Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott have faced 200 undecided voters at an RSL club in Sydney's west.
The PM kicked off by asking the audience how many of them would be able to pay their rent or mortgage if they didn't have a job, while Abbott engaged the crowd by abandoning the stage and standing on the floor.
Both leaders faced a range of questions from the audience, which was chosen by Galaxy - a research company known for its political polling.
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Gillard and Abbott each addressed the crowd before answering questions for one hour. The meet generated intense interest, and became a top ten trending topic on Twitter under the hash tag ' Rooty' for a period.
The PM appeared calm in the face of most questions aimed at her, but she was unable to appease one audience member named Janice who demanded an explanation for Labor's stance on gay marriage.
"I'm a taxpayer, I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I want to be be able to say to that woman that I love, will you marry me, not will you civil union me," Janice said.
The PM said Labor had no intention of changing the marriage act, citing opinion - both public and within the party - on the issue as the reason for that.
Gillard was challenged over former PM Rudd's deposition from the leadership, and slapped down
Abbott's descent from the stage to the floor drew loud applause.
He went on to assure the western suburbs audience that although he is from Sydney's northern beaches, he shares their frustration over traffic and knows what it is to feel disappointed by the government.
Abbott said that continuing to bring in up to 300,000 people per year (Australia's net immigration intake) would only worsen the traffic. He added that a 'truly compassionate government' would make sure asylum seeker boats were stopped altogether.
At the end of the session, a show of hands indicated that most of the crowd had made a decision based on the leaders' performances.
SBS senior political correspondent Karen Middleton said on Twitter that Gillard was faced with far more hostile questions than Abbott and had nevertheless given a polished performance.
Abbott was more successful because he adopted a relaxed and informal style, Middleton said.
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