Scott Morrison has used a social media video to cast himself as a safe pair of hands in uncertain economic times ahead of an expected election call on Sunday.
In the clip the prime minister points to the natural disasters that have hit the country, the current unstable global environment and the risks facing Australia's economy.
"You always have setbacks. You always have imperfect information. I mean, things are tough," he tells the camera.
In the video, Mr Morrison says 40,000 Australians are alive because of how his government handled the COVID-10 pandemic, with 700,000 still in jobs because of the response to the economic fallout.
"This is why as we go into this next election, what's firing me up - we're actually in a really strong position," Mr Morrison says.
He recalls a senior-year trade school he visited in Brisbane where half the class indicated they wanted to start their own business.
"How good's that? That's why I love Australia," Mr Morrison says.
But the video fails to address when the prime minister will actually call the election, with Labor leader Anthony Albanese accusing Mr Morrison of treating it as a "game" earlier on Saturday.
There are only two Saturdays left for an election to be held, 14 May or 21 May, and any delays this weekend would mean MPs would need to return to Canberra next week.
Mr Albanese said that made it likely the election would be called this weekend because Mr Morrison didn't want to face the "scrutiny" of a sitting parliament.
"This prime minister last year gave up on governing and said he was campaigning," Mr Albanese said on Saturday.
The Opposition Leader said Mr Morrison was delaying the election to allow the use of taxpayer funds to spruik government spending and appoint mates to government boards.
Mr Albanese said but it had a plan for the future while the government was "out of puff".
If the prime minister does not visit the governor-general on Sunday it will rule out the earlier May date, as a minimum of 33 days is required between calling an election and polling day.
It will also mean MPs will have to make the trek back to the nation's capital as the House of Representatives is due to sit on Monday.
A program for the scheduled sitting was released on Friday afternoon but it is not expected to go ahead.
Mr Morrison said on Friday his visit to Governor-General David Hurley was not far away.
"Electoral terms are for three years. The last election was on May 18 (2019) and the next election will be held about the same time," he said.
"You'll know very soon."
A potential hurdle delaying Mr Morrison from calling the election was cleared on Friday afternoon when the High Court threw out a challenge to his pick of candidates for several NSW seats.
