One week down and Tony Abbott’s visit to Western Australia has seen him take a huge lead on the election tracker. Abbott’s visit to the wild west saw him pledge his support to the mining industry and announce increased border security measures. Meanwhile, Julia Gillard’s weekend was spent on the east coast, where she announced her new ‘cash for clunkers’ rebate.

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After eight days of campaigning Team Abbott’s speedo (no pun intended) reads an astounding 12,310km, while Team Gillard’s read-out sits at a measly 6,938km. Together the pair have traversed 18,708km so far — the equivalent of more than 4.2 million 1987 Toyota Celicas.

Gillard:

  • On Friday Julia Gillard was at the University of Queensland in the seat of Ryan, where she announced a $1 billion investment in renewable energy. Labor’s new climate change policy will include tougher standards for coal power stations and $1 billion to connect renewable energy to the grid. A new ‘citizens assembly’ will also be set up in order to establish a ‘consensus’ amongst the public about climate change.
  • Gillard remained in the Sunshine State on Saturday to announce a new $2000 rebate for car owners who trade in their pre-1995 vehicles. Gillard said the $394 million program would only apply when motorists purchased extra-efficient vehicles. “Australians own a lot of old motor cars, and those old cars guzzle a lot of petrol and they spew out a lot of pollution,” she said.

Abbott:

  • One week down and Tony Abbott finally took the campaign to Western Australia when he visited the seat of Fremantle on Friday. Abbott spoke at a Fremantle port where he pledged a $93 million boost to the security services of ports and airports.
  • Abbott then flew to the mining town of Kalgoorlie, where he vowed to look after the interests of the resources industry. Abbott declared the Coalition would not introduce the mining resources rent tax should it win the election.
  • Abbott made his way back to Canberra on Sunday where he pledged a Coalition government would cut immigration levels to 170,000 a year by the end of its first term. The numbers of foreign students and family reunions could be cut under the policy. “We need an immigration program which can be supported for the long-term by the Australian people,” said Abbott.

Debate:

  • The pair then made their way to the Press Club in Canberra where they fought out a rather polite leadership debate. Abbott and Gillard were on message throughout the performance, with neither leader landing a decisive blow. Nine Network’s ‘worm’ delivered victory to Gillard by a margin of 63% to 37%, while Seven’s ‘polliegraph’ said Labor won the debate 53% to 47%.
  • Meanwhile, in a contest much more popular last night, 31-year old lawyer Adam Liaw scored 89 points out of a possible 100 to win the MasterChef finale in front 3.74 million viewers.

Gaffe Watch:

  • The Liberal Party has been forced to dump their candidate for Chifley in Sydney’s west after he was caught making anti-Muslim statements. Liberal Party state director Mark Neeham said David Barker had not conducted himself in a way the party expected, sentiments Tony Abbott has endorsed.
  • Meanwhile, Julia Gillard’s press conference was interrupted by a protester on Friday. The man shouted “oil and gas have got to go” during Gillard’s climate change policy announcement:

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Quotable:

  • When a politician takes time out for a photo-op during a visit to a mining town you can be sure it’s going to be awkward and Tony Abbott didn’t disappoint during his whistle-stop tour of Kalgoorlie: “There’s got to be something good about democracy if it means that I can get behind the wheel of a really big truck from time to time,” he said from the steps of a giant mining truck.
  • But surely dis-endorsed Liberal candidate David Barker wins with the pearler that lost him his job: “I’m not anti-Muslim. I believe every one should have their own beliefs … but I don’t know if we want at this stage in Australian politics a Muslim in the parliament and an atheist running the government.”

Where are they moving today?

  • Gillard will take the campaign to the Apple Isle today, where she will campaign in Launceston in the marginal seat of Bass.
  • Abbott has landed in the battleground state of Queensland this morning, where he is expected to make a tour of marginal seats around Brisbane.
  • Bob Brown will be in Canberra today, where he will maintain the rage after launching the Queensland Greens candidate on Saturday.

What is the tracker?

Crikey tracks each leader’s amazing race across the country via our Election Tracker. Each day we’ll plot the leaders’ movements, feeding in the key policy announcements and spending commitments, the best media coverage and social media chat, plus the campaign stunts and bloopers. You can also use the tracker as a hub for the best Crikey coverage.

Click on the tabs across the top to watch how many kilometres Gillard and Abbott have clocked up, the movements of other key players and finally our bloopers and stunts bonanza on the right. You can click on each stop to see what they’re up to, with links to extended coverage and detailed electorate information.