On 21 May, Australians will decide whether they want over the next three years.
For many it's an easy choice; for some, less so. Watching political leaders perform during Question Time and in media conferences can reveal little about the person they are when the camera stops rolling, and the experiences that have shaped them.
In some ways, Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese share similar stories. They're both white Australian men in their 50s who spent their childhood in Sydney in the 1970s. They were both brought up in the Christian faith, have degrees in economics and are passionate NRL fans.
Source: SBS News
Scott Morrison
Scott Morrison may represent the southern Sydney seat of Cook but his roots are very much in the city's wealthy eastern suburbs. He grew up in the beachside suburb of Bronte in a devout Presbyterian Protestant family of two children that in some ways mirrors the one he's created.
His father John was firmly entrenched in politics. He worked both as a policeman, rising to the rank of chief inspector and an independent politician who served 16 years on the local council, including a tenure as the mayor of Waverley.
From a young age, Mr Morrison was shown the value of the limelight — acting in television commercials as well as distributing "how to vote" cards to help promote his father in council elections.
He enjoyed a privileged upbringing, attending Sydney Boys High in the eastern suburbs and then the University of New South Wales where he studied economic geography, analysing the demographics of Christian Brethren assemblies in Sydney for his thesis.
He has been heavily involved in the church his entire life and it's where he met his wife Jenny Warren at the age of 16. The pair married in 1990 when Mr Morrison was 21 and they have two daughters together, who attend an independent Baptist school.
Mr Morrison has famously said he sends his children to private school because he doesn't want "the values of others" imposed on them, once telling broadcaster Alan Jones that a high school program containing material about sexuality made his "skin curl" and that public schools should be focused on "things like learning maths and science".
Led by religious and social conservatism
His career began in industry organisations including the Property Council of Australia. He was also managing director of Tourism Australia in 2004 where he oversaw the "Where the bloody hell are you?" ad campaign.
Mr Morrison's tenure at Tourism Australia came to an end in 2006 under controversial circumstances, after he was reported to have fallen out with then federal Liberal tourism minister Fran Bailey.
The job followed a stint as the state director of the NSW Liberal Party and afterwards he returned to politics, winning the safe seat of Cook in the 2007 federal election.
Mr Morrison has held a number of parliamentary positions, including treasurer, Minister for social services and minister for immigration and border protection.
In his maiden speech to parliament, he styled himself as a moderate but he since seems to have moved towards the right and now leads the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party.
In 2013 he launched and spearheaded the military-led Operation Sovereign Borders effort to "stop the boats". A Pentecostal Christian and social conservative, he was also a prominent opponent of same-sex marriage although he abstained from the House vote in December 2017.
He has also voiced his opposition to voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide and has described his views on abortion as "conservative". He is a proud supporter of Australia's constitutional monarchy.
Mr Morrison has always supported Australia's fossil fuel industry, and famously stood up in the House of Representatives in 2017 holding a piece of coal while telling the floor, "don't be afraid". At the US-led 2021 Leaders' Climate Summit, he declined to set net zero emissions or other climate change targets, unlike other world leaders.
He was sworn in as the 30th prime minister of Australia on 24 August 2018 following a leadership spill motion before leading the Coalition to the 2019 election, defeating Labor leader Bill Shorten.
Mr Morrison is a passionate supporter of the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team in the NRL competition.
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Albanese was raised by a single mother in council housing in Sydney's inner west. Life wasn't easy and money was tight, and the Opposition leader says it was this experience, and his mother's determination that her son's life would be better than her own, that taught him the values of social justice and fairness.
His mother also spent much of her life on a disability pension as a result of crippling arthritis, making him passionate about the value of welfare support.
"I learned the value of a dollar, I learned the importance of resilience. But I also learned about the strength of community and the power of government to make a difference to people's lives," he said during his .
Mr Albanese was the first person in his family to finish school, let alone university. He attended St Mary's Cathedral College, a Catholic single-sex school in Sydney's CBD, before attending the University of Sydney, where he graduated with an economics degree.
During his university years, he found time to juggle multiple jobs and stand on the Student's Representative Council. It was also while a student that he joined the Labor party.
Mr Albanese met his future wife Carmel Tebbutt in Young Labor during the 1980s and the couple had a son together before separating in 2019.
Proponent of left-wing progressivism
It was the same inner west community that Mr Albanese grew up in that he would represent as a federal MP 30 years later. He has been the member for Grayndler since 1996.
The Sydneysider has held various ministerial positions, including minister for infrastructure, shadow minister for the environment and deputy prime minister. He has always been on the left faction of his party and describes his views as "progressive".
Passionate about LGBTIQ+ rights, Mr Albanese introduced a bill to grant same-sex couples the same superannuation benefits as heterosexual couples four times before it eventually passed in 2007 under the Rudd Labor government. He subsequently turned his attention to campaigning for same-sex marriage and supported the motion in 2017.
He has described himself as a non-practising Catholic and is pro-abortion and in favour of legalising voluntary euthanasia. He is also a republican and has voiced his opposition to the government's policy of refusing asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat.
He is passionate about climate change. After becoming Labor’s Shadow Minister for the Environment in 2006, he developed Labor’s Climate Change Blueprint. Today, he supports net zero emissions by 2050 and has said he wants to
He has said his proudest day as an MP was when then-prime minister Kevin Rudd delivered the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008.
Following Labor's loss at the 2019 federal election and the subsequent resignation of Mr Shorten, Mr Albanese was the only one nominated in a leadership election to become leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Albanese is a passionate supporter of the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team in the NRL competition.
