From our calculations the vote of residents and staff of retirement villages has never been so important – and looks great on TV.

Liberal Leader and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has visited at least three retirement living communities:

• Lifestyle Communities Mount Duneed community in the marginal seat of Corangamite in Victoria, which is held by Labor by 1.1%, where he was met with a round of applause. Mr Morrison announced he would raise the income threshold for the Commonwealth Seniors’ Health Card;
• Lifestyle SA’s The Parks Lifestyle Village (pictured) in the marginal seat of Boothby, in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, which held by the Liberal Party with a margin of 1.4%, and
• Living Gems Retirement Village in South Caboolture in the marginal seat of Longman, Queensland, which has swung five times between the LNP and Labor since it was created in 1996. It is held by LNP’s Terry Young by 3.3%.

Labor Party Leader Anthony Albanese has at least visited two retirement villages.

• Symons House retirement village in Nowra, NSW South Coast, just hours before he tested positive to COVID-19. The seat of Gilmour is held by ALP’s Fiona Phillips, and
• Bolton Clarke Fairways Retirement Living and Residential Aged Care in Bundaberg, QLD, a seat held by Resources Minister Keith Pitt by a margin of 14.2%.

The Liberal Party at its party launch in Brisbane on Sunday made a pitch to pensioners, self-funded retirees and working older Australians by offering a new financial incentive to sell their family home earlier and “right size” (see separate story).

Labor promised to match what Mr Albanese described as a “modest” policy.