If you need any further indication of where the entire gallery’s brain is at, at the moment, here is one of the questions and answers from this morning’s press conference with the prime minister, where he and Queensland premier David Crisafulli were announcing a new school funding deal:

Q: Some believe that you have a sense of momentum and you might call the election as soon as you can after the sitting period is over and people want to head back to their electorates quickly. Do you want to seize the moment call the election as soon as you can after Thursday. And you’ve had time to speak to Peter Dutton now that you’re in the job. Do you have any more confidence in the nuclear plan now that you’ve had a chance to look at it?

Albanese:

“On the first, I’m told by my office that when we called the press conference, some thought that we were about to call the election the day before the budget!

So I say consistently, as I have said privately and publicly, three years is too short. I can now confirm the election will be in May. I’ve been saying that for a year. I was advised this time last year in order to stop tax cuts going forward, that we should call an election. And I ignored that call by Mr Dutton, and I continued to govern. We’ve got a budget to hand down tomorrow night. It’s an important budget that will set Australia up on the path to a better future. And I look forward to that.

I look forward to some policy besides the three that have been announced – nuclear plans, the $20,000 lunches and the cuts that we don’t know about, coming out sometime between now and May. But we’re very clear about our agenda and it’s one of governing. And what I’m doing today is governing – putting in place these important reforms.”