Labor, Liberals agree to election leaders' debate on ABC
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are set to square off in the first debate hosted by the public broadcaster in two election cycles.
Campaign directors for Labor and the Coalition have agreed to let the ABC host Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in one of up to four official leaders’ debates in the lead up to polling day.
In a letter to Coalition Campaign Director Andrew Hirst, seen by Capital Brief, the Australian Labor Party’s national secretary Paul Erickson confirmed the party agreed to grant hosting rights to the ABC for one of “at least three” debates between Albanese and Dutton.
“We agree with the Liberal Party that, as the national broadcaster, the ABC should host at least one of these debates,” Erickson wrote in the letter, dated 31 March.
The ABC debate, should it go ahead as agreed, could be the second announced by the parties, after Sky News confirmed it would host a People’s Forum next week. It would mark the first election debate hosted by the public broadcaster after missing out on two federal election cycles.
