| Campaign takes backseat to flood recovery | Good afternoon,
The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader officially suspended their campaigns today to visit flood-affected areas. Still, they did find a few opportunities to make some interesting announcements.
Here's what happened on the trail today:
1. THERE WILL BE A LEADERS' DEBATE - IN THE COMPUTER
During a visit to flood-affected Picton in Sydney's south-west, Malcolm Turnbull announced he and his rival Bill Shorten would participate in a leaders' debate on Facebook.
Mr Shorten accepted the PM's invitation even though he wasn't told about it before Mr Turnbull's announcement.
Mr Turnbull said he had reached an agreement with News.com.au and Facebook to hold the first online leaders' debate.
2. APPRENTICE ANNOUNCEMENT OVERSHADOWED
Mr Shorten started his day in Adelaide where he announced a $4 million pledge to boost apprenticeship numbers.
He was quickly asked about other things though, answering questions on childcare, the Nick Xenophon Team and the current fight between the Country Fire Authority and the United Firefighters Union.
Catch up on all his reponses over at our live blog.
The Opposition Leader then suspended his campaign and spent the afternoon visiting the storm-hit Sydney suburb of Coogee.
3. TALKING PREFERENCES
Mr Shorten has refused to say whether Labor would preference the Liberal Party to stop the Nick Xenophon Team winning seats.
Recent polling has suggested the Liberal-held seats of Mayo and Sturt could fall if the Xenophon candidates receive a strong flow of preferences.
Mr Shorten said preference decisions would be made by the party.
Meanwhile, former prime minister John Howard was out trying to combat the Xenophon factor today, campaigning with Mayo MP Jamie Briggs.
4. 'TURTLES DON'T VOTE'
LNP MP George Christensen has been referred to the Australian Electoral Commission by left-wing activist group GetUp over bribery concerns.
He promised to donate $12,000 to a turtle rescue centre if he was re-elected.
Mr Christensen dismissed his referral to the AEC as a joke.
"How is it bribery? The centre doesn't vote, the turtles don't vote," he said.
Mr Christensen has since withdrawn the offer to avoid any confusion.
ELECTION SPOTLIGHT: KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS - ABOUT LEADERSHIP
We asked the leaders of tomorrow to have their say about today's leaders and how they should run the country.
Liz Chiem is the school captain at Mount Waverley Secondary College in Victoria.
"To my peers that do have the chance to vote this year, they're unsure of what to do because I think both campaigns are pretty similar ... It's a little ambiguous to me. There's a lot of slogans - jobs and growth, represent the people. I don't even know any more," she said.
"I just think politics has to change a bit - less about getting votes or getting into power, but more about creating change."
FROM THE DRUM: CHILDCARE SUGAR HIT OR LASTING SOLUTION?
Trisha Jha is a policy analyst at the Centre for Independent Studies. She thinks Labor will win political points for the earlier start date of its extra funding for childcare.
But unlike the Government's plan, it amounts to a sugar hit for family budgets without the benefits of structural change or a proper solution to the problem of skyrocketing fees.
COMING UP NEXT: - 6:06pm AEST: Liberal senator Scott Ryan and Labor MP Nick Champion will be on a panel on RN Drive
- Trade Minister Steve Ciobo and Labor senator Penny Wong will be on Lateline
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