With the federal election just weeks away, TV viewers are being bombarded with political advertising and the rise of attack ads.
The Labor party released two new ads this week, increasing the combative tone of the campaign.
The new ads released by the Labor Party this week target the coalition's claim that they want to cut spending.
But the opposition says Kevin Rudd's claim of a $70 billion shortfall in the coalition's election platform is fiction.
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"It is yet another desperate scare campaign," says Opposition leader Tony Abbott.
Mr Rudd has defended the use of taxpayer funds for the attack ads, saying they are policy-based.
"What I said was we'd run ads based on policy," he says. "Those ads are based on policy."
Labor's attack ads mark a stark reversal from Kevin Rudd's earlier promise to put a positive face on this election campaign, and could be a sign this race is about to get deadly serious.
Former advertising executive Jane Caro says political parties wouldn't keep using the attack strategy if they were not effective.
"It's to make you worry about the opponent," Ms Caro says.
"Often governments use negative campagins more, because what they're really saying is 'I'm the devil you know, I'm safer than the devil you don't know'."
With another three weeks to run, one thing is certain, we can expect to see more negative campaigning from both sides.
