By MAX AITCHISON, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: | Updated:

Anthony Albanese has chastised a journalist for asking a question about the date of the election despite a high level of public interest in the answer.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a press conference alongside SA Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday after the state government placed the Whyalla steelworks into administration.

Mr Albanese unveiled a $2.4billion taxpayer bailout to keep the steelworks going, and took questions from media.

He was asked whether the election will take place on April 12, during the AFL Gather Round in Adelaide, when tens of thousands of fans will be travelling and will therefore need to make a pre-poll vote.

'PM, just quickly, you get asked this a lot but Gather Round and the election, they might coincide...', the reporter began.

But before they could finish their question the Prime Minister snapped back: 'It's so boring.'

'It's so boring. Gather Round is fantastic… what's boring is questions about election timing because I've been asked it for a year,' Mr Albanese said as he returned to the lectern.

'I'll give you this tip, Peter Dutton a year ago called for an election to stop our tax cuts. Our tax cuts, for you getting more money in your pocket, as a result of the changes that we made in legislation.'

The Prime Minister was speaking at a press conference alongside SA Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday after the state government placed the Whyalla steelworks into administration

The Prime Minister was speaking at a press conference alongside SA Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday after the state government placed the Whyalla steelworks into administration

He had just walked away from the lectern when he was asked about the election potentially clashing with the AFL gather round in April - and could not resist beating the question back

He had just walked away from the lectern when he was asked about the election potentially clashing with the AFL gather round in April - and could not resist beating the question back 

He added: 'I support four-year fixed terms. Unfortunately the Liberal Party, as is their wont, has opposed two referendums that would have got that done.'

The election must be held on or before May 17, and experts consider April 12 the most likely date.

But Gather Round will have footy fans from across the country travelling to SA and therefore not able to vote in their home electorate on that day, and the date also coincides with school holidays in most of the country, when many will be travelling for other reasons too.

Mr Albanese must give at least 33 days notice before the election.

Political observers have suggested he might call it after the WA state elections on March 8, where the Labor party is expected to perform well. 

It comes as ACT independent Senator David Pocock has called for the election date to be legislated because he believes the 'constant election date speculation a waste of time'.

'I find it the most ridiculous and unproductive part of this end of the electoral cycle,' he said on Wednesday.

'We should just fix the date.  We could do that in parliament, we could say 'the date of the election is the first Saturday of whatever month'. Why don't we do that?'

AFLAnthony AlbaneseQueensland

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