Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition leader Tony Abbott have held their first debate of the 2013 election campaign.
The event was held at the National Press Club in Canberra on Sunday. The BBC reports the economy dominated the exchange and set the tone for the second week of the campaign.
The Treasury will on Tuesday issue a pre-election fiscal outlook.
Current opinion polls put the coalition in the lead for the election on 7 September. But Labor has narrowed its lead since Mr Rudd returned to office in June.
Australian media said the tone of the debate had been far more cordial than expected.
Mr Rudd said he offered a "new way to take Australia forward" as the country's economic mining boom begins to decline.
Mr Abbott told viewers the election was about deciding "who can make your future more secure".
"Mr Rudd talks about a new way. Well, if you want a new way you've got to choose a new government," he said.
The BBC reports the debate briefly touched on whether the leaders would take steps towards legalising gay marriage.
Mr Abbot said there had been a "fairly decisive" parliamentary vote against this a year ago, and it would not be a priority for his government.
But Mr Rudd said if re-elected, he would bring in a bill within his first 100 days to legalise marriage equality.
The BBC reports Mr Abbott also addressed the issue of immigration control, criticising the government's policies and saying his coalition would put an end to large numbers of people arriving in Australia by boat.
"No self-respecting country can hand over part of its immigration control programme to people smugglers," he said.
Mr Rudd called the election on 4 August and campaigning began on 5 August.
