Australia sets May 18 as date for general election

Australia will hold a general election on May 18, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday, firing the starting gun on a campaign expected to be fought over taxation, climate change and inequality.

Opinion polls show Morrison's conservative coalition trailing the opposition Labor party after six years in power and two prime ministers topped by internal party ructions.

"Earlier this morning, I visited the governor-general here in Canberra and he accepted my advice for an election to be held on 18 May," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.