Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced a September 7 federal election.
A few minutes after seeing the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, at Government House, Yarralumla, the ALP sent an email to its members and supporters with the first official announcement of the date.
ALP email sent to members and supporters at 3.25pm today:
The dissolution of the 43rd Parliament is expected to take place tomorrow.
The election will be the fifth to take place in September. The last was in 1946 when the Chifley Labor government was re-elected. A September election also took place in 1940 and resulted in the last hung parliament. In 1934, the Lyons government was comfortably re-elected in September, whilst in 1914 the ALP returned to government in September under Andrew Fisher at the outbreak of World War 1.
The last election was held on August 21, 2010.
Kevin Rudd has posted this photograph on Instagram with the notation: “Just some final touches to my speech about the choice Australians will make on September 7. KRudd”
