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4.46pm on Sep 3, 2013
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So let's look back on the day that was:
Coalition leader Tony Abbott is continuing to demand that Labor respect his mandate (should he win Saturday's election) and allow him to repeal the carbon price;
no fear, says Labor;
this brings us back to the prospect that an Abbott led government would have to go to the polls again early in its term if it was unable to get enough support for its plans to wind back the carbon price;
Liberal candidate Fiona Scott has blamed asylum seekers for Sydney's traffic congestion; and
the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold giving Labor another reason to talk about its record on economic management.
As always, thanks for your company and for making contributions.
Alex Ellinghausen and Andrew Meares will be back tomorrow but Judith Ireland will sit in for me while I have a day off. I will be back with you on Thursday for the last two days, polling day and the day after.
Until then, go well.
Coalition leader Tony Abbott tours a brickworks in Longford, Tasmania, on Tuesday.Alex Ellinghausen
"It is not clear what the Coalitoin's plans are, apart from ending the carbon tax and mining tax and stopping the boats," Tim writes.
"We know that new Coalition governments always tell us the budget is in worse shape than Labor said, and that they will have to make cuts they did not announce in the campaign so we can get back to surplus. In this case it might be true, particularly if Joe Hockey takes the sensible step of telling Treasury to use forecasts rather than projections for growth beyond the next two years."
3.38pm on Sep 3, 2013
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And that's it for Mr Rudd who has to get to Melbourne.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks to the media in Launceston on Tuesday.Andrew Meares
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3.37pm on Sep 3, 2013
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Mr Rudd is speaking about the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep interest rates on hold.
"It is good news for Australians who are paying off their mortgages and for small business operators too," Mr Rudd says.
Interest rates are at 60 year lows, Mr Rudd says, which is "a very important consideration when you look at overall cost of living issues".
"If you listened to [the Coalition] and you'd walked off planet Mars you'd think the economy was going to fall over tomorrow lunch time," Mr Rudd says.
Mr Rudd says low interest rates, strong economic growth and low unemployment are not economic credentials that should be risked by voting for the Coalition.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks to the media in Launceston on Tuesday.Andrew Meares
3.31pm on Sep 3, 2013
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Nearly one million people - 953,941 - people have already voted, according to the latest figures from the Australian Electoral Commission.
That's an awful lot of people who will be away/working/in hospital on Saturday.
If you need to find out where your nearest pre polling station is you can click here.
3.18pm on Sep 3, 2013
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Time to do my usual "pointing you in the direction of things I should have pointed out earlier' routine.
Economics writer Matt Wadehas this report on the gender pay gay. New government figures show that it is now 17.5 per cent which means the average full time female worker earns $266.20 less each week than the average full time male worker (that's an annual difference of $13,842).
(I haven't heard anything from either of the major parties about this today which is weird because I would have thought someone would have linked to the debate over paid parental leave.)
Labor leader Kevin Rudd at the simulator and clinical information centre at the University of Tasmania in Launceston on Tuesday.Andrew Meares
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3.05pm on Sep 3, 2013
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Way back at 9.39 am I directed you to the Fairfax/Nielsen results for an opinion poll that was conducted in Queensland.
I now have a video in which Nielsen's John Stirton decodes the figures.
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2.52pm on Sep 3, 2013
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People familiar with the minor party fringe might remember the ultra nationalist party Rise Up Australia which wants to fight the "Islamification" of Australia and "keep Australia for Australians".
Its leader, Danny Nalliah, is anti abortion and anti same sex marriage. He once conducted an exorcism on Canberra's Mount Ainslie and also blamed Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires on the State Parliament's decision to end the decriminalisation of abortion.
Despite this, Labor is preferencing the party in its top four on how to vote cards in one in five of the 77 House of Representatives seats in which Rise Up is running candidates.