Australians are being offered two paths forward as both election contenders position themselves as best to address hip-pocket pain.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fired the starting gun for a five-week campaign, sending punters to the polls on May 3.
He used his first campaign address to the nation to call for a political contest "about policy substance and about hope and optimism for our country".
"This election is a choice between Labor’s plan to keep building or Peter Dutton’s promise to cut - that is the choice, that is your choice," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
His comments followed Mr Dutton's budget reply speech in which the Liberal leader outlined his vision for the country and how he would address the cost-of-living issue.
The opposition leader pledged to lower power bills by pumping gas into the energy grid and reduce inflation by cutting government spending, including sacking more than 40,000 public servants.
The coalition has vowed to repeal Labor's legislated tax cuts that would give taxpayers up to an extra $268 in their pocket in 2026/27 and up to $536 every year after.
Branding the offer "insulting", Mr Dutton pledged to instead cut the fuel excise, reducing the price of petrol by 25 cents a litre and therefore saving the average motorist $14 a tank.
He didn't commit to a specific price drop after Labor failed to deliver on a projected $275 saving at the 2022 election, but vowed better economic management.
Mr Dutton has sought to paint Mr Albanese as a weak leader and pin the blame for cost-of-living woes at his feet, while the prime minister has hit back at his negativity and slammed him for opposing relief offered by the government.
But neither leaders' messages are cutting through as Australians aren't seeing structural solutions to their problems, pollster Kos Samaras told AAP.
"Both are struggling at the moment because they're both farming out bandaids," he said.
The two campaigns were focused on where the election would be won - the outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne as well as parts of regional NSW.
It's where cost of living is biting the worst and policies have already begun targeting those in the area, including the fuel cuts which will have the greatest impact on people in the outer suburbs who drive more and have petrol cars.
Western Australia would also be a key battleground after a strong showing from Labor in 2022, ABC chief election analyst Antony Green said.
There was a strong indication at the WA state election Labor remained popular and if that was replicated at a federal level, "then that makes it very hard for the coalition to get enough seats to win", he said.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt is focusing on the poor popularity of both leaders and discontent with the major parties to push for Australians to vote in a minority parliament.
"Minority government is coming and with the major parties offering about as attractive as a dead fish, you can see why," he said.
There was no disruption to the trend of voters moving away from major parties in favour of minor parties and independents, according to politics professor Andrea Carson.
