Election Wrap: The week that was – 24 April 2025

Welcome to our fourth Election Wrap update – your weekly round-up of what’s been said, promised, and proposed on the campaign trail, and what it means for our members and the housing market. 

What the polls reveal this week

The Coalition have a lot of ground to make up if they want to win. Week four polls show Labor is widening its lead on a two-party preferred basis: 

• Newspoll reports Labor’s lead unchanged at 52% to the Coalition’s 48% 

• YouGov has Labor extending its lead to 53% to Coalition’s 47%, as does Roy Morgan reporting Labor increased its lead by 1% from the previous week, to 55.5%, compared to the Coalition’s 44.5% 

• Freshwater reports a 50/50 tie   

• In marginal electorates across Australia, Redbridge/Accent show Labor at 54.5% to the Coalition’s 45.5%.  

Hunting for policy announcements? We’ve got you covered! 

While the Easter break saw voters embrace a bit of down time and lots of chocolate, the political hustle continued – both sides were vying for attention over the long weekend with these policy announcements: 

Small business and employment 

The Coalition released its Plan for Small and Family Business which includes two new tax incentives: 

• Entrepreneurship Accelerator: Discounted tax rates to support newly incorporated businesses in their first three years of operation 

• Tech Booster: $2,000 tax deduction for tech upgrades on eligible technology investments over $4,000. 

Labor announced it will introduce legislation to prevent the Fair Work Commission from ever cutting penalty rates in employee awards. It won’t stop employers and workers from striking their own deal – as long as everyone comes out better off overall. 

The MFAA view – small businesses need certainty  

The majority of our members are small business owners and it’s encouraging to see policies that help new businesses get off the ground and support competition, reduce red tape and support overall cyber resilience.  

Small business owners are time poor, so while cash to invest is good, educational tools will help them understand where and how to invest effectively. We said as much in our pre-budget submission – you can read it here.  

Increasing housing supply 

• Coalition: Announced it will accelerate hundreds of project approvals and set firm timelines for outstanding residential development projects, all in a bid to get more homes built faster 

• Labor: Committed to fast-tracking qualifications for 6,000 tradies, figuring an increased construction workforce will help build a greater number of homes more quickly. 

The MFAA view – Will it be enough?  

Home ownership remains an important goal for many Australians, representing a source of long-term financial security. We know that housing supply is a factor affecting housing affordability and the path to home ownership. More homes will mean more opportunity. 

Read our submission to the Senate Inquiry into Home Ownership which reflects the views of our members and makes recommendations to help improve the prospects of aspiring homebuyers.  

Looking ahead to next week… 

Another long weekend for Australians will again make it tricky for both leaders to catch the attention of voters. With just over a week to go before the election, expect a final flurry of announcements as the major parties try to attract attention and woo voters. Look out for our final update next Thursday!