Election Tracker: Day 24

It was a busy day on the hustings yesterday, with most of the focus on the Coalition’s long-awaited broadband policy. Tony Abbott was not present at the announcement, telling Kerry O’Brien later that day he was “not a tech head”. Meanwhile, Julia Gillard was in Adelaide where she backed the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s water plan before having seen the actual report. She then flew to Melbourne to charm a television audience for the second night in a row.

So after 24 days of shopping centre vox pops, Tony Abbott’s Tech Heads have clocked up 31,785km, while Julia Gillard’s Charm Offensive still leads the race on 33,084km. Together, that’s an environmentally friendly 64,869km — the equivalent of 25 Murray Rivers.

Gillard:

• Julia Gillard began her day in Adelaide yesterday, where she announced a Labor government would sign up to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s water plan. The report — which has been delayed until after the election — sets out the Authority’s plan to save the troubled river system. Gillard said the money for water buy-backs had already been budgeted for the next four years.
• Gillard then made brief campaign stop in the Victorian regional city of Geelong, where she opened a GP super clinic in the suburb of Belmont. Gillard also pledged $257.5 million to complete the duplication of the Princes Highway to Colac. The seat of Corangamite is one of the few Victorian marginals at the upcoming election, with incumbent Labor MP Darren Cheeseman holding the seat by 0.9%.
• Gillard then made the short trip up the Princes Freeway to appear on Channel 10’s 7pm Project in Melbourne. Gillard turned on the charisma during the interview, with Melbourne shock jock Steve Price accusing her of trying to “charm” her way into the Lodge.

Abbott:

• Tony Abbott began the day with a press conference at Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel, which was first about broadband and then about immigration policy. Abbott was joined by shadow immigration minister Scott Morrison, who has just returned from a 14-hour flying visit to Nauru. Abbott and Morrison pressed Labor on the issue of reopening the refugee processing centre on Nauru.
• The Coalition’s long-awaited broadband policy announcement was made later in the day by shadow communications minister Tony Smith and Finance spokesman Andrew Robb. Abbott was nowhere to be seen for the presser, at which the opposition pledged to deliver a 12-100 Mbps service to 97% of households, using a combination of existing HFC cable, DSL and fixed wireless.
• Abbott then made an address about fatherhood at his daughters’ Sydney school, Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College, yesterday. The speech, part of a fundraiser, provided a glimpse into Abbott’s family life. The Mad Monk told the audience that one day his daughter called him a “lame, gay, churchy loser” when he asked her to do something she didn’t want to do.
• Abbott then made an appearance on 7.30 Report, where he was quizzed about the Coalition’s broadband policy. When questioned about peak speeds by Kerry O’Brien, Abbott was honest about his lack of understanding: “I’m no Bill Gates,” he said. “If you want to drag me into a technical discussion here, I’m not going to be very good at it.”

Gaffe Watch:

• Tony Abbott has played down some controversial comments made by Coalition candidate George Christensen a decade ago, saying “colourful stuff” happens at university. As the editor of The Student Advocate, Christensen, the LNP’s candidate in Dawson (2.6% ALP), made sexist, homophobic and anti-semitic comments. In one rant, Christensen expressed concern that new versions of the Bible were, “removing accusations that the Jews killed Christ”. He also told homophobic jokes and stated; “the truth is women are stupid and that’s that”. Christensen has apologised for his comments:

Rudd Watch:

• One of the worst-kept secret in politics was confirmed yesterday, with news emanating out of the UN that Kevin Rudd will be joining the organisation’s panel on global sustainability. Rudd will not be paid for his role, which will be co-chaired by Finland’s President Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma.

Bookie Watch:

• Labor looks to have finally turned its campaign around, according to punters anyway. Sportingbet Australia has slashed its price for the ALP from $1.65 to $1.50. Sportingbet CEO Michael Sullivan said he took more than $100,000 on Labor on Monday, despite the party being friendless since the leaders’ debate a fortnight ago.

Endorsement Watch:

• Geelong Football Club has thrown its considerable weight behind the Coalition, after the party’s $36 million pledge to revamp Skilled Stadium. The Cats’ used their website to spruik the promise to upgrade their home ground, while Geelong members received a press release from the opposition and the Cats in which club president Frank Costa welcomed the commitment. The seat of Corangamite is on a knife-edge at 0.9% ALP.

Quotable:

• “I think the worst you could say about it is that it’s a bit like school, boarding school.” — Tony Abbott tells Nova FM that Nauru detention centres aren’t THAT bad.

Where they are today:

• Julia Gillard is in Melbourne, where she’ll tell parents of four-year-olds they have to take their children for health checks before getting benefits. She’ll fly to Sydney later today where she’ll announce a Labor government will build the $2.6 billion Parramatta to Chatswood rail link long mooted by successive NSW governments. And then, the debate that’s not a debate — her appearance at the Rooty Hill RSL for the leaders’ forum.
• Tony Abbott is in Adelaide to announce the Coalition’s Murray-Darling plan, before joining Gillard in Sydney for the forum. The pair won’t debate each other, taking questions from 200 voters separately.
• Bob Brown is also announcing water policy, joined in Melbourne by his Victorian Senate candidate Richard di Natale.

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.