Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, seeking re-election in a tight race, is a pragmatic leader who pledged to end divisions but was set back by the failure of a referendum on Indigenous people and the headwinds of global inflation.

Economic and global issues are likely to be key campaign topics, with polls showing that the election will be closely fought.

When Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister, his phone pinged with a message from a childhood mate saying she was in Canberra."Eight of them had come from across the country because their mate who grew up with them in public housing in Camperdown was becoming Prime Minister,