Anthony Albanese has declared "this is our time", saying the "most experienced incoming Labor government in history" is ready to lead.
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But speaking for the first time since Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the federal election, the Labor leader had a blunt message for Australians: "You have to vote for it".
Mr Morrison on Sunday fired the starting gun on the election race, confirming Australians will head to the polls on May 21.
Mr Albanese said the poll will determine whether Australia will "build a better future", telling Australians "this is our time" to seize the opportunities of a post-pandemic world.
Mr Morrison on Sunday branded the Labor leader a risk, given he has never held the treasury portfolio. But Mr Albanese insisted the "most experienced" Labor opposition "in history" was ready to govern.
"I can promise you this: I will lead with integrity and I will treat you with respect. I will restore faith in our political system," he said.
"I won't go missing when the going gets tough. I will accept the responsibility that comes with high office."
The March federal budget included a range of measures aimed to reduce cost-of-living pressures. But with some payments set to end just months after the election, Mr Albanese dismissed it as "nothing more than a ploy" to win votes.
"They think it will be enough to give them a second decade in office. We can and we must do better," he said.
"This government doesn't have an agenda for today, let alone a vision for tomorrow ... It's not good enough to say that you want a second decade in office without putting out exactly what your plans will be."
After the Coalition struck a 2050 net zero emission target after years of internal ruptures, Mr Albanese pledged to "end the climate wars" in government.
"This government has had 22 energy policies that it has announced, and they have not landed one in almost a decade," he said.
"We have one policy. We'll land it, we will implement it."
Mr Albanese also "expected" his current frontbench to retain their roles in government, despite suggestions deputy leader Richard Marles was seeking to switch roles.
Under Labor rules, Mr Marles has pick of his preferred cabinet role and on Sunday did not rule out a return to the defence portfolio.
"Our caucus, as a democratic party, elects the frontbench," Mr Albanese said.
"We have an extraordinarily talented team, but I'm absolutely satisfied with the job that everyone is doing as part of that team."
Polling puts the opposition as favourite in the May election, with Labor consistently leading the Coalition on a two-party-preferred basis.
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Mr Albanese has also slowly clawed back Mr Morrison in terms of personal approval, with the pair now neck-and-neck in some polls. But after Labor's shock loss in 2019, he insisted the party faced an uphill battle to claim office.
"I don't worry about polls, I worry about history. History tells us that Labor has won office three times from opposition since World War II," he said.
In what has been tipped to be possibly the ugliest election campaign in living memory, Mr Albanese pledged to engage in policy debates rather than resorting to character assassination.
But he also attacked Mr Morrison over damaging criticisms from within his own party, after a slew of state and federal colleagues branded the Prime Minister a liar and a bully.
"Those character assessments are out there for all to see. That stands in contrast to my team," Mr Albanese said.
