(Adds details, background, paragraphs 3-7)
SYDNEY, May 8 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited Governor- General Sir Peter Cosgrove on Sunday to ask that both houses of parliament be dissolved and a general election called for July 2, media reported.
Turnbull, running neck-and-neck in opinion polls with centre-left Labor, confirmed on Wednesday he would seek a July 2 election as he looks to cash in on a budget plan outlined the day before aimed at creating jobs and spurring growth. two-month campaign will likely focus on Australia's flagging economy and hot-button issues like its tough policy on asylum seekers.
A Seven-ReachTEL poll published on Saturday - the first to factor in reaction to the budget - had Turnbull's Liberal-National coalition and Labor both on 50 percent support on a two-party preferred basis, under which votes for minor parties are redistributed to the two main blocs.
Turnbull has consistently outpolled Labor leader Bill Shorten in terms of personal popularity but his government has struggled to propose an alternative to Labor's big-spending promises on health and education.
A decade-plus mining boom in resource-rich Australia and plummeting commodity prices have left the government struggling to raise revenue. As a result, Morrison was unable to offer too many vote-winning incentives in the budget. the polls narrowing, the government is keen to persuade voters that it alone can be trusted to manage an economy hampered by a once-in-a-century mining downturn.
Under Australia's political system, the governor-general is the representative of the head of state, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.