Aus to go to polls on July 2: PM Turnbull

Australia will hold elections on July 2, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced today barely eight months after he ousted his predecessor Tony Abbott, promising to revive the sluggish economy which he said was in danger of stopping "dead in its tracks" if his rivals won.
Turnbull said the election would be held after the Governor-General accepted his advice to dissolve both houses of Parliament from tomorrow.
"This election Australians will have a very clear choice; to keep the course, maintain the commitment to our national economic plan for growth and jobs, or go back to Labour, with its higher taxing, higher spending, debt and deficit agenda, which will stop our nation's transition to the new economy dead in its tracks," he said.

"But if we embrace this future with confidence and with optimism, with self-belief and a clear plan, then we will succeed as we have never succeeded before. Our economic plan for jobs and growth is as clear as it is critical - to support this transition to the new economy of the 21st century," the prime minister said.
In the House of Representatives all 150 seats will be contested, as well as the 76 Senate seats - the first time this has happened in an early election since 1987.
The opposition Labour Party needs to gain 21 seats in the lower house to win although changes to electoral boundaries mean it nominally holds three of those seats already.

"It is the most exciting time to be an Australian. These are exciting times. But we must embark on these times, embrace these opportunities, meet these challenges, with a plan and we have laid out a clear economic plan to enable us to succeed," said Turnbull, who heads a Liberal-National coalition.

Wealthy former banker Turnbull, 61, became the fourth premier in two years when he ousted Abbott in an internal party battle in September.
He said it was time to embrace opportunities and that thousands of high tech jobs will be created around the nation.
"Every dollar we can spend in Australia, we will. Our greatest days are surely ahead of us," he said.

He further stressed thathis government had set the stage for strong trade with China and Asia.
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"In a few years more than half of the world's middle class will be living in Asia. The opportunities for Australia are enormous. But we have to have the means to seize them. And we have established export trade deals right across the region with Korea, Japan, and with China itself.
"That is providing jobs and economic growth right across Australia in services, in tourism and education, agriculture, right across the board, opening those markets has created enormous opportunities for jobs and growth," he said.

Turnbull also outlined severalkey points of his national economic plan for growth and jobs encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as a significant defence plan.