Australian political leaders gear up for 1st online election debate

Australia’s political leaders are gearing up for the first online election debate hosted by Facebook and News Corp Australian.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten would battle it out live from 6 p.m. in Sydney, which would be streamed live via Facebook live.

Questions submitted by the public would be put to both leaders.

Managing Director of an online media, Julian Delany said in a statement that this debate would be different to anything seen before.

“It is a chance for millions of Australians to not just watch the debate, but to actively participate by asking questions and giving their instant reactions,’’ Delany said.

Managing Director of Facebook in Australia and New Zealand Stephen Scheeler, encouraged all Australians to get involved.

“We want to connect as many Australians as possible to one of the most important aspects of any election campaign, a leadership debate,’’ Scheeler said.

However, Australia would head to the polls on July 2.