Tony Abbott is in John Howard's former seat of Bennelong this morning, which tennis great John Alexander currently holds for the Coalition.
Started the day with the small business community in North Ryde - "small business - too big to ignore" pic.twitter.com/j3fwLIkcTP — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) August 18, 2013
Labor has pitched little-known candidate Jason Li against Alexander, and Kevin Rudd is hoping Mr Li's language skills - he speaks five - will help him gain traction in the electorate that is home to concentrated populations of Korean and Chinese speakers.
Travelling further west, the Opposition Leader made an announcement at St. Mary's police station in Western Sydney that he would launch a $100 million crack down on illegal gun importation, if elected.
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Last week's 'sex appeal' gaffe is still shadowing Tony Abbott and Lindsay candidate Fiona Scott. When asked by journalists about the Opposition Leader's statement, this morning, Ms Scott told reporters that there was no need for apology.
“It is a sad day when a man cannot compliment a woman.”
But it looks like Tony Abbott still has some things to learn about complimenting women about their profession.
"With an answer like that, you can see she's not just a pretty face," Mr Abbott said.
The prime minister's campaign has had a bumpy start to the week, with the media bus accompanying him grinding to a halt with a busted fan belt. Cue puns and similes from stranded reporters:
The prime minister appeared on Channel 7's Sunrise program this morning to repeat his defence of two new attack ads released by Labor last week.
"What I said is that our ads would be policy-based," he said. I stand by every one of those examples put in that spotlight advertisement, you know why? Because this affects people's lives."
Watch: Why do political parties use attack ads?
But today is a day for the minor parties, too. The brand new, Voluntary Euthanasia Party has been launched today, with several of the candidates suffering from terminal illnesses which would qualify them for voluntary euthanasia in other countries.
The party says it was created to "provide the choice and dignity that current legislation is denying the most vulnerable Australians."
