Day 28 – Wednesday – was dominated by a tabloid story about Bill Shorten’s mother, and the Opposition Leader’s emotional display as he defended his mum.

Mr Shorten may not be the only one in tears … bookmakers Ladbrokes announced it had received its biggest single wager of $1 million for Labor to win the election.

The very confident and very wealthy punter who lives in New South Wales stands to collect $1.23 million if they are correct.

Ladbrokes is one barometer for confidence, but the Voter Choice Project paints a less-certain picture.

It shows there is no overall national trend, but shows Labor’s best chances lie in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. NSW is holding steady for incumbent MPs, while Queensland and South Australia are tracking towards the coalition.

Where were they?

Mr Morrison was in Sydney, visiting Parramatta and Reid.

Mr Shorten was in southern New South Wales in the seat of Gilmore.

Promises  …  promises

Liberal: The focus was on wooing dairy farmers with a suite of policies, including $10 million to help farmers reduce energy costs and $3 million to help establish farm co-operatives.Labor: Mr Shorten promised to “rescue” hospitals and provide them with more funds within his first 100 days of office.

Quotes from the road

“My mum is the bravest person I’ve known.”
– Mr Shorten honours his mother

“This election is not about our families.”
– Mr Morrison backs his opponent on media stories

“They’ve even got ancestors in the family tree who were convicts. I’m waiting for that to come out in the Telegraph!”
– Mr Shorten, on what the tabloids will come up with next

Elsewhere on the election trail

#MyMum: The article about Mr Shorten’s mother evoked a fierce Twitter response from people whose mothers sacrificed their own ambitions for their families.

Well done, you @dailytelegraph! A front-page trashing of Bill Shorten via his late mother not only leads to his best day of the campaign but you have inspired the most wonderful stories via #MyMum. So what’s tomorrow? #AUSVote2019 https://t.co/qE1dnKEXhz

— Kate McClymont (@Kate_McClymont) May 8, 2019

#MyMum had to leave school at the age of 12 to work the farm as her family was so poor. She came to Australia without a word of English, worked on tobacco farms & then factories till her body couldn't take it anymore to raise 2 kids & give me & my sis the freedom & life we have. pic.twitter.com/MngZsbCeMN

— Kon Karapanagiotidis (@Kon__K) May 8, 2019

#MyMum was the smartest person I knew growing up. I often wonder if #MyMum was alive today … all the opportunities she would have + the things she could achieve.#MyMum didn’t have those opportunities, however, she raised 7 kids + continues to be their inspiration. pic.twitter.com/V4LetzrXlJ

— David Wenham AM, Blue Tick (@WenhamDavid) May 8, 2019

https://twitter.com/jessicamil4/status/1125956619995533312

Greens candidate quits: This time it was the Greens who cut loose a candidate over offensive social media posts made years ago.

Candidate for the Melbourne seat of Lalor, Jay Dessi, was forced to quit on Wednesday after numerous posts surfaced, including a racist joke about an Asian friend.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Dessi’s posts between 2012 and 2015 were “unacceptable”.

Bob Hawke and Paul Keating co-write op-ed: Former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating provided a blast from the past, reuniting to back Labor’s economic management.

The pair issued their first joint statement in 28 years in The Sydney Morning Herald, saying “the design and structure of the modern Australian economy was put in place exclusively by Labor”.

https://twitter.com/_jessticulate/status/1125914029598203904

The two former Labor leaders were last in partnership in 1991, when Mr Keating resigned as treasurer to challenge Mr Hawke for the top job.

Fiji’s Prime Minister intervenes on climate debate: Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama spoke at the Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit, where he stressed the need for international climate leadership.

Arriving in Melbourne, Mr Bainimarama said climate change should be at the top of the national agenda.

“In Fiji, we have already moved three communities and have a priority queue of about some 40 others waiting to be relocated,” he said.