Pollie waffle: Labor campaign hits a 'bum note'

Both parties have stepped up their pitch to voters as the race to the polls continues. The Prime Minister has promised to put jobs first, while the Coalition kicked off its official campaign launch with a sweetener for senior Australians.

Pollie waffle
With less than two weeks to go until Australians head to the polls, the Coalition kicked off its official campaign launch yesterday.

Tony Abbott's daughters took a central role at the event, introducing their self-confessed "daggy dad" to the Brisbane audience.
The Coalition leader didn't mince his words, appealing to those present to kick out "the worst government in history". He also pledged to help apprentices kick-start their careers and made a pitch to senior voters, with money promised for dementia research and cheaper medicines for self-funded retirees. Click here to read the full speech or here for more analysis.

There is some good news for Labor this morning, with the latest Newspoll showing support for the party at its highest since the election was called.

However, support for Kevin Rudd and Labor still isn't high enough for the party to win if an election was held today. The Prime Minister acknowledged the "tough fight" his party faces in the short time left until election day, and pledged to make jobs his number one priority for the remainder of the election campaign in an email to supporters this morning.

"It is more than my job that is at stake on September 7 - it's the jobs of many thousands of Australians as well," he wrote. 

The Greens have also officially launched their election campaign, centred around efforts to get Adam Bandt, the only party member in the lower house, re-elected in his seat of Melbourne.

Mr Bandt won the electorate in 2010 with the help of Coalition preferences, but this year both parties have preferenced each other ahead of the Greens, which could hurt his chances of re-election.

Bum note unseen in Labor campaign


Labor's Darren Cheeseman has told the ABC he didn't see the punter who allegedly dealt him a full moon earlier in the election campaign.

The campaign for Australia's most marginal seat - Corangamite - hit a bum note when an unhappy voter apparently told Cheeseman Labor could "kiss his ***", while pulling his pants around his ankles, the Geelong Advertiser reported on August 6.

The Advertiser helpfully pointed out the incident was yet another sign of cracks appearing in the party's campaign, but added the MP appeared unfazed.

SBS News caught up with Immigration Minister Tony Burke campaigning in the Sydney electorate of Watson this weekend, as well as his main opponent, Liberal candidate Ron Delezio. Both were present at Lakemba's Haldon Street festival, and went head-to-head during an SBS Radio Election Exchange broadcast hosted by SBS Arabic radio.

Take a look at what the candidates had to say here, and click here for a look at some of the day's colour.
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3 min read

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By Rhiannon Elston
Source: SBS


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