There were no democracy sausages but there were plenty of dogs as Anthony Albanese greeted voters on election day, making a last minute pitch as he said he had left nothing out on the field in his bid to try to change the government.
The Labor leader cooed over poodle crosses Cooper and Bismarck and greyhound Winnie in Higgins first thing on Saturday morning – visiting the same polling booth at Carnegie primary school that Bill Shorten stopped at in 2019. Liberal MP Katie Allen narrowly won the seat then with a 2.6-point margin.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese and his dog Toto greet voter Matt Eastman with his pet Chester.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Voters wished Albanese luck for the day, and he told them it was “time on in the fourth quarter” and Labor had momentum with the wind at its back.
The leader appeared full of energy, jumping up and down as he greeted 6-year-old Mia.
“Are you excited? Or just cold?” he asked. “Do you know what my name is?”
As he left the polling place, a Liberal volunteer found a Bluetooth speaker and started playing their ubiquitous advertising song, “There’s a hole in your budget, dear Labor” as ALP supported drowned it out with an “Albo! Albo!” chant.
Then it was up to Sydney, where Albanese was reunited with his own dog Toto and son Nathan, who accompanied him to the Marrickville Town Hall to vote.
“All the best, Anthony,” one voter called out as he took a selfie with Chantel Barr and her dog Rubix.
Toto was distracted from the task by stopping to greet another hound, Chester, their leads tangling as Albanese posed for a photo with Chester’s owner Matt Eastman.
Albanese appeared quietly confident about Labor’s chances with voters.
“What I wanted to know in myself was that I hadn’t left anything on the field. And I’ve done that. I’ve done my best for the cause of Labor, which I’m passionate about,” he said.
“I’ve put us in a position whereby at worst we’re competitive today. We’re in the hunt here.”
Albanese said he led a team that would “give Australia a government of which Australians will be proud”, in contrast to the division from the Coalition government.
“I want to change politics. Be very clear: I want to change politics. I want to change the way it operates. I want parliament to function properly. I want our democracy to function properly,” he said.
“That’s why I’m in this – not to change where I live, I’m in it to change the country. And that’s what I intend to do.”
But he also said he was being careful not to get ahead himself and keep grounded.
“When you come from where I come from, one of the advantages that you have is that you don’t get ahead of yourself. Everything in life’s a bonus,” he said.
Asked inside the polling station who he voted for, Mr Albanese laughed and said, “Who did I vote for? It’s a secret ballot.”
Outside, he confirmed he had – unsurprisingly – voted for himself. His home was actually shifted out of the seat of Grayndler when the boundaries were redrawn some years ago but he uses an option for sitting MPs to enrol at his electorate office address, just across the road from the town hall where he cast the ballot.
Albanese cast his ballot in Marrickville, confirming he had, unsurprisingly, voted for himself.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
His son Nathan, though, couldn’t vote for his father and had to cast an absentee ballot for neighbouring electorate Barton, held by Labor frontbencher Linda Burney.
Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon said she was proud of the way he and his team had run the campaign.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to share this experience. And like him, I’m really hopeful that we get that better future that every Australian deserves.”
As for whether Toto will get to set up her kennel at the Lodge or Kirribilli House, Albanese let that sleeping dog lie.
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