Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to 7.30 host Leigh Sales ahead of an interview with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese later this week.
Look back at how the interview unfolded as it happened.
Live updates
By Simon Smale
Thanks for reading with us
OK we'll wrap things up here.
Thanks for joining us for this short but sweet blog of the Prime Minister's appearance on 7.30.
Don't forget to check out the ABC's special Federal Election page on the website for more details and expert analysis from the election.
Jess Riga will be back with another daily blog tomorrow (you can go back and read today's here).
If you missed the interview or want to watch it back, check out the show on ABC iView or you can watch back on the ABC's YouTube channel.
Thanks once again for joining me, I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening and the rest of the election campaign.
By Simon Smale
Australia Votes 2022 - Vote Compass
Just in case you didn't know, polls close this Saturday evening, so if you're still not sure where your political views align with the major political parties, now might be a good time to check out the ABC's Vote Compass.
By Simon Smale
Some of your thoughts
That's a wrap from the interview. Here's what you thought about the Prime Minister's performance.
Pretty soft interview…let the PM answer with slogans and rhetoric.
-Rodney
Thank you Scott Morrison. Up against Leigh Sales you were great. I would hope all viewers tonight felt like I did… I ‘d much rather put my trust in running our Country to you rather than a labor government.
-Robyn
Despite Lee's best efforts to conduct an interview, Scomo just proved he's a bulldozer and can't change. Very sad indeed.
-Jim Spain
Great to witness PM Scott Morrison absolutely slam dunk the 'most important interview of this election.'
-Eva
Leigh is so good at her job!
-Veronique
Leigh’s interview failed to be penetrating. She asked questions and with few exceptions, did not interrogate Scott Morrison’s responses. His game play was to produce a wall of sound, and obviously had prepared answers to anticipated questions. This meant that he did not answer questions that the electorate wanted to ask and distorted his record. It was definitely evidence of the bulldozer still in maximum throttle.
-Jennifer Harrison
By Simon Smale
Morrison 'not contemplating' quitting if he loses election, claims he can defy polls again
Prime Minister Scott Morrison claims he can defy national opinion polls and win Saturday's federal election, saying Australians want him to be a "more inclusive" prime minister if he gets another term in power.
Read the details below or via political reporter James Glenday's piece here.
By Simon Smale
Mr Morrison says he will accept the result of the election
"I would always accept the result of an election because I trust my fellow Australians," he says.
That issue becomes immaterial. A decision been made. We want a stronger economy or a weaker one. A more certain environment for Australia or more uncertainty in a world of uncertainty and a government you know with a clear plan and an opposition and a Labor leader you don't.
"These are the choices for Australia. I tell you one thing, the only way that Australians can get access to their superannuation to buy their own home if they vote Liberal and National, because the Labor Party will never do it. They will never do it. We know it's your money and we want you to get access to it, so you can buy your own home."
By Simon Smale
Mr Morrison says he will not speculate on his future should he lose the election
"Looking head to Sunday, if the coalition has lost, can we take it as a given you'll be standing down as leader?" Leigh Sales says.
"I don't speculate on things like that," Mr Morrison says.
He commends "the great job" that she has done and he wishes her well in her retirement.
He also says that he refuses to contemplate on a hung parliament.
"I'm focused on one thing. That's ensuring our government continues, because we have the economic plan that we've demonstrated the economic credibility over the last very difficult years, to ensure we secure the opportunities in the future," he says.
"I'm not speculating on these scenarios, Leigh. Because my scenario, the scenario that my team is working for, is not to have a weakened Parliament.
"To not to have a government that has to negotiate for its existence every day. If I had to do that, Leigh, over the last three years, Australia would not be in a stronger position than we are today.
"We would be in a weaker position. People would be worse off. I want to avoid that."
By Simon Smale
'Supporting independents in those seats will only produce a Parliament of chaos': Mr Morrison
Ms Sales asks why Mr Morrison thinks the blue ribbon Liberal seats are vulnerable to "teal independents".
"I would simply say that supporting independents in those seats will only produce a Parliament of chaos," Mr Morrison says.
Ms Sales says that's not the question, but why are they vulnerable.
"I say our members have done an extraordinary job there. But as time has gone on, many of these places, I suppose, are less vulnerable to the impacts of the economy than, say, many of the places I've been in this campaign," he says.
"Out in parts of regional Australia, and the broader suburbs of the country.
"I mean, they're places that cannot afford the sort of risk that comes with a Labor party and a leader that just is a bit loose on the economy. They will pay the price for that.
"Some parts of our country may feel they're a bit more insulated from the impacts of that.
"I do know this - you can't address climate change and invest in the technology you need, to deal with climate change, unless you have a strong economy.
"You can't invest in mental health support or dealing with the issues involving violence against women, and put 2.5 billion into those programs, or develop advanced manufacturing, or ensure the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme can have 2,900 new or amended listings, you can't do that without a strong economy.
"You can never take it for granted. Do not take our strong economy for granted. And please do not give us a Parliament that will be one of chaos that would only weaken Australia and make it harder for Australians."
By Simon Smale
Mr Morrison says the government was not blindsided by Solomon Islands deal
Leigh Sales asks the Prime Minister what he meant when he said a Chinese base on the Soloman Islands would be a "red line".
"You are suggesting we were blindsided. I said that wasn't the case. I said that at the time.," Mr Morrison says.
"This is a very serious issue. And it's one we've been working on and working with the family of nations in the Pacific since before I became the Prime Minister, but I took it to a whole new level."
There is a lot of talking backwards and forwards, but Mr Morrison says he is trying to answer the question.
"The way you deal with countries in the Pacific had to change. Australia had a reputation of stomping around and treating the Pacific like they were some sort of colonial outpost," he says.
"That was the feedback that was getting from leaders when I became Prime Minister.
"I sought to turn it around."
He then addresses the red line quote.
"In terms of red lines, well, we're making it very clear that [a Chinese base] is not a situation that we think is in the Solomon Island's interest.
Ms Sales asks what that means.
"We'll work constructively with our partners to make sure it won't occur," Mr Morrison says.
"I'm not going to speculate on those actions. Governments and countries have to be very clear about what we understand to be acceptable and unacceptable circumstances both in the regional security interests and the national security interest."
By Simon Smale
Morrison brands Albanese 'an armchair critic'
Leigh Sales reads a quote from Anthony Albanese, which says "they always react too little, too late, whether it's the bushfire crisis, ordering enough vaccines, responding to victims of floods," and then tells Mr Morrison that those three issues are 'indisputable".
Mr Morrison says: "They're the comments of an armchair critic."
"I have to disagree on a couple of points there," Mr Morrison says.
"Firstly, $2.9 billion, straight in there, to support the victims of bushfires. On floods, the same has been the case. We have people winching people off roofs within hours of floods hitting. I think those who have been directly involved in the delivery of that support, whether it was our Centrelink officers there providing emergency cash assistance.
"Everyone has seen the images and heard from the people. You can't honestly say there was enough on the ground at the time," Ms Sales says.
"I'm aware of the narrative. It was a massive crisis, Leigh. I mean, there's not defence force personnel sitting in every single town in the country," Mr Morrison says.
Ms Sales pushes back, saying that the Royal Commission after the bushfires said Australians were assured we would never see a situation again where people were left in such dire need and whether that performance deserves another three years in power.
Mr Morrison says the Royal Commission did not find that was the case and pointed to his record during the pandemic.
"My point is, it's easy to make criticisms in the middle of a pandemic after the event. When you're there, taking the country through all of that, and the decisions that have to be made every single day," he says.
"When you step back, and you look at what Australians have been able to achieve over these last two years, I think fair minded people will see that Australia has compared very well to other countries.
"And it didn't happen by accident. We did it all together."
By Simon Smale
Mr Morrison says he does not accept Australia will have to shut down coal-fired power stations to achieve net zero by 2050
Leigh Sales asks whether Mr Morrison accepts that to get to net zero by 2050 Australia needs to shut down most of its coal-fired power stations by 2030.
He says "there will be a change that will take place in Australia and around the world that will happen over time" and that investing in carbon capture use and storage technologies is important.
Ms Sales asks whether he had a timeframe in mind to stop coal fired powerstations
Mr Morrison says "not specifically".
"That will be decided by those who are actually using and running those power stations based on their commercial viability and they currently have timetables on all of those," he says.
He says it was important to ensure "reliable energy generation" in the system to account for the "intermittent renewables" such as solar and wind.
He says Labor's plan to put $20 billion of investment will "only force up electricity prices".
"Our emissions plan, which is already seen emissions fall by around 20 per cent, far more than Canada, far more than New Zealand, more than Japan, all of these countries, we're performing better," Mr Morrison says.
FACT CHECK found this claim misleading: Read the article here.
"We have the highest roof top solar rates in the world. Australians are doing it. We're doing it. We have a plan to get to net zero by 2050 based on the technologies that will not only solve the problem in Australia, but around the world."
By Simon Smale
Mr Morrison: 'I support wage increases'
Leigh Sales asks why "you don't support wages keeping pace with inflation" and whether that means he's saying he supports Australians "taking a pay cut".
"I support the Fair Work Commission making decisions on wages, taking into account all the factors that impact on people's cost of living and whether they'll be better off," he says.
"I support wage increases, Leigh."
Mr Morrison says "Seven of the last eight minimum decisions made by fair work ensured the minimum wage rose faster than inflation. Real wages for the minimum wage has lifted in real terms by 7 per cent".
Mr Morrison says inflation is an issue all over the world due to supply issues caused by the war in Europe.
"The whole world knows there's upward pressure on inflation. Inflation in Australia at 5.1 per cent, in New Zealand, it's almost 7 per cent. In the United States it's 8.5 per cent.
"What we're seeing in Australia is, yes, it's tough. But if you look at the performance of like countries to Australia, the economic shield that we've put in place to protect Australians from those forces and the additional things we did in this budget, whether it was halving petrol tax, or additional support for pensioners, or extending the tax relief, and the ongoing tax relief - is there to help Australians better cope with this."
By Simon Smale
Job creation is 'the single biggest challenge facing the economy today'
Leigh Sales says the biggest issue is not creating new jobs, but finding workers to full them.
Mr Morrison says that by "investing in the skills of Australians" the economy will grow.
He says 220,00 Australians are training in trade now.
"I believe investing in skills and investing in that labour force is the most important economic challenge that we have facing our economy in the short to medium term," he says.
By Simon Smale
'What's the point of a policy that makes already insane housing prices even worse?': Leigh Sales
Leigh Sales asks about the new policy to allow home buyers to use superannuation to buy homes, saying "What's the point of a policy that makes already insane housing prices even worse?"
He says that Jane Hume's acknowledgement that this would push prices up was only looking at things in isolation.
"When you take all of our housing policies together, in particular the downsizing policy. The downsizing policy actually gets more housing stock into the market," Mr Morrison said.
"The suggestion this will have any sort of significant impact, I don't think bears up to scrutiny. What this does is enables people to have control over their own money."
Leigh Sales asks why "raiding super" is the coalition's "break glass policy".
"Those policies are not the policy we have put forward here. Because the policy we put forward here is not that people take money out of their superannuation and never put it back. This policy actually invests it back into your superannuation so it doesn't impact on your long-term retirement savings. That's the difference. What they were referring to was something quite different," Mr Morrison says.
Leigh Sales: "Not if the housing market tanks."
"What you're suggesting is owning your own home is a gamble that Australians shouldn't take. I don't agree with that. Owning your home, your home, is the most significant asset for most Australians they will ever own. I know it's the case for Jenny and I.
"I believe that buying a home is the best economic decision you can make. It's the strongest thing you can do for families and communities.
"We should be allowing people to use their own money. That's what this does. It boosts their ultimate retirement incomes because they're investing in their own home, the best investment anyone ever makes.
"It ensures they can get into the housing market earlier, saving them time and reducing their ultimate mortgage payments. It adds up at every level."
By Simon Smale
Scott Morrison: 'Saving the country was worth the investment'
Leigh Sales asks whether the government will take responsibility for "trillions of dollars of debt" and asks what Australia has to show for that debt.
He says the Snow Hydro, Western Sydney Airport and inland rail, as well as improving the Pacific Highway and Bruce Highway.
"But importantly, we've got an economy today on the other side of a pandemic because of the single largest economic intervention in Australia's history."
He says before the pandemic the Coalition balanced the budget over six years,
"We did it not by cutting services. We did it by growing the economy," he says.
"Are you suggesting we should have been cutting hospitals and schools and things like that to get there? We said we wouldn't do that.
"We said we would balance the budget by growing the economy."
Mr Morrison says that the majority of the investments that put Australia's economy into the red were required to 'save the country'
"I don't think anyone would contend the investments we made during the pandemic were unnecessary," he said.
"That's why that debt is what it is. It saved the country, Leigh.
"It saved jobs, it saved businesses. The ANU themselves increased the estimates, some 800,000 jobs saved. The investments we made in mental health saved lives. As did the investments we made in people's physical health for COVID.
"Saving the country, I thought, was worth the investment."
By Simon Smale
PM 'completely rejects' suggestions that the Coalition used 'community sports grants as a slush fund to channel money to marginal seats'
Leigh Sales askes what Scott Morrison would "have done differently for example when it came to the way your government used community sports grants as a slush fund to channel money to marginal seats?"
He says he "completely" rejects that.
He says: "I don't think public servants sitting in Canberra have a better idea of what people need in their communities than their members of Parliament."
"Elected leaders, ministers, ultimately make decisions. We're the ones accountable to the public. Note public servants. Not Sport Australia.
"I don't buy into this narrative that's put to us. Politicians, members of Parliament, are part of their local community. They know what their community needs. We go to an election, we're very clear about what we plan to do and the commitments we make. And then we follow through and we implement them."
By Simon Smale
PM dismisses 'Labor criticisms'
Leigh Sales asks whether or not people don't like him because "people don't like what they perceive, rightly or wrongly, as you ducking responsibility, blame shifting, being slippery with the truth, being slow to act when required".
The Prime Minister says those are just Labor criticisms and that's not what he sees in the field.
"What I get is people really just want to see me be more inclusive in terms of how I go forward and that's the challenge going forward.
"During the course of a crisis and a pandemic, you got to move fast, you've got to be decisive and that means sometimes you can't take everyone with you.
"In the next phase, then we've got the opportunity to bring people forward on the plan, and it's a plan I know is working."
By Simon Smale
Scott Morrison says change in attitude is him 'being honest'
Leigh Sales asks the Prime Minister why he thinks people don't like him because he's a bulldozer.
"I'm just being honest, Leigh. I can be," the PM says.
He adds that it's been "very necessary".
"Australia has been able to come through this pandemic in a situation where our economy is stronger than almost all of the G7 countries. We've got one of the lowest death rates in the world. That didn't happen by accident.
"It required great will, great determination, tremendous strength, and being able to push through."
By Simon Smale
PM talks up the 'economic plan'
Leigh Sales starts by asking the PM, "How do you campaign effectively when even you are admitting the biggest drag on the government's re-election chance is yourself?"
He says the reason is that the Coalition has "the economic plan".
"I know I can take Australia into the future and seize the opportunities there. I know that's the case.
"I know our economic plan is working because Australians are working.
He says the Liberals have guided Australia through "one of the most difficult times the country has seen in generations".
"We've been able to come through, getting unemployment down, bringing the economy through, and now we're set and we're setting up for the opportunities ahead.
He says Australia can now invest in the skills, infrastructure, can pay for Medicare, aged care reforms, and "the defence forces that we need in a highly uncertain and unstable environment".
By Simon Smale
7.30 has just started
It's 7:30, so it's time for action.
We're starting with chief political correspondent Laura Tingle's summary of the campaign so far.
By Simon Smale
Watch Scott Morrison on 7.30 via YouTube
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