Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton clashed over the cost of essentials in the final televised leaders' debate, with both leaders repeating previously debunked narratives.
The prime minister and opposition leader went head-to-head on Channel Seven for more than an hour on Sunday night, rehashing the same issues as in previous debates: housing, energy, defence policy and the cost of living.
AAP FactCheck identified several false and misleading claims that have become recurring themes across the election campaign.
ALBANESE/DUTTON: COST OF LIVING
The leaders again traded barbs over the cost of living, with Mr Dutton claiming electricity, gas and grocery bills have all soared over the past three years.
"Prices of groceries have gone up 30 per cent," Mr Dutton claimed.
"... the cost of electricity is up by 32 per cent, the cost of gas is up by 34 per cent."
Mr Albanese interjected, saying "that's not right".
As AAP FactCheck has previously explored, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows gas prices have indeed risen by 34 per cent over the past three years.
Mr Dutton's claim about electricity prices is calculated using ABS data too, though it relies on a separate statistic reported by the agency that excludes the impact of government rebates.
The claim groceries have risen 30 per cent, however, is based on analysis by News Corp. The figure is more than double the ABS's 13 per cent finding for food price rises since May 2022.
DUTTON: POWER BILLS
Mr Dutton also claimed during the debate that electricity bills have risen $1300 under Labor.
But AAP FactCheck found this claim to be misleading.
To reach the figure, Mr Dutton used an upper limit benchmark power rate - which is used by very few Australians - for comparison.
He cherry-picked the upper limit rate with the largest price rise between periods and added an extra $275 to the end comparison bill.
He also omitted the government's energy rebates.
Most Australians' electricity bills have increased by less than half the cited figure.
DUTTON: NO HOMES DELIVERED
As the debate turned to housing, Mr Dutton parroted a false claim that Labor hasn't delivered any housing at all.
AAP FactCheck found that at least 119 newly built homes have been delivered under Labor's Social Housing Accelerator, which was established in 2023.
Additionally, thousands of properties are currently under construction thanks to Labor's Housing Australia Future Fund, which passed the Senate in September 2023.
ALBANESE: $600 BILLION NUCLEAR PLANTS
Mr Albanese returned to a debunked claim that the coalition's nuclear plan will cost $600 billion.
The figure has been cherrypicked from a Smart Energy Council report that suggested the cost of nuclear power in Australia could be between $116 billion and $600 billion.
Experts have told AAP FactCheck the costs of nuclear power are unclear and both major parties are improperly comparing estimates with an unjustified level of confidence.
One leading energy economist said he didn't have "any confidence in anyone's predictions of what it would cost".
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