor has been grilled about how it plans to staff the nurse increase, given there is already a workforce shortage.
By Jessica Riga
The perils of big signs
When you're a politician, you get photographed a lot. And sometimes, you're standing in front of a rather unfortunate sign.
But, as ABC photographer Matt Roberts captured, Scott Morrison's camp has covered up a sign at a Townsville factory saying 'if you mess up, fess up' to try and avoid that happening.
By Georgia Hitch
Does Labor stand by its comments around the emissions safeguard mechanism?
Shadow Climate Change Minister Pat Conroy was asked if he regrets saying that no coal mines would be impacted if Labor wins the election and its safeguard mechanism changes are introduced.
Before I get into the answer the safeguard mechanism was established when Tony Abbott was Prime Minister and is basically a system where the country's biggest polluters have to keep their emissions under a certain amount, or buy offsets if they go over it.
Labor wants to bring the threshold down "slowly and gradually" if it's elected, but says it'd take into account if mines are facing international competition from companies that don't have to keep emissions under a threshold.
Pat Conroy said he didn't regret what he said "one iota because it's true".
"The coalmining industry will not suffer a disadvantage or a negative impact compared to the international competitors," he said.
"And that's further confirmed by our independent and comprehensive economic modelling that made it very clear that found that not a single coal mine would close early because of our policy, and not a single coalmining job would be lost because of our policy."
By Jessica Riga
Will Labor sign the United Nations pledge to put an end to coal?
"No," Penny Wong says.
"We will do the right thing, which is to put in place an economically sensible policy that delivers a reduction by 2050 of net zero.
"That will ensure that we create 600,000 jobs and we'll deliver cheaper energy and bring more renewables into the system.
"That is the same way and responsible way to deal with climate instead of the climate wars we've seen."
So will that stance drive a wedge between Labor and the Pacific nations?
"That is the position. I've always been up-front with the position," Wong says.
By Jessica Riga
Well, we just lost our signal from Darwin
That brings the Labor press conference to a close.
We'll bring you the last few questions now.
By Georgia Hitch
Will Labor break the Port of Darwin lease if its elected?
Penny Wong and other Labor figures are in Darwin at the moment, so it's not totally unsurprising that they've been asked if elected, would a Labor government tear up the Port of Darwin lease?
The port has been leased by Chinese-owned company Landbridge since 2015. Last year the Prime Minister asked for new security advice and a review by Defence on whether the deal should be scrapped.
The other thing worth mentioning is that in 2020 the government gave itself the power to cancel arrangements made between states and territories (in this case it was a former NT Country Liberal Party government decision) and foreign countries, if they're not in line with our foreign relations or our foreign policy.
Penny Wong didn't say whether Labor would axe the deal, but it'd also depend on whether there was grounds to do it.
"We remain deeply concerned about the Port of Darwin and I am concerned of the fact that when I asked questions about this in estimates it appeared defence had finished their review," she said.
By Jessica Riga
Penny Wong on Scott Morrison saying we shouldn't be 'stomping around the Pacific'
Q: The Prime Minister said last week that Australia should not be stomping around the Pacific telling people what to do. Does this approach [Labor's package] run risk of that?
Here's Penny Wong's response:
"Honestly — some of the things that [Scott Morrison] says, I don't know where to start.
"I think what Mr Morrison is doing with the second part of your quote is, again, refusing to take responsibility.
"Now, as I said — this is a time where we live in a period of risk and uncertainty. And of competition. So we have to leverage our strengths. And one of those is our engagement.
"So if Mr Morrison wants to dismiss engagement by leader or by Foreign Minister, well, he can explain why that was in the interests of the country."
By Georgia Hitch
Should Labor stop coal and gas plants to prevent climate change?
Penny Wong's also been asked given climate change has been identified as the biggest issue for nations in the Pacific, should Labor be stopping the approval of new coal and gas projects.
Her response was that Labor's plan to reach net zero was what the country should be doing, but that it was also more broadly about being respectful.
"I don't think it is respectful to joke about water lapping at the door. I wonder if we have ever got over that, to be honest, under this government? I wonder if we have ever got over that footage and that arrogance and dismissiveness, which was then continued to be reflected and underlined in subsequent behaviour," she said.
Senator Wong is referring to a clip from a few years ago where now-Defence Minister Peter Dutton was caught on microphone making a joke about sea level rise in the Pacific.
By Jessica Riga
How would Labor respond should China attempt to set up a naval base on Solomon Islands?
"Lets be clear, the prospect of a Chinese base less than 2,000km from Australia's coastline is dramatically detrimental to Australia's security interests," Penny Wong says.
"That has occurred on Mr Morrison's watch. Their response appears to be more chest beating. There is no point in beating your chest if you're beaten to the punch.
"We will make clear, as coordinator Kurt Campbell and others have, our view about this. But I think the other thing we have to do is to do what we are seeking to outline with this package, which is to do more work to secure the region."
So would Labor be prepared to work with the United States to block any attempt by China to Bold a naval base on the Solomon Islands?
"I have responded to that broadly with this. We will always work with the United States to secure our region," Wong says.
By Georgia Hitch
What's Labor's total foreign aid proposal?
First question is to Penny Wong about whether the $525 million package over five years is a "drop in the ocean" and what Labor's foreign aid spend would be if it's elected.
Wong replied by only answering the second part, saying the party would announce its total aid budget later.
She was asked again later about whether the funding was enough and said:
"I am the Shadow Foreign Minister and of course I would like to have more development assistance but you have to be fiscally responsible."
By Jessica Riga
More details on Labor's Pacific package
Here's Pat Conroy, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific, with more information about today's announcement.
"The first reforms are to the seasonal worker program. We will make it easier for employers to bring people to this country under the program by reducing the up-front cost to employers by the Australian Government paying all but $300 of the airfares which we will recoup from the workers through the taxation system," he says.
"On the Pacific labour scheme, the longer term scheme, we will allow Pacific workers to bring their family into the country. These visas operate for up to four years and one of the reasons why they haven't been picked up as much as we would have liked is because workers can't bring their families in.
"The third announcement ... is an agricultural visa. We will be placing the Agriculture Visa within the Pacific Labor schemes which is important for a few reasons. This government's current agricultural visa is not working. Not a single worker has entered this country under this agricultural visa. It has failed Australian farmers and it has failed the broader Australian community.
"This government says there are 55,000 Pacific workers that have gone through prescreening procedures. They will be able to access work under our new agricultural visa under the Pacific labour schemes. That is important because this scheme unlike the government scheme, is not capped. The government's scheme is capped at 1,000 visa entries at any one time. Our scheme is completely uncapped."
By Georgia Hitch
Labor's pacific plan's focus on defence
There's a few different parts to Labor's Pacific package including foreign aid, broadcasting and also bolstering defence.
Shadow Defence Minister Brendan O'Connor's spoken about the plan to expand training for Pacific Island defence personnel, more funding for maritime surveillance and the creation of a new Australia-Pacific Defence School.
The school would provide extra training to defence and security personnel from the region and would focus on non-commission officers, which would complement existing training programs.
"This is the sort of thing we need to be doing to engage and to reengage effectively," he said.
"We need to invest more, in terms of defence cooperation and that will go to municipal policing as well.
"It is that type of approach that not only increases defence capability within the region, it increases and depeens our relationship with our friends and we need to be doing that."
By Jessica Riga
Labor pledges aid boost of $525m to Pacific, Timor-Leste
Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong is in Darwin announcing Labor's Pacific package.
"Today I can announce that an Albanese Labor Government will boost official development assistance to the Pacific countries and Timor Leste by $525 million over the next four years," Wong says.
"This will help address the decade worth of development gains that have been lost due to the pandemic and due to Coalition cuts."
"Australians understand this is a time of risk. They understand it is a time of uncertainty and they want a government that does the work to keep them safe. They want a leader they can trust to do the job.
"They got Mr Morrison. The bloke who just keeps dropping the ball. The bloke who went missing while China negotiated and signed a security deal on our doorstep and the bloke who didn't order enough vaccines or RATs and told us that we were at the front of the queue. The bloke who doesn't hold a hose and the bloke who never takes responsibility.
"What I would say to you and to Australians today is if elected, Labor will do the work. We understand the region is being reshaped. We know the first priority of government is to secure the nation. This means we have to secure our region. We have to build a stronger Pacific family. This is why an Albanese Labor Government will restore Australia's place as the partner of choice in the Pacific."
By Georgia Hitch
Would a Coalition anti-corruption commission have public hearings for law enforcement?
Slight change of subject now to anti-corruption commissions.
The PM was asked to confirm whether the Coalition's integrity commission proposal would include public hearings for law enforcement officials and if so, if he's concerned about the hearings being a "kangaroo court".
A quick recap on the government's plan for an anti-corruption commission - it's proposal has been criticised for not having enough teeth and would see law enforcement officials subject to public hearings, but politicians and other public servants grilled behind closed doors.
Its argument is that if you appear before a commission hearing - even if you've done nothing wrong - it could harm a politician or senior official's reputation.
Scott Morrison has made it very clear he's not a fan of the NSW ICAC model, describing it as a "kangaroo court".
Which brings us back to the question - if Mr Morrison doesn't want a kangaroo court, is he concerned about the public hearingsfor law enforcement under the Coalition's own model?
His response:
"We have put in place $50 million of funding to support the law enforcement integrity commission that is already in place," Mr Morrison said.
"Our proposals for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission are set out in 357 pages of legislatio nand there is $60 million of support in the budget, fully funded to be there to support the work of that commission.
"And I have addressed those issues on numerous occasions over the last couple of weeks."
You can catch up on what each party is promising when it comes to anti-corruption commissions here.
By Jessica Riga
And on that note, the Labor press conference is starting
As always, key updates will be here in the blog.
Penny Wong is in Darwin and she's joined by local member Luke Gosling.
By Jessica Riga
Morrison on the South China Sea
"We will continue to work closely with our allies and partners, ensuring that the south China sea is free and open," Morrison says.
"We work as part of a partnership. We work with Japan, we work with India, with European nations, UK, Germany has undertaken sales through the South China Sea as we have...
"These are options that Australia always has. We will work closely with our allies and partners about the best way to ensure we work together to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific."
By Jessica Riga
Scott Morrison just wrapped up that press conference
The press conference has finished but we'll continue to bring you the key updates from that.
We're also expecting to hear from the Labor team within the next half hour as well.
By Jessica Riga
Morrison talks up importance of cyber security
"Cyber defences are critical to Australia's defence," Morrison says.
"In this year's budget we committed almost $10 billion to a program called REDSPICE. We have invested billions in building up our cyber capabilities because in any conflict, as we saw in Ukraine, the first things that happened was cyber attacks, conducted by the Russian government to undermine... whether it is powers supplies or critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
"In Australia, these are the things that we must continue to protect."
The PM made a reference to this during a radio interview this morning when he was asked how prepared Australia is for war.
He said the deal with the US and UK - AUKUS - isn't just about nuclear submarines, and the government has been focusing on beefing up its cyber protections because that's where any future warfare would start - online.
