Scott Morrison conceded the national vaccine rollout "was a race" during the leaders' debate on Sunday night, and claimed never to have witnessed corruption during his 14 years in Parliament.
But Mr Morrison has framed the May 21 poll as a choice between "strength and weakness" in troubled times, urging Australians to avoid a "small target, big risk" opposition.
Speaking at the second leaders' debate, hosted by Channel Nine in Sydney, Labor leader Anthony Albanese has warned people will be "back on their own" once cost-of-living relief ends after the federal election.
The debate, the leaders' final head-to-head clash before pre-polling opens on Monday, regularly descended into squabbling as moderators struggled to keep the pair on track.
Using his first question to targeted Mr Morrison for claiming the vaccine rollout was "not a race", Mr Albanese elicited a rare concession from the Prime Minister.
"It was a race, Anthony, and we shouldn't have described it in those terms," he said.
"But what we did do ... was [take] care to make sure that the vaccines that were approved in Australia were the right vaccines.
"I could confidently say to Australians with the support of medical authorities that they will be safe for Australians. That's exactly what we did. Yes, we had our challenges early on."
Cost-of-living pressures
Cost-of-living pressures have dominated the campaign's last fortnight, as spiking petrol and groceries prices grip households.
And to ward off the impact of rising inflation, the Reserve Bank last week raised interest rates during an election for the first time since 2007.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese warned Australians could not depend on relief rolled out by the Coalition, including a fuel excise cut set to end in September, to remain if it retained government.
"The cost-of-living measures that he spoke about are all temporary. They have all the sincerity of a fake tan," he said.
"They disappear once people have cast their vote, and then people are back on their own again."
He blamed cost-of-living pressures on global headwinds, but insisted Australia had averted the worst of its impacts under his leadership - including unemployment dropping to just 4 per cent.
"A job is what gives Australians security to deal with rising costs and rising pressures on interest rates. It has the result of the Australian economy springing back to life," he said.
Corruption claim
Mr Morrison, who broke an election promise to implement a federal anti-corruption watchdog, claimed he had never seen corruption during his 14 years in parliament.
"I haven't seen that, no," he said.
The Prime Minister's for a watchdog, which cannot start its own investigation or hold public hearings for politicians, has been pilloried by anti-corruption experts.
And after a series of scandals hitting Coalition ministers, Mr Albanese claimed the reason for the watered-down model is "sitting behind the Prime Minister".
"Overwhelmingly, people go into politics across the spectrum for all the right reasons ... But the truth is, there's a stench around Canberra at the moment," he said.
But the Prime Minister attacked Mr Albanese for failing to come up with draft legislation for its own model.
"You've had three years. You've got two pages. That's it," he said.
"You've been hiding in the bushes. Small target."
Mr Albanese described that attack as "rubbish", stressing it was the role of governments to pass legislation and pledging to have Labor's model drafted by the end of the year.
Questions of character
Pressed on his declining personal approval ratings, and perceptions he was viewed as untrustworthy, Mr Morrison accepted there had been "many disappointments" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I can understand the hurt and the feelings that people have had coming out of a time like this," he said.
"That can lead them to feel bad about the government and bad about their leaders."
The Prime Minister also rebuffed suggestions he was a liar, despite negative character assessments from colleagues ranging from French President Emmanuel Macron to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.
After a rapturous 15 years in Australian politics, Mr Morrison stressed he was the first Prime Minister to serve a complete term since John Howard.
"From time to time, I will disagree with people and they won't agree with the position I am taking," he said.
"I have firm views, and many years ago ... Barnaby and I were in different roles to the ones we are in now."
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Mr Albanese was also questioned on his inability to name the six pillars of Labor NDIS policy during a press conference this week.
The Labor leader, who had previously claimed he would own up to mistakes, was repeatedly asked to name the six points but later said he was not given an opportunity to provide them.
He denied that was a lie.
"The question of the NDIS isn't about a number of dot points. What it is about is how do you fix the NDIS," he said.
'Strength or weakness'
But as geopolitical uncertainty wracked the Indo-Pacific and Europe, he warned Australians against shifting to the unknown.
"This election is a choice [between] a strong economy under the plan we have had in place which takes us into the future, or a weaker one. [It's] about a strong future or an uncertain future," he said.
Speaking second after losing the coin toss, Mr Albanese promised a Labor government would focus on strengthening Medicare and fixing the in-crisis aged care sector.
"A better future is within our reach ... The truth is we can't afford just three more years of the same. Three more years of drift and neglect. Three more years of not accepting responsibility," he said.
Labor opens thumping lead: Poll
Viewers suggested Mr Albanese came out on top in the first election debate, hosted by Sky News in Brisbane last month.
The second came just hours after an Australian Financial Review / Ipsos poll suggested Labor enjoyed a thumping 57-43 lead over the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis.
The result, which extended Labor's lead by two points, would deliver Mr Albanese a thumping victory if replicated on May 21.
A Newspoll released on Sunday evening also showed Labor holding a strong lead, though it put the margin at a slightly tighter 54-46.
Finn McHugh
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
