Liberals and Labor say no deal with independents to form next government

During a whirlwind tour of the battleground state of Western Australia, Mr Morrison had left the door open to negotiations with the so-called "teal independents" - a group of candidates making climate action and integrity in politics their central issue.

But with polling suggesting Australia could be on course for a hung parliament, Mr Morrison on Tuesday ruled out a deal and urged Australians to opt for a majority government.

"A vote for independents ... is about uncertainty and instability in incredibly uncertain times," Mr Morrison said.

"It's the Forrest Gump principle: you just never know what you're going to get.

"That's why I don't support those votes for independents, and I have no plans whatsoever to be doing any deals with them."

Federal Labor needs at least seven seats to form majority government from opposition, a task Mr Albanese has described as a "mountain to climb".

The prospect of a deal with independents was put to him on Tuesday morning by Brisbane radio station 4BC, with host Neil Breen also asking about potential new coal mines in Queensland.

"There will be no deal with the independents and crossbenches," Mr Albanese said before he was interrupted.

"I'm the only person running for Prime Minister who can form government in their own right. And on coal mines, our position is very clear that there are environmental processes to go through. If projects stack up environmentally and commercially, they go ahead and we welcome the jobs."

Newspoll shows voters abandoning the major parties in record numbers, with almost 30 per cent saying they would vote for a minor party or independent.

At least five inner-city seats held by moderate Liberal MPs - including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Dave Sharma, Katie Allen, Trent Zimmerman and Tim Wilson - are under serious threat from independent challengers.

The independents, backed by pro-climate-action group Climate 200, have made the Coalition's broken promise to implement a federal anti-corruption commission, and inertia on climate change, central to their push.

Mr Morrison said he hoped the May 21 poll would not produce three years of horse-trading.