14:30 - John Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello and Federal Nationals leader Mark Vaile have addressed a leaders' lunch in Sydney today.
Mr Costello opened proceedings by claiming Labor's plan for Australia's future amounted to nothing more than an advertising campaign.
Mark Vaile talked slips -- the cricketing variety. He said fine leg should not field at first slip, meaning Kevin Rudd should stay on the boundary and not be entrusted in the pivotal position. And you thought Rudd and Vaile were actually on different teams.
Mr Howard took the stage last. The Prime Minister outlined his top 5 priorities if re-elected, saying that maintaining a robust economy was his most important job. He reiterated his candidacy as one of "full employment" and outlined the the risk he believes a Labor government would pose in the area of industrial relations. The other areas highlighted by Mr Howard included national security, implementing his election promises, adressing the Murray-Darling water plan, and the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
Howard appealed to those voters who he said were thinking of voting Labor despite the "good job" done by the government. Howard cautioned that every change of government since World War II had resulted in a profoundly altered nation. "If you change the government, you do change the country," he said.
10:00 - The lunch comes after an appearance by the Prime Minister and his wife Janette on the Nine Network's Mornings with Kerri-Anne program. The couple slapped on their biggest smiles as they dealt with a number of cushy questions about dealing with the personal pressures of prime ministership.
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