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SYDNEY (Reuters) -The centre-left party of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged on Sunday to help more would-be home buyers as it launched a campaign for the May 3 election shaping as a tight race with the conservative opposition.
Albanese's Labor government, which is running neck-and-neck with the Liberal-National coalition, has promised to build 1.2 million homes by 2030, to ease cost pressures that have sparked dissatisfaction with a lack of affordable housing.
"In Australia home ownership should not be a privilege to inherit if you're lucky," Albanese said at the launch of Labor's campaign in Perth, capital of the state of Western Australia.
His government pledged that, if re-elected, it would guarantee part of a first-home buyer's home loan, allowing the purchase with a deposit of 5%.
It would also spend A$10 billion ($6.29 billion) on grants and loans to build up to 100,000 homes to help would-be home buyers get on the property ladder, it added.
"If you are looking to buy your first time, Labor has got your back," he added at the launch, televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton, the defence minister in the last Liberal-National government, has also been campaigning on the so-called housing crisis, that he says puts home ownership out of reach for many in the country of about 26 million.
At Sunday's launch of the coalition's campaign in Sydney, capital of the state of New South Wales, Dutton pledged tax relief and a rival housing plan allowing first-time buyers of new homes to deduct mortgage payments from income taxes.
"I will be a prime minister who restores the dream of home ownership," Dutton said in the televised address.
He pointed to his breadth of experience, from being a police officer to having started and run several businesses, before becoming an MP and a minister for 23 years holding economic, national security and social portfolios.
Dutton's personal approval ratings are now close to those of Albanese, a long-time Labor lawmaker who grew up in government housing, but whose popularity has declined as living costs and interest rates rose steeply during his tenure.
($1=1.5911 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sam McKeith; Editing by Sandra Maler and Clarence Fernandez)
