Campaign diary: stairway to Kevin

It's cowboys v Indians on the hustings; senators Nick Xenophon and Sarah Hanson-Young duke it out

Quotes of the day

Tony Abbott on Sunday:

We've got a civil war going on in that benighted country between two pretty unsavoury sides. It's not goodies versus baddies – it's baddies versus baddies.

Kevin Rudd on Monday:

The last time I used the term goodies or baddies I think when I was playing cowboys and Indians in the backyard.

Liberal deputy Julie Bishop trying to explain:

What Tony Abbott was articulating is what many foreign policy analysts are saying. The situation in Syria is far more nuanced than the Manichean world view of good versus evil. On both sides of this conflict there are the bad guys.

Tony Abbott:

I think the odd use of a colloquialism is perfectly appropriate if you are trying to explain to the public exactly what the situation is.

Tweet of the day

A baddy. pic.twitter.com/8Qto6McZmK

— Jonathan Green (@GreenJ) September 1, 2013

Prop of the day: the Vegemite files

Not a stairway to heaven but a stairway to Kevin. He mounted stairs for a photo with apprentices in Gladstone – leading to the obvious analogies.

Stats of the day

Political parties are targeting overseas voters. Why?

In the 2010 election, approximately 15,000 Australians voted in London, with more than 7,500 in Hong Kong and 3,200 in Singapore.

Candidated of the day

In case you have missed it, anti-pokies campaigner senator Nick Xenophon is in a death struggle with senator Sarah Hanson-Young. They are not against each other but Xenophon's decision to preference major parties over Hanson-Young has incensed the Greens. The party's former leader Bob Brown has appeared in ads claiming a vote for Xenophon is a vote for the Coalition owing to his preferences, which has drawn fire from Mr X.

Xenophon, a master of the one-liner, showed he also loves a good stunt. Formerly the 'No Pokies' candidate, on Monday Xenophon became the No Porkies candidate and arrived with a pig wearing a cape displaying the Greens logo, accusing the party of breaching its own policy on political advertising.

Contributor

Gabrielle Chan, political correspondent

The GuardianTramp

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