Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese speaking during the first leaders' debate

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks as Australian Opposition leader Anthony Albanese looks on during the first leaders' debate of the 2022 federal election hosted by Sky News. Credit: JASON EDWARDS/AAPIMAGE

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From aged care to the NDIS: The moments that defined the first leaders' debate

Aged care, housing affordability, China's influence in the Pacific, and an anti-corruption body, along with a clash over boat turnbacks, were some of the highlights of the first election debate between Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese in Brisbane.

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese speaking during the first leaders' debate

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks as Australian Opposition leader Anthony Albanese looks on during the first leaders' debate of the 2022 federal election hosted by Sky News. Credit: JASON EDWARDS/AAPIMAGE

Published 20 April 2022 6:31pm
Updated 27 April 2022 11:52am
Source: SBS News

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20 Apr 2022 9:35pm
Rounding up the day’s debate
After just over an hour of the country’s major political leaders taking the stage to address 100 undecided voters and their questions, here are some key points that stood out during the debate:
  • The prime minister insisted cashless debit cards will not be introduced for pensioners, while Mr Albanese pledges to scrap the cashless debit system altogether.
  • The Labor leader continued his push for a federal anti-corruption body, while Mr Morrison doubled down on his opposition to the establishment of a federal integrity commission that would mimic the ICAC modelin New South Wales. 
  • Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese clashed over the boat turnback policy after the prime minister asked his opponent why Labor refused to approve of turning back the boats in the past. 
  • The prime minister accused Labor of being on “China”s side” after the government was blamed for failing to prevent the Solomon Islands from signing a security pact with China. Mr Albanese retorted that “a national security issue shouldn’t be the subject of that sort of slur”. 
20 Apr 2022 9:30pm
PM faces criticism over response to child with autism
Many people have taken aim at the prime minister over his response to Catherine, an undecided voter who said she has a four-year-old son, Ethan, who lives with autism.

Her question was linked to fears about NDIS funding cuts.

Mr Morrison told Catherine that he and his wife, Jenny, have two children, and they did go through the same experiences as her.

“Jenny and I have been blessed with - we’ve got two children that don’t - haven’t had to go through that. And so the parents with children who are disabled, I can only try and understand your aspirations for those children.”

Criticism has notably come from former Labor leader Bill Shorten, and Labor's finance spokesperson Katy Gallagher:
20 Apr 2022 9:27pm
Major party leaders face off in first election debate
Here are some of the highlights from the first leaders' debate with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese squaring off about the NDIS, housing affordability, China and aged care.

The debate hosted by Sky News and the Courier Mail invited undecided voters to ask questions. And in an Australian-first it's on SBS On Demand in both Mandarin and Arabic.

20 Apr 2022 8:42pm
Leaders have their final say in election debate
Sky News political reporter Kieran Gilbert directed both leaders to make their final comments as the debate came to a close.

Similar to his opening pitch, the prime minister insisted the election was a choice.

He drilled down the importance of the Coalition “managing a strong economy” and told voters that “now is not the time to turn back” from the strong future to which the government is leading the country.

Mr Albanese had the last word, pushing the need for wage growth as the
cost of living for Australians continues to grow
. He said the “Labor party will always look after the disadvantaged”.

He wanted to end on this final point: “If I'm prime minister, I'll accept responsibility each and every day. And I'll accept responsibility not always seek to blame someone else.”
20 Apr 2022 8:30pm
‘Pacific stuff-up’: Labor blasts government on Solomon Islands security pact with China
The prime minister has backed his national security stance when he was asked a question about the security deal signed between the Solomon Islands and China at the Sky News leaders' debate.
READ MORE

'Australia is a great friend': Scott Morrison defends Pacific strategy after China-Solomons deal

He said his security position against China was so strong, that he was labelled as a “racist” when ensuring the safety of Australians after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and closed the country's borders.

Mr Albanese refused to accept the prime minister had done enough to ensure the Solomons would not partner up with China, calling it a “Pacific stuff-up”.

He also rejected Mr Morrison's claim that Labor is on the side of China.

"That's an outrageous slur from the prime minister. National security issues shouldn't be the subject of that kind of slur," he said.

"This isn't a Pacific step up it's a Pacific stuff-up. This is a major foreign policy failure by Australia."
20 Apr 2022 8:06pm
Mother of child with autism expresses concerns about NDIS
One of the attendees, Catherine, asked a question about her four-year-old son who is living with autism.

She wanted the leaders to address the importance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) - and the fears raised by some recipients that their funding is getting cut.

“We are fully funding the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It’s a difficult scheme to manage because every single person who has a disability is different. There’s no cookie-cutter approach to the NDIS,” Mr Morrison said.

“It can be a very difficult system. It’s expensive, it’s more expensive than Medicare, but I believe it’s worth investing.”

Mr Albanese boasted that NDIS was a “proud Labor reform”.

“It's always Labor that does the big changes that make a difference to people's lives.”

“One of the things about the NDIS is that it certainly isn’t welfare. All of the analysis shows if you allow everyone to participate in society, you'll get better outcomes, obviously better social outcomes, but you'll also get better economic outcomes as well.”

He insists he will continue to improve NDIS with more reforms.
20 Apr 2022 7:49pm
Scott Morrison rules out cashless debit card for pensioners
The prime minister has directly ruled out Labor's claims that the Coalition may introduce cashless debit cards for pensioners.

This is despite Mr Albanese saying it could be a possibility under a Morrison government.

"We're not going to do that. I can assure you not we're not going to do that," Mr Morrison said at the leaders' debate in Brisbane, hosted by Sky News and the Courier-Mail.

Mr Albanese said a Labor government would scrap the cashless debit card.
READ MORE

Anthony Albanese accuses Coalition of 'scare campaign' over energy claim as Scott Morrison makes resources pitch

20 Apr 2022 7:42pm
Before the debate, Labor and Coalition supporters gathered outside the Gabba, shouting rival slogans.
20 Apr 2022 7:37pm
Integrity commission proposal lacks "teeth", questioner cites
On the establishment of a federal anti-corruption body, Mr Morrison reiterated his comments that he would not
endorse a “kangaroo court”
that would leave officials subject to criticism through media, or relationship scandals, a reference to former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian.

“I've seen these integrity commissions in my own home state of New South Wales and I've got to say I haven't been impressed.”

But the Opposition leader says a federal integrity commission is critical to “restore faith in the political system".

"What we need is an anti-corruption commission with teeth...it needs to be independent, at arm's length, have the capacity to do public hearings if it's in the public interest, and it needs to have teeth."

20 Apr 2022 7:29pm
‘They’re literally starving’: Leaders address aged care staffing issues
Mr Albanese said nurses deserve more after a question was asked about what the government will be doing to address critical staffing issues faced in the aged care sector.

“We want to make sure that every single dollar that goes in [to aged care sector], we know where it's going. It’s not going to profits for someone to buy a new Maserati, but going to better food, and better care.”

He cited the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety interim report that highlighted that half of aged care residents weren’t getting the nutrition they needed.

“They’re literally starving. Now, in 2022, we need to do better than that,” he said at the leaders' election debate on Sky News.

Mr Morrison said the problems faced in the aged care sector are “complex” and “difficult”.

“We are training more nurses and then we need to train more nurses. But it is complex and difficult. There are no simple solutions. You can't all of a sudden say that there's going to be more than these nurses to go in there because if you make it a standard, then you have to hold that standard,” he said.

“We can't just make nurses all of a sudden fall out of the sky and be able to go and meet a 24/7 commitment to have a nurse in every single aged care.”
20 Apr 2022 7:13pm
Both leaders begin their pitches
The debate has officially begun, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Opposition leader Anthony Albanese shaking hands before they each took a minute to sell their pitch to a 100-strong audience at the Gabba in Brisbane.

The prime minister spruiked a strong economy under his leadership.

"Two years ago we were told that unemployment would go to 15 per cent. Today it's at four per cent ... this election is a choice. It's about how we keep our economy strong," Mr Morrison said.

Meanwhile, Mr Albanese touted "a national anti-corruption commission to restore faith in politics", while pushing for the need for affordable childcare, housing, and electricity.

"The government's been in office for almost a decade. The truth is that they haven't learned from their mistakes," Mr Albanese said.
20 Apr 2022 6:40pm
Welcome to SBS News’ leaders’ debate live blog
Good evening and welcome to the SBS News’ leaders' debate live blog.

Tonight, we will be taking you through the first leaders’ debate of the 2022 federal election, hosted by Sky News and The Courier-Mail.

It’s set to begin in Brisbane at 7pm AEST, and for the first time ever, you can keep up with the debate in Arabic and Mandarin as it is being translated live on SBS On Demand.

While we wait for the debate to kick off, here's what you can expect tonight:

READ MORE

Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese will face off in a leaders' debate tonight. Here's what you need to know

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