It was the second time Fiona Scott had hijacked the coalition's national election campaign.
But this time it was her gaffe, and not her boss's slip about her sex appeal, which made headlines.
In an ABC Four Corners report, Ms Scott made a tenuous link between western Sydney road and hospital congestion and asylum seeker arrivals.
The Liberal candidate for Lindsay said boat people were a hot topic in western Sydney "because our traffic is overcrowded".
Asked to clarify the remark, she replied: "Well, my recommendation is go and sit in the Emergency Department of Nepean Hospital or go and sit on the M4 and people see 50,000 people come in by boat".
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Mr Abbott tried to clean up the mess at Adelaide's Penrice Soda Plant where he disputed a journalist's "characterisation" of her comments as suggesting refugees were a strain on infrastructure.
If Australia didn't have to manage $11.5 billion worth of border protection blowouts, it may have money to fund much-needed infrastructure, he said.
"If we stop the boats, we have less pressure on the budget," he said.
Mr Abbott was in enemy territory - the blue-collar Labor seat of Port Adelaide - to talk to Penrice workers about his well-worn pledge to scrap the carbon tax.
The company earlier this year blamed the impost for a decision to shut its soda plant, and let 55 workers go, a loss described as tragic by Mr Abbott.
He told a room full of workers he didn't expect them to break habits of a lifetime and suddenly love the coalition.
"(But) this tax will be gone if there is a change of government, which should make it easier to expand this company in the years ahead, and hopefully some of those people who lost their jobs over the last few months might be able to come back."
Earlier, Mr Abbott dropped in on the Schmusch family household in Adelaide and, like any good guest should be, was very apologetic for bringing 50 people with him.
"It's impossible to do anything too much in an election campaign without having a little squadron of media with you," he complained to Erich Schmusch, as they talked about cost of living pressures and in particular the carbon tax.
"I guess it's unavoidable, it's part of democracy."
Then it was off to northern Tasmania, where he inspected a brickworks and said business leader Dale Elphinstone would chair a joint Commonwealth and Tasmanian Economic Council if the coalition wins on Saturday.
