Australia will next month go to the polls to elect a new government, the country’s prime minister has announced.
Scott Morrison's conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term, but the prime minister is the third to lead a divided government in that time.
Mr Morrison only took the helm in late August.
Australians will vote in the election on May 18.
The vote is expected to be hotly contested in several areas, and is likely to be fought on issues including climate change, asylum seekers and economic management.
"We live in the best country in the world," Mr Morrison told reporters after advising the governor-general to authorise the election. "But to secure your future, the road ahead depends on a strong economy. And that's why there is so much at stake at this election.”
Mr Morrison is Australia's fifth leader since 2013.
Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian prime ministers on election day.
The polls suggest centre-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth prime minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.
The election pits Mr Shorten, a former labour union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, against Mr Morrison.
