Australia PM Albanese says election 'imminent' as government rushes to pass tax cuts bill

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday he planned to call an election "imminently" as his centre-left government rushed through the parliament a bill on fresh tax cuts in a bid to lift support and win back aggrieved voters.

Three-year term limits mean Australia must go to the polls at least by May 17 to elect a new parliament. Opinion surveys show a close-run election with the opposition Liberal-National coalition ahead of Labor by a narrow margin.

"It will be in May, I can guarantee that. And it will be called pretty imminently," Albanese told radio station Triple M.

"I'm not calling it today but I will call it soon. I think that Australians want to get on with it."

Albanese is planning to visit Governor-General Sam Mostyn's residence in Canberra on Friday morning to call the election, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers said in separate reports, citing several unidentified sources.

The national vote will be held on May 3, The Australian said in its report, citing multiple sources in the Labor party.

Albanese's office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

The governor-general represents Britain's King Charles, the head of state in Australia, and her authorisation is necessary to dissolve parliament and order a general election.

The Albanese-led Labor government has been announcing a slew of measures aimed at pleasing families and businesses grappling with high costs as it seeks to win a second term.

In the federal budget on Tuesday, the government surprisingly launched two new rounds of tax cuts, worth A$17.1 billion ($10.7 billion). That meant a worker on average earnings could get a new tax cut of A$268 in the fiscal year ending June 2027 and A$536 in the next year, though it is more modest than the A$1,654 relief introduced this fiscal year.

The tax cuts bill was introduced in the lower house on Wednesday morning, and was cleared in a late-night sitting in the Senate - where Labor does not have a majority - with the help of the Greens party and independents.

The opposition Liberal-National coalition said it would repeal the bill if elected to power, replacing it with its own plan to halve the fuel excise for a year.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton called it a "real, immediate relief" saving around A$750 a year for families with one car. But Treasurer Jim Chalmers argued the opposition's plans would only provide limited relief and that Australians would be worse off.

"This decision will haunt them every single day of the election campaign," Chalmers told reporters.

($1 = 1.5924 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Saad Sayeed)