PM promises to leave 'nothing on the field' at election
The end of the parliamentary year may be approaching but with an election looming, a typical summer holiday might not be on the cards for the prime minister.
As the government looks to pass a suite of reforms before MPs down tools for 2024, Anthony Albanese remained confident Labor could govern in their own right for a second term.
"I'll leave nothing on the field to make sure we continue as a majority Labor government," he told Labor colleagues at a party meeting on Tuesday.
"We need to continue campaigning over summer."
The next election is due to be held by May, with polls indicating a minority parliament is most likely.
In his final address at a party room meeting for the year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urged coalitions members to focus on their electorates as they headed into an election cycle within a matter of months.
"The government is faltering and taking decisions that are making it even harder for families people believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction," he said.
"They also understand that if you get the economics right, you support families, and if you focus on what matters, the country can get back on track.
"But you can only imagine what would happen under the chaos of a Greens-Labor coalition."
While the last sitting week has been dominated by last-minute negotiations on key legislation, Tuesday also saw more than 100 children with type one diabetes take over Parliament House.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Kids in the House event saw children with condition come to Canberra to, urging for funding for scientific research into the condition.
The prime minister and Health Minister Mark Butler hosted children at an event in parliament, where $50 million over the next five years from the federal government to help find a cure.
"We've got to continue to push the envelope, explore the frontiers of research, and find a cure for this thing so that type one becomes type none. This $50 million in funding will help us get there," Mr Butler said.
The sitting week also brought gardening guru Costa Georgiadis to parliament, where he was seen helping to launch a campaign for more Australians to grow their own food.
It came off the back of research from the Australia Institute which found 45 per cent of respondents grew their own produce.
"Don't underestimate the power of growing small amounts of food in large numbers," Mr Georgiadis said.
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