Australians vote in poll overcast by prices, tariffs

Australians voted Saturday in a general election shaped by inflation woes and Trump tariffs, with a string of polls pointing to victory for left-leaning incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

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Hungry voters munched on barbecued “democracy sausages” after casting their ballot -- a polling day rite of passage -- while others in bright swimwear crammed into booths after taking an early morning plunge.

Millions of Australians will choose between Labor leader Albanese, 62, or his conservative challenger Peter Dutton.

US President Donald Trump has loomed over the vote since its earliest days, and there is keen global interest in whether his tariff-induced economic chaos will influence the result.

"The holy grail is back-to-back wins that we're aiming for today," Albanese told Channel Seven.

"I'll leave nothing on the field over the next three years if I’m re-elected as Australia’s prime minister."

Though trailing by a few percentage points in the polls, Dutton said “quiet Australians” could yet deliver a surprise.

"I think they’re going to go into the polling booth and say: 'You know what? I am not going to reward Anthony Albanese for the last three years’," he told Channel Nine.

'MAD AS A CUT SNAKE'

Before the first vote was even counted, speculation was already mounting over whether Dutton could survive an election loss.