Australia’s parliamentary election to be held on 7th September
Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Sunday set September 7 as the date for the country’s next Parliamentary elections.
“Australians now face a choice…And the choice couldn’t be starker,” Rudd was quoted as saying by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Earlier, Rudd flew in to Canberra this afternoon to visit the Governor-General and formally ask Quentin Bryce to issue the writs for a poll.
He now faces a conservative opposition led by Tony Abbott, a former minister in Howard’s government, in the election which had to be held before November 30.
Rudd said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will “bang on with some negativity” and has criticized him for not “having the ticker to debate his real agenda”.
Labor will be vying to retain government after six years in office, dominated by leadership struggles and debate over its handling of multiple issues of climate change, asylum seekers, and the global financial crisis.
