The government will deliver its next budget in May this year and the latest date it can call an election is May 21 next year. It means next year’s budget would need to be brought forward to at least April – a similar tactic Mr Morrison used to set up its attacks on Labor’s big-taxing agenda ahead of the 2019 election.
The government could go to the polls in a standard election at any time from August this year but Mr Morrison told party room colleagues in October he was a “full-termer” and was not considering a snap-election while he led in the polls.
Another key factor is the national rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. The government hopes all Australians will have had at least one dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine by October.
“Elections are too hard to win. I cherish every day,we will do it for the time we said we will,” Mr Morrison told the weekly meeting of Liberal and Nationals MPs.
At the weekend he said Australians were “relying on me and my team to protect their livelihoods,to protect their lives,to maintain the health of the country,to make sure we roll out this vaccination program”.
“We remain very focused on the things that are impacting them every single day of their lives where they are,” Mr Morrison said.
A two-budget strategy would allow Mr Frydenberg to address a potential political problem when millions of Australians face being up to $1080 a year worse off.