Optimism vs anxiety: Albanese, Dutton launch two very different campaigns

With the ink barely dry on the writs signed by Governor-General Sam Mostyn, the major party leaders have launched their campaign selves and revealed very different approaches as they seek the nation's vote on May 3.

Mr Albanese was buoyant as he fronted the Canberra press gallery shortly after having stolen the limelight from Mr Dutton after his Thursday night budget-in-reply speech with a dawn visit to Yarralumla.

"Ready to go? You bet. Born ready," he quipped to the waiting media after checking the live stream was running.

"Serving you as Prime Minister is the greatest honour of my life," Mr Albanese said.

There was a casual confidence as the Prime Minister told the nation's media that Australia was on the right track - a message he will spend the next 36 days working to persuade voters of, as Mr Dutton blames his government for higher living costs and positions himself as the solution.

"I'm optimistic about Australia's future," Mr Albanese said. "I think we are one of the best countries on earth ... This is a time for building. Building on our nation's strengths, building our security and prosperity for ourselves, building an Australia where no one is held back and no one is left behind.

"I'm asking for the support of the Australian people to keep building on the hard work that we have done and the strong foundations that we have laid."

Mr Dutton, who has been criticised for avoiding the Canberra press gallery, chose Brisbane for his first media appearance of the official campaign and, while he lacked the Prime Minister's swagger, made his case for voters to back a Coalition government.

He hesitated at times when questioned on the details of policies announced in his budget-in-reply, including his pledge to expand gas production and bring down electricity prices.

But the Opposition Leader drove home a strong message on key problems voters care about: the high cost of groceries, energy and homes, as well as national security amid global uncertainty.

"Australians are doing it tough, and they need help," he said. "They're losing hope for their future ... We can't afford three more years of Labor."

When it came to his personal pitch for the leadership of the nation, Mr Dutton put himself forward as a seasoned parliamentarian with "a track record to do this job", but there was a sense that he understood the challenges of his image with some voters.

"Importantly, I have a very experienced team, and with people from diverse backgrounds ... Our team is united, experienced, and ready for the responsibility of governing Australia."

The Opposition Leader fended off doubts about his pledge to expand gas production and bring down electricity prices, bringing the message back to the unavoidable fact that power bills "have gone up".

Despite drawing the battle lines for a negative Coalition campaign, Mr Dutton accused the Prime Minister of a "sledge-a-thon" after Mr Albanese seemed to compare him with United States President Donald Trump.

Mr Albanese said on Friday morning: "We live in the greatest country on earth, and we do not need to copy from any other nation to make Australia even better and stronger."

When asked if this remark meant he thought Mr Dutton was "copying ideas" from Mr Trump, the Prime Minister said that "people will make their own judgements ... But people will have a look at the mass sackings of public servants and wonder".

The Opposition Leader responded: "You can expect the personal sledges. I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in our positive plan to help Australians."

But he quickly reverted to attack mode, saying: "The Prime Minister has done a lot of damage to our country. He's hurt a lot of people, and a lot of people are really under the pump financially at the moment, and it's going to get worse if he's re-elected."

On Thursday night, Mr Dutton painted a gloomy picture of a country that had lost its way with soaring housing, grocery and energy costs and "stories of crime on our streets".

"For so many Australians, aspiration has turned to anxiety, optimism to pessimism, and national confidence to national uncertainty," the Opposition Leader said in his budget-in-reply speech, telling voters: "You have the power to change the path our country is on."

Throughout the election campaign, we can expect to hear him ask voters over and over again: "Are you better off today, is our country better off today than three years ago?"

And in a sign the Prime Minister understands this is a tough message to beat, Mr Albanese warned that things could be even worse if Labor had not won the 2022 election.

"The biggest risk to Australia's future is going back to the failures of the past," he said.

"The tax increases and cuts to services that Peter Dutton and the Liberal Party want to lock in."

Over the coming weeks, we'll hear these two messages repeated over and over again.