Welcome to day 25 of the federal election campaign. Last night, Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd went head-to-head in their third and final election debate in the western Sydney suburb of Rooty Hill.
The economy was a big issue in a region where cost of living is often cited as the most important consideration to swinging voters. Paid parental leave, education funding and the Labor leadership were among questions asked by an audience of 105 undecided voters.
The audience awarded Kevin Rudd the debate, with 45 saying the Labor leader appeared stronger, 38 backing Mr Abbott and 19 abstaining.
However, a flat battery soon deflated any bounce injected by the minor victory, with Kevin Rudd's campaign bus forced to get a jump-start from another bus bearing Coalition livery.
Not all analysis awarded Kevin Rudd and Labor the debate victory. Results were mixed, with SBS Chief Political Correspondent Karen Middleton noting the Prime Minister really needed a "big knock-out block" to really declare victory. Click here for more details.
Earlier yesterday, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey went head-to-head with Treasurer Chris Bowen over the economy.
Mr Hockey said the Coalition would take a conservative approach to spending as opposed to Labor's "best-case scenario" planning, while Mr Bowen talked of Australia's resilient economy under Labor despite global economic pressures.
The Sex Party has officially launched its campaign in Melbourne, and SBS reporter Sarah Abo has been along to check it out. Party-themed condoms were being distributed along with the usual policy literature.
Covered with slogans like "Labor - one size fits all factions" and "Liberal - extremely thick, oversensitised", they're not exactly designed to be a turn on, which we're sure is the point.
One of the many Australians casting their vote in the UK this week was comedian Adam Hills, who said he was genuinely distressed by the current state of Australian politics and what that means for the country's image overseas.
"The best way to describe the British attitude to Australian politics is a conversation I had with my manager at the football a couple of months," he said.
"He basically went, 'I don't understand what's going on in Australia, there's fighting over who's going to run the country, and yet, your economy's alright, innit?'"
View the full interview here.
