Crikey

Two weeks down, three weeks to go. That’s what everyone is telling themselves, as this inspiring election campaign continues to take its toll on everyone involved. Julia Gillard finally took her campaign to Western Australia on the weekend, where she pledged money for local infrastructure and attended a junior football match. Meanwhile, Tony Abbott trekked to the Top End on Saturday, where he announced free basic medical and dental health care for families of serving defence personnel. However the big story was Gillard’s visit to Etihad Stadium yesterday, where she witnessed the Western Bulldogs thrashing of North Melbourne.

So, after 15 days of hard campaigning, Abbott has racked up 24,118km, while Gillard has knocked up 18,314km. Together that’s 42,432km of carbon emissions — the equivalent of more than 300,000 Etihad Stadiums.

Gillard:

• Julia Gillard was in Perth on Friday, where she promised $480 million to improve roads in and around Perth Airport. State Transport Minister Simon O’Brien said the funding should not be at the expense of West Australians through the proposed mineral resource rent tax.
• Gillard remained in Perth on Saturday, where she made her way to a local junior football match. There were no policy announcements at the photo op, however the PM did take the chance to show off her handball skills. After a hard day on the campaign trail Gillard made a quick cross-country dash to attend the Heart to Heart Ball at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney on Saturday night.
• Gillard took the opportunity to announce a low-fee superannuation scheme in Sydney on Sunday morning, before making the trip south to Melbourne for a Western Bulldogs match at Etihad Stadium. The Bulldogs won the game by 71 points, much to the delight of the number one ticket holder:

Abbott:

• Tony Abbott was in Adelaide on Friday, promising $314 million to support school students with disabilities. “It will enable pupils with a disability to choose the school that they most wanted to go to … I’d like to think that it’s a breakthrough initiative,” said Abbott.
• Abbott then flew to Darwin, in the marginal seat of Solomon, on Saturday where he pledged free basic medical and dental care to the families of serving defence personnel.
• The opposition leader was in Gerringong on the NSW south coast on Sunday, announcing a $935 million package for aged care. The funding boost matches the Labor commitment. “We are investing the same as the government proposes to invest, but we think this will produce more concrete results,” said Abbott.

Brown:

• Bob Brown was at Canberra’s National Convention Centre on Sunday, where he launched the Greens campaign in front of 300 cheering supporters. Brown said the focus of the campaign was winning the balance of power in the Senate.

Downer Watch:

• Just days after Mark Latham dropped a bomb on Kevin Rudd for being a “snake”, Alexander Downer has accused the former PM of regularly leaking information to the media. “We used him mercilessly to embarrass [Labor’s then foreign-affairs spokesman] Laurie Brereton,” Downer told The Sunday Telegraph. “We would give Rudd information to use against Brereton, and he would use it.” Downer later said his comments had been misinterpreted.

Handball Watch:

• Who could accuse the two leaders of lacking substance on this election campaign?
  

Where they are today:

• The leaders are out early, with Julia Gillard loading her media pack on the bus before 6am to head to Parramatta for a live cross to Nine’s Today show. Fairfax journalist Ariel Sharp reports: “She does a walk through Parramatta station, charming retailers and shoppers. Buys a classic cheesecake at Michel’s, meets a Christian biker and followed by Lib protestors.”
• Tony Abbott is in Cairns campaigning in the Labor-held marginal of Leichhardt. Under a warm Queensland sun the opposition leader is expected to make a tourism policy announcement later today.
• After yesterday’s party launch, Greens leader Bob Brown headed to Perth where he’ll campaign today.

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.