First-time voter Sanaya Sabavala is collecting senior Liberals and now she's added Tony Abbott to her stash.
The 20-year-old Melbourne resident was among a contingent of younger supporters at Monday's campaign launch for Michael Sukkar, Liberal candidate for the marginal seat of Deakin.
"Mr Abbott is a wonderful man," an excited Ms Sabavala told AAP after having a photo taken with the leader.
He's the fourth addition to her portfolio of photos with senior Liberals, following John Howard, Joe Hockey and Victorian party president Tony Snell.
The crowd at the campaign launch was as buoyant as the helium balloons lining the room after Mr Abbott's performance in the leaders' debate on Sunday night.
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"He's always so stiff on TV and he's so much more relaxed and human in person, and I told him that," Pamela O'Connor told AAP after meeting the leader for the first time on Monday.
Referring to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's use of notes during his first election debate with Mr Abbott on Sunday, the opposition leader said he didn't blame anyone for needing to read notes.
The problem was the notes weren't worth reading, he added.
Earlier at Melbourne's main traffic control centre Mr Abbott was asked to promise the next debate would be less boring.
"I thought every minute was full of excitement," he quipped.
Mr Abbott had earlier spent half an hour fully absorbed in footage of Melbourne's traffic jams.
The opposition leader is trying to convince people infrastructure isn't boring.
He wants to be known as an "infrastructure prime minister" should he win the election on September 7.
But his funniest line of the day was probably unintentional.
Attacking Mr Rudd's leadership style, Mr Abbott said the coalition was a strong and united team, not a "one-man band".
"No one, however smart, however well-educated, however well experienced, is the suppository of all wisdom," he said. The saying refers to the repository of all wisdom.
Even some of the Liberal party faithful giggled.
