Election 2016: Coalition and Labor neck-and-neck in polls as Australia prepares to vote

Australian voters will have their say at the ballot box tomorrow and if the opinion polls are anything to go by, the 2016 federal election will be a close race.

A Galaxy poll published by News Corp today has the Coalition with a slight lead over Labor, at 51-49 on a two-party preferred basis.

However, an Ipsos poll, published by Fairfax, has the two major parties split evenly at 50-50 on a two-party preferred basis.

The major newspapers across Australia have all backed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition for another term, with editorials supporting the Coalition’s campaign to convince voters it is the best option for economic stability.

The Council of Small Business of Australia yesterday urged small businesses around the country to “make your vote count”, releasing a flyer that shows support for the Coalition’s policies in three key areas.

Those three areas are: the abolition of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal; the introduction of an effects test in Australian competition law; and extending tax benefits currently available to businesses with less than $2 million in annual turnover to those with up to $10 million in turnover.

Earlier in the eight-week long election campaign, SmartCompany spoke with a number of small business owners about what will be the most important issue for them when they fill out their ballot papers on Saturday.

For Matt Nash, founder of construction company Prestige Surfaces, tax relief was the key issue facing his business, while for Adore Beauty founder Kate Morris, high-speed internet is at the top of her list.

Hunting for George co-founder Lucy Glade-Wright told us training incentives are better than tax cuts.

Booktopia founder Tony Nash spoke about the need for governments to get core things like infrastructure, education and health right, and Vinomofo co-founder Andre Eikmeier called on leaders to be more passionate.