Australian PM candidates campaign in country's north four weeks out from election

Anthony Albanese spent the eighth day of the campaign for the general election touring a vast area of the outback in the western part of the state of Queensland that has been inundated by flooding since late March.

The flooding in the sparsely-populated region, which is a major livestock farming area, is considered the worst since 1974 and has caused widespread damage as well as estimated losses of over 140,000 head of livestock.

Albanese on Saturday announced 105 million Australian dollars (63.4 million US dollars) in funding to rebuild fencing to protect livestock from feral pigs and dogs. The state government previously made disaster assistance grants worth up to 75,000 Australian dollars (45,314 US dollars) available for affected primary producers in the region.

Peter Dutton, leader of the opposition Coalition and Australia's alternative prime minister, toured the region earlier in the election campaign, where he committed 10 million Australian dollars (6.04 million US dollars) in funding for a new weather radar -- a pledge that has been matched by Albanese.

Asked on Saturday why he visited the region, which has long been a Coalition stronghold, if it does not serve him politically, Albanese said he wants to be Prime Minister "of all Australians".

"I have a message for Queenslanders, which is: We have your back. We are with you, we will provide whatever support is necessary," he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dutton also on Saturday partially walked back the Coalition's plan to end work-from-home arrangements for federal public servants, saying it would only apply to those based in Canberra. The Coalition also plans to cut 41,000 public service jobs to reduce government spending.

Saturday marked four weeks until election day on May 3 and 17 days until early voting centres open across the country on April 22.

With voting in the election mandatory for all Australians aged 18 and over, early voting centres give people the option to avoid long queues to cast their ballot.

It has become increasingly popular in recent elections.

According to the Australian Electoral Commission, 8.41 million people voted early in the 2022 general election, either in person or by post, representing 47.7 per cent of the 17.6 million enrolled voters at the time.