Battle lines drawn ahead of Dunkley early voting

The looming Dunkley by-election will be a chance for voters to send a message to the government, the opposition leader has declared, ahead of early voting.

Pre-polling starts on Monday, ahead of the March 2 by-election, with the major parties jostling for early votes.

Speaking at the Liberal campaign launch for the party’s candidate Nathan Conroy, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the by-election would be a referendum on the government’s performance.

“We’re not going to wake up after the by-election and find that there’s a change of government, but this is an opportunity for Australians to send a message to a bad government,” he said.

“Send Anthony Albanese and Labor a message this by-election, send it not just on behalf of your local community, but on behalf of millions of Australians around the country.”

The by-election was triggered by the death of former Labor MP Peta Murphy, who passed away in December following a long battle with cancer.

While Labor holds the seat with a 6.3 per cent margin, the by-election is slated to be a close contest, with the standard swing against a sitting government between four and five per cent.

Cost of living issues have dominated debate in the lead-up to the poll,  coming after the government introduced changes to planned stage three tax cuts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Liberals have nothing positive to offer voters in Dunkley. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the coalition had nothing positive to offer the electorate.

“Peter Dutton, of course, is trying to run a campaign, once again, just based upon fear, based upon scare campaigns, based upon misinformation,” he told reporters in Nowra on Sunday.

“The people of Dunkley know that Labor has ensured that every taxpayer in Dunkley will get a tax cut.”

Labor has pre-selected community advocate Jodie Belyea as its candidate for the seat.