‘Scare campaign’ accusations, costings and more debates: watching the home stretch of the Australian election

Coalition appears to be losing support, but latest Essential poll shows 47% of voters on the fence, making the final 12 days crucial

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The brief pause in election campaign hostilities over the Easter weekend will abruptly end on Tuesday, as the opening of early voting marks the start of the final push to the 3 May poll.

With opinion polls showing a collapse in support for the Coalition, Labor is now hopeful of retaining majority government - a result that appeared out of reach just a month ago.