Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used his final press conference of the campaign to confirm a vessel trying to illegally enter Australia from Sri Lanka has been intercepted.
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In an election-day bombshell, Mr Morrison confirmed the development after casting his vote in his home electorate of Cook. Mr Morrison was notoriously secretive during his time as immigration minister, refusing to comment on what he termed "on-water matters".
The now-Prime Minister said he was confirming the development in the interests of "full transparency". Border Force has also confirmed the boat interception via a statement.
"A vessel has been intercepted in a likely attempt to illegally enter Australia from Sri Lanka," the statement read.
"The Australian government's policy remains unchanged. We will intercept any vessel seeking to reach Australia illegally and to safely return those on board to their point of departure or country of origin."
Mr Morrison's confirmation on Saturday follows days of repeated hardline messaging from the Coalition that it was the party to "stop boats" and protect borders.
"We stopped the boats and stop[ped] the carnage at sea. The people smugglers went out of business," he said on Friday in Perth.
"Now, right now, up in Indonesia, those people smugglers are starting to get ready if a Labor Government is elected. And we know that. We know that. You've seen the reports of it, and that's what's at stake.
"This is an important election. If you change course on border protection, as Labor is saying they will do, you can see all of that terror come back ... I won't do that."
Labor has promised to scrap temporary protection visas but supports continuing the federal government's Operation Sovereign Borders policy, which turns people smuggling boats back from Australian waters.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton used the Border Force announcement on polling day to remind voters not to "risk national security" by choosing Labor.
"People smugglers have obviously decided who is going to win the election and the boats have already started," he posted to Twitter on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese has said Labor is "kicking with the wind at our backs" in a confident final public appearance before polls close.
Speaking after casting his ballot at Marrickville in Sydney's inner-west, Mr Albanese declared he was running to "change politics" and to restore a functioning democracy. The Labor leader, who polls suggest could end nearly a decade of Coalition government on Saturday, said people had grown tired of "nonsense" wedge politics and wanted a government they could be proud of.
"My big concern with this government is: what is there to be proud of?" he said.
"The sort of nonsense that we've seen of playing wedge politics against vulnerable people that Scott Morrison has been prepared to do during this campaign and other wedge politics?
"We're a better country than that ... I want to change the way it operates. I want Parliament to function properly. I want our democracy to function properly. That's why I'm in this."
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Mr Albanese has been criticised for a so-called small-target strategy, stripping back many of the more ambitious policies Labor adopted ahead of its doomed 2019 campaign. But he insisted he had put Labor in "at least a competitive" position after nearly a decade in the wilderness.
"I said in the fourth quarter I want to kick with the wind at my back. I believe we have the wind at our back. And I'm very positive about and hopeful about a good outcome," he said.
This comes after the Prime Minister and Labor leader Anthony Albanese both voted at almost the exact same time, several Sydney suburbs apart on Saturday.
Mr Albanese cast his vote at Marrickville Town Hall in his inner-west seat of Grayndler in Sydney while the Prime Minister voted in Cook.
The Prime Minister and wife Jenny arrived at Lilli Pilli Public School just before 12.30pm, stepping out of C1 to embrace his daughters Abbey and Lilli. In what could be his final hours in the nation's top job, Mr Morrison chatted with members of the local woodworking club and posed for selfies with young fans.
Local soccer players chanted "ScoMo, ScoMo" as the Prime Minister - swamped by supporters and a massive media pack - walked through the school's front gate and into the communal hall to cast his vote.
Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese walked into the inner-west polling place with his partner, Jodie, and dog, Toto.
Standing on the basketball courts at Lilli Pilli Public School, flanked by his daughters and wife, Mr Morrison said there was "no place like home" after casting his vote.
Asked how he was feeling just hours before polls closed, Mr Morrison reiterated that the election had "never been about me or my family".
"It's always been about the Australian people. That's what our government is about and will continue to be about."
In a final pitch to voters, Mr Morrison said he wanted the "aspirations of Australians to be realised".
"The way that occurs is by backing Australians in, not telling them how to live or what to do and getting government in their face," he said.
"It's about ensuring that you're backing them in to achieve everything that they hope to achieve."
Mr Morrison didn't respond when asked if he would quit politics if he lost on Saturday night, nor would he be drawn on the legacy of his prime ministership.
"What I know is each and every day, I've approached this job with a great sense of responsibility," he said.
The Prime Minister abruptly concluded the press conference to the cheers of the huge throng of supporters who had converged on the basketball courts.