Australian Prime Minister Mr John Howard has called national elections for November 10th.
Seeking a third term for his conservative coalition, Mr Howard plans to fight the election on counter-terrorism and national security issues.
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Howard: Novermber election planned
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The opposition Labor Party will campaign on domestic issues such as health care, education and tax reform.
"It will be, as all elections are, a very important election for the future of the nation and the Australian people," Mr Howard said.
Earlier, he visited Gov Gen Mr Peter Hollingworth and asked him to dissolve Parliament and issue election writs.
After trailing Labor in opinion polls for most of the year, the government has achieved a stunning turnaround in the past six weeks, following a tough stance on asylum seekers and strong support for the US response to terrorism. His conservative coalition is now favoured to win the election.
Mr Howard said he expected the election would be fought on issues related to the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States and their political and economic fallout.
"I think stability and strength and predictability in the face of great economic and security challenges to the whole country" will be the major issues, he said before announcing the election date.
AP