There is basically zero surprise that this date was chosen. The Australian Prime Minister had to call the election by this date and had left it so late that there were only two reasonable dates available, the 14th or the 21st.
The incumbent party is behind in the polls. Whoever wins the election will be greeted with a rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia perhaps as early as June (the 7th is the date of the June meeting). A May rate hike would make the election more interesting but May (3rd is the meeting) is not the consensus at present.
RBA Governor Lowe:
