Labor edges ahead of the Coalition in latest Newspoll

Labor remains in the box seat to win the federal election in five days’ time, with Bill Shorten receiving a boost to his personal rating on Monday.

The latest Newspoll shows the campaign race remains tight, with the Coalition lifting its primary vote to 39 per cent.

But Labor still leads by 51 to 49 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, with its primary vote also up slightly to 37 per cent.

The poll comes one day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a new deposit scheme to help first home buyers crack into the property market.

The plan, which Labor quickly matched, means home buyers will only have to save for a five per cent deposit instead of the 20 per cent most banks require.

The scheme will allow struggling singles, couples and families to break into the property market, even if they can only stump up a quarter of the deposit typically needed for a house.   

The Labor Party have come out on top in the latest Newspoll, just five days away from the election. The party currently lead the Coalition 51 to 49, with Bill Shorten gaining three points as preferred PM – narrowing the gap between him and Scott Morrison to just seven points

Mr Shorten has also closed the gap on Scott Morrison in the ‘better prime minister’ stakes, The Australian reported.  

Just seven points now separate the pair, with the opposition leader lifting three points to 38 per cent and Mr Morrison falling back one point to 45 per cent.

Some 17 per cent of voters remain undecided.

Both leaders will campaign in Sydney on Monday morning.

The Prime Minister, who is celebrating his 51st birthday, will be focused on bricks and mortar when he steps out to talk to voters.

Mr Morrison is promising to help young Australians break into the property market through a new home deposit scheme.

A re-elected Coalition government would offer loan guarantees for first home buyers, allowing them to buy properties with deposits of just five per cent.

Labor has committed to matching the scheme, blunting the Prime Minister’s pitch on housing affordability.

But Mr Morrison is also expected to attack Labor’s plans to limit negative gearing to new properties and curb capital gains tax relief, warning they will decimate the housing market.

The Opposition Leader is harnessing lingering anger with cuts in the coalition’s 2014 budget as he heads into the home stretch.

Five years after that budget went down like a lead balloon, Bill Shorten is honing in on its ‘savage’ cuts, five days from Saturday’s federal election.

He said the budget locked in two terms of cuts to schools, hospitals, pensions and essential services.

Current Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) made a shock promise that first home buyers will get government support to get to a 20 per cent house deposit

Labor is launching a national campaign with new material for candidates to hand out, an advertisement blitz and social media attacks.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen also claims the Coalition is hiding a range of budget cuts it plans to make after the election.

So far the Coalition hasn’t explained how it will pay for more than 40 election commitments worth $6 billion, he argues, including funding it has offered for the East West Link in Victoria and Perth Freight Link.

The government’s budget rules dictate it can’t introduce new spending measures without offsetting them elsewhere in the budget.

‘If Scott Morrison can’t tell you what he will cut, then he doesn’t deserve your vote,’ Mr Bowen said.

The Labor Party immediately matched the promise, and are now arguing the Coalition has a range of secret cuts they will make after the election if they retain power