Crikey

And we’re off.

Election 2010 is just five weeks away and the big contenders are already out on the hustings. Julia Gillard announced on Saturday morning from the prime minister’s courtyard that parliament had been dissolved after visiting the Governor-General.

Here at Crikey we’ve been pin-pointing the movements of Gillard, Tony Abbott and co as they zip around the country on our Election Tracker:

What you missed over the weekend:

Gillard:

• Julia Gillard announced the 2010 election would be held on August 21, after visiting the Governor-General Quentin Bryce in Canberra (Fraser) for some tea and scones.
• On Sunday she spent the first full day of the campaign in Brisbane (Brisbane), where she pledged $200 million for regional housing affordability — and resorted to some good old-fashioned baby-kissing.

Abbott:

• Tony Abbott kicked off his campaign at the Queensland Liberal-National Party state conference in Brisbane where he was in full attack dog mode.
• He then flew to Penrith (Lindsay) in western Sydney to begin wooing some of Howard’s battlers back into the fold. No policy announcements were made, however Abbott did confirm there would be no carbon price under a Coalition government.

Where are they moving today?

• Tony Abbott remains in western Sydney before invading Gillard’s heartland in Melbourne.
• Julia Gillard is staying north in the battleground state of Queensland, flying from Brisbane to Townsville later today.
• Bob Brown starts the day in Hobart before moving the Greens wagon to Adelaide.

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 the 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.