Anthony Albanese defends delaying release of policy costings until two days before election

Labor leader chased by reporters asking questions on costings, while Scott Morrison challenged over refusal to appear on NITV

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Labor leader Anthony Albanese has defended the party's decision not to release the party's costings until Thursday, saying he has been transparent" throughout the election campaign.

But delaying until after the advertising blackout begins at midnight on Wednesday has opened Albanese up to criticism from the Coalition, and triggered a hostile press conference in Perth on Tuesday that saw reporters chase Albanese from an event asking questions.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, was also pursued after a press conference in Darwin, with a reporter challenging him on why no one from the Coalition had agreed to appear on the National Indigenous Television network while he was campaigning in the seat of Lingiari which has the highest proportion of First Nations voters in the country.