Australian prime minister's party launches election campaign

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a press conference after visiting Government House to dissolve Parliament and call an election in Canberra, Australia, March 28, 2025. AAP/Mick Tsikas via REUTERS//File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) -The centre-left party of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged on Sunday to help more would-be home buyers as it launched a campaign for the May 3 election shaping as a tight race with the conservative opposition.

Albanese's Labor government, which is running neck-and-neck with the Liberal-National coalition, has promised to build 1.2 million homes by 2030, to ease cost pressures that have sparked dissatisfaction with a lack of affordable housing.