Day 14 was a quiet one on the election front.

No doubt both leaders are saving themselves for what promises to be much longer weeks ahead.

Where were they?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison left South Australia and was in Darwin on Wednesday in the seats of Solomon and Lingiari.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten didn’t clock up the flyer miles, opting to remain in Townsville, Queensland.

He was in the Herbert electorate where Labor MP Cathy O’Toole is hanging on to power in one of the country’s most marginal seats.

Mr Shorten even made time for a run with retired rugby league superstar Johnathan Thurston. And suddenly Labor was looking like a very attractive option.

https://twitter.com/Gallo_Ways/status/1120817351933300738

Promises, promises 

Liberal: It was all about Veterans for the Coalition.

Mr Morrison was in Darwin to pledge a $63 million package to support veterans, telling voters that the Liberal Party would not forget the Territories.

Labor: For Mr Shorten the day’s theme was appealing to the 2.6 million casual workers in Australia.

Labor will introduce legislation that would allow casuals to request conversion to part-time or full-time employment if they work for the same employer for 12 months.

Quotes from the road

“I’m not going to let him run around the country taking his happy pills and having his photos and getting away with serious scrutiny.”
–Mr Shorten criticises the PM 

“He can’t explain those policies to you and that’s why I don’t think you should vote for them.”
-Mr Morrison queries Mr Shorten’s grasp of policies

Bill Shorten today:
– accused PM of taking “happy pills”
– declared he (shorten) “has plan and answers!) (maybe not on impact of climate change policy
– has a sotte voce whinge Labor told Oz they would consider tax cuts for higher income earners but suggest buried story 🤣

— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) April 24, 2019

Not good

Mr Shorten was not so cocky after he was forced to clarify telling a Gladstone worker that he would look at reducing the tax rate for those earning more than $250,000 a year.

Mr Morrison also had a crack over the Opposition Leader’s misunderstanding of a superannuation question and refusal to reveal the cost of Labor’s climate change policy.

Elsewhere on the election trail

The controversial activist group, GetUp took down an advertisement that depicted Tony Abbott as a lifesaver failing to help a drowning person. GetUp said it was a statement on climate change.

Mr Abbott responded on Twitter: “Forget me, but GetUp should apologise to Australia’s 150,000 plus surf lifesavers for mocking what they do.”

Labor announced it would launch a major inquiry into the water buybacks in 2017 under then minister Barnaby Joyce if they were to win the election.

And finally, the Liberal candidate in the Melbourne seat of Macnamara, Kate Ashmor, has refused to comment further after saying  teachers in the private system were better than “the vast majority of those” in the public system.

That’s Odd …

The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader both risk being kicked off WeChat – a popular social media platform in China.

WeChat requires that a profile be set up by the actual user but both leaders have used profiles set up by Chinese citizens – a move that breaches the platform’s rules.

WeChat is being used by numerous politicians to court Chinese-Australian voters in marginal seats.

Do we get a break for Anzac Day?

The good news is that yes, both parties have agreed to an armistice for Anzac Day.