ACTU secretary Sally McManus has described the federal election as an opportunity to "restore fairness" for working people, arguing that the Coalition’s legacies include record low wages growth, record levels of inequality and lack of job security. The ACTU intends to campaign in 28 seats during the election, while unions will target 17 seats in a national door-knocking campaign on the weekend of 13-14 April. Meanwhile, political activist GetUp will target 30 seats during the election, including those held by Peter Dutton, Greg Hunt and Tony Abbott.
An ABC investigation has revealed that the ACTU and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union are co-owners of Melbourne-based public opinion polling firm uComms. A spokeswoman for the ACTU has rejected concerns about a conflict of interests, but the University of Sydney’s Professor Simon Jackman says polling firms should disclose any political connections in their ownership structure. Some clients uComms are believed to have expressed their intention to cease using the firm for polling in the wake of the revelations. Tomorrow ABIX will publish details of who owns each of the major market research and polling companies which survey in Australia.