State politics has intruded into the federal election campaign, after the two leaders exchanged blows over jobs and penalty rates.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made a lightning quick visit to Fremantle on Monday, at the start of the second week of campaigning before heading to Darwin.
Mr Turnbull announced Australian steel would be used to build patrol boats in Western Australia.
But, noticeably, he appeared without WA Premier Colin Barnett or the local Liberal candidate, Sherry Sufi.
Mr Barnett is the least popular premier in the country and polls suggest his Liberal government faces defeat in March 2017.
Mr Sufi is under fire for fudging his employment record when seeking preselection, as well as saying same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy and opposing indigenous recognition in the constitution.
Mr Turnbull rejected suggestions of not wanting to be near the premier or the candidate.
"This is a national announcement," Mr Turnbull said.
Labor leader Bill Shorten was flanked by candidates, frontbenchers and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews when he unveiled a $59 million plan to help out-of-work car makers in Geelong.
Mr Andrews' Labor government has a 10-point lead over the coalition and he's rated the better premier by almost two-thirds of voters.
"There's 5000 jobs here that are at risk and there are 500 companies at least who would benefit from the sort of support which only a Daniel Andrews government can give in Victoria and a Labor government would give after July 2," Mr Shorten said.
However, the Greens had Labor scrambling on Monday when the minor party released a plan to legislate to protect weekend penalty rates, rather than rely on the independent umpire, which is soon to decide on the matter for the retail and hospital industries.
Mr Shorten said the Greens were "playing with fire" by undermining the Fair Work Commission.
"My government will further intervene in the case before the decision to strengthen, only as a government submission can, the case to defend our penalty rates," he said.
However, bringing in laws was akin to "loading the gun for a future conservative government to pull the trigger".
"What the government has the power to put in, a future government has the power to dismantle," the former Australian Workers Union national secretary said.
Favouring letting the umpire make the call, Mr Turnbull said Mr Shorten would face pressure to legislate not just from the Greens but unions and his own frontbench.
"What Labor is doing is quietly crab-walking to a position where they can do a deal with the Greens," Mr Turnbull said.
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