Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's election pitch to voters worried about cost of living pressures began over Tim Tams by a backyard swimming pool in a marginal seat.
On day two of the federal campaign, Mr Abbott and his wife Margie drank tea and munched on biscuits, ginger bread men and cake on the back deck of a family home on the NSW Central Coast.
Peter and Michelle Florimo and their two children Emma, eight, and Bailey, three, live in the Dobell electorate with their dog Bandit.
Mr Florimo, a commercial manager at a steel fabrication company, is worried about living costs and also complained to Mr Abbott about traffic congestion in the area.
Childcare affordability is a big factor for the family, said Mrs Florimo, who works part-time because finding $106 a day for childcare is a stretch.
"You want to give your kids the best, don't you, and you want them have a good future," Mr Abbott said, taking the chance to argue Labor's carbon tax was an increased burden on household budgets.
Later, Mr Abbott was asked whether aspirational voters had unrealistic expectations about how the government could support their lifestyles.
Mr Abbott said every Australian "well off or not-so-well off, deserved a decent government".
"What we want to do is try to ensure the bills that families face are not foolishly padded by bad decisions from government."
He raised his plan to scrap Labor's carbon pricing regime, saying families would be $3000 better off over six years.
The coalition estimate is based on forecasts for the carbon price to rise to $38 per tonne by 2019 and to $350 "over time".
Mr Abbott also restated his opposition to Labor's changes to the fringe benefits tax (FBT) arrangements for company-supplied cars, which will raise $1.8 billion.
A worker on $70,000 a year would lose $2000 under the changes, the coalition says.
Variable mortgage repayment are on the way down after the central bank cut official interests rates.
But Mr Abbott said the move lower was more about weakness than an economy in good shape.
"We're not going to chloroform the economy," he said.
Dobell is held by controversial former ALP member Craig Thomson on a margin of 5.1 per cent.
Mr Thomson left the Labor party and became an independent following legal proceedings related to the alleged misuse of Health Services Union member funds while a union official.
"Probably the less said about the former Labor member the better," Mr Abbott told reporters.
Liberal Party candidate Karen McNamara is likely to win the seat.
Wesfarmers executive and former Rudd economic adviser Andrew Charlton is the frontrunner to become Labor's new candidate.
The ALP withdrew support for the former candidate, solicitor Trevor Drake, after it was revealed he was once a member of the Liberal Party.
Later, retailer Coles, which is owned by Wesfarmers, issued a statement saying Mr Charlton was approached but had decided to stay on for career and family reasons.
