Welcome back to our live coverage of the federal election campaign.
Australia's strained relationship with the Solomon Islands is back on the agenda today, with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare lashing out. Scott Morrison continues to say our government will approach the issue "calmly".
Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, has suffered another embarrassing moment on the campaign trail, as he appeared to forget his own six-point plan for the NDIS during a press conference and had to be slipped a note.
And of course, the fallout from the Reserve Bank's decision to raise the cash rate for the first time in more than a decade continues.
Let's jump back into the debate between Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg and Independent candidate Monique Ryan in Kooyong for a moment that was, well, quite telling.
Mr Frydenberg was asked about his campaign billboards. If you haven't seen them, they feature a two-word slogan: "Keep Josh". They don't mention the Liberal Party.
Sky News' Kieran Gilbert put to the Treasurer that it might have been a tactical move.
"Are your colleagues a drag on your vote?" Gilbert asked him.
Mr Frydenberg's response did not outright reject the question. He said in a roundabout way that he wanted to keep his job.
“People need to know that if they want to keep me as a local member but they may have an issue with something that the Liberal Party has said or done, and they want to give us a kick for that, at the end of the day that may not leave me as the local member and that’s not what I want," he said.
After a rocky day on the campaign trail, Mr Albanese has wrapped up in preparation for an appearance on The ABC's Q&A tonight.
He just spoke at a lunch in Sydney with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he detailed his vision for the future of Australia's economy.
Former Prime Minister Paul Keating was there too, and he was followed by the media on his way out.
Reporters wanted his opinion on the latest developments in the Solomon Islands, but he remained tight-lipped.
The debate between Josh Frydenberg and Monique Ryan got a tad personal towards the end, as the Treasurer was asked about his public revelation that her mother-in-law had told him she was voting Liberal.
Mr Frydenberg didn't seem all that keen to discuss it again, but essentially confirmed his previous account. Dr Ryan said her mother-in-law, while a Liberal voter, felt she had been "misquoted", and had subsequently been subjected to "harassing and distressing" phone calls.
"She's found it really difficult," Dr Ryan said.
"Regardless of that, at the start of this campaign I took a pledge to not attack Mr Frydenberg in a personal way and not to involve his family. And I asked him to do that, and he has not."
"Monique it's one thing to say you put out a pledge on integrity," Mr Frydenberg shot back at her.
"It's another thing to come up and attack me for being 'the Treasurer for NSW' (a previous comment during the debate) or to send mail-outs to people's letterboxes under your name (saying) I don't care about my electorate, that I'm only in it for myself. And in fact your biggest supporters say I'm not a decent person.
"That is not a high level of integrity that you signed up to. So don't look at what Monique says. Look at what Monique does."
Fresh off his debate with Labor's treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers yesterday, Josh Frydenberg is now going toe-to-toe with Monique Ryan, the independent challenging him in his seat, Kooyong.
Mr Frydenberg has referred to Dr Ryan as a "so-called independent", much like other sitting Liberals have done with their own challengers. During a Sky News forum, the Treasurer accused her of concealing her true political background.
"When Monique Ryan was asked about her political background, she concealed the truth. She was asked did she have a political background, and she said she had none. She said, in fact, she was a small-L liberal," said Mr Frydenberg.
"This is someone who's called Malcolm Turnbull a national disgrace. She's not a small-L liberal. In fact (she's) a former member of the Labor Party.
"I'm happy to take fair criticism about the Liberal Party's position on policies. Not everyone in this room will agree with what the Liberal Party has done. But I am who I am. With Monique Ryan, she sought to conceal the fact that she was a member of the Labor Party. And even when she left the Labor Party, she was advocating for Labor Party positions on social media for years after."
In response, Dr Ryan argued she had "always been very truthful and very open" about her political identity.
"I was a member of the Labor Party for a brief period between 2007 and 2010. I joined the Labor Party because I believed Kevin Rudd when he said he was going to take effective action on climate change. He didn't, and I moved on," she said.
Dr Ryan pointed out that a former Liberal Party leader, Brendan Nelson, had previously been a "long-term member" of the Labor Party.
"I am a pediatric neurologist, I'm a scientist, I'm a member of my community. My community chose me because I'm standing at this time on values of integrity and honesty, and wanting to represent them on the things that matter," she said.
"They know who I am, and I know who I am. And calling me any number of names is not going to change that."
Sorry readers, I've been having a few technical issues with posts not publishing. Hopefully the problem has now been rectified.
Amid the flurry of activity earlier we didn't cover Scott Morrison's interview on ABC radio with Sabra Lane. She suggested the government's extra spending in the budget had contributed to the Reserve Bank's decision to lift the cash rate.
"Is your government responsible for that?" Lane asked.
"No. And Treasury was asked that question directly in Senate Estimates and rejected that outright. Moody's Analytics are one of the firms that have confirmed Australia's AAA credit rating after the budget, (they) indicated that was a nonsense, and Labor was politicising that issue, and that came from an international ratings agency," Mr Morrison said.
"So pumping the equivalent of 1 per cent of GDP into an economy with inflation already running at 5.1 per cent has no impact?" Lane pressed.
"No, well, that's what Treasury said when that exact question was put to them at Senate Estimates, Sabra," he repeated.
"And the reason they were saying that is one, that the inflation figures we saw in March – I mean, the budget hadn't even been handed down by then, point one. And secondly, we cut the petrol tax in half, which would have a quarter of a point of deflationary impact."
He said that was part of the "shield" the government had put in place to deal with the current "economic challenges".
"Our economic policies (are) providing a shield to Australians from those global impacts, which means that … I mean the RBA themselves said there are no domestic factors of any consequence in relation to their rate rise decision."
Dutton denies Solomons have criticised the government
Following on from yesterday's debate between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and his opposite number Jim Chalmers, today we're hearing from Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Labor's spokesman Brendan O'Connor.
The first major topic has, of course, been the Solomon Islands' pact with China. Mr Dutton hit back at criticism of the government, accusing Labor of spreading a "myth" that Scott Morrison is to blame for the deal.
"If you look at Prime Minister Sogavare's own words – not just what he's had to say in the last 24 hours or so but what he had to say in the run-up to this agreement with China – he has not a word of criticism for our country," he argued.
"He's not saying that the relationship is broken. He's not saying that Australia is an unreliable partner. He's not saying that Scott Morrison hasn't engaged with him in leader-to-leader dialogue. He's not saying we aren't providing support through capacity building. There's none of that coming out in the words of the Solomon Islands' government. It is all coming out, for political reasons, from Labor."
Just to recap Mr Sogavare's latest spray, he told his parliament the Solomons were being treated like "kindergarten students walking around with Colt .45s in our hands and therefore need to be supervised".
"We deplore the continual demonstration of lack of trust by the concerned parties," Mr Sogavare said.
"We are insulted."
Mr O'Connor countered Mr Dutton by claiming Australia's relationship with the Pacific nations had "deteriorated" on Mr Morrison's watch.
"As always … Scott Morrison refuses to accept responsibility for a failure. (This time) a failure to properly engage (with the Solomons) and prevent a compact with China."
Now that the madness of the daily press conferences is behind us, we can finally mop up some other moments from the morning media appearances.
Employment Minister Stuart Robert, who is also the acting Education Minister due to Alan Tudge standing aside, was on News Breakfast.
The hosts asked why he was the one making an education announcement instead of Mr Tudge, given Scott Morrison has said Mr Tudge is still in cabinet and will likely return to his role as minister after the election.
"I'm the acting Education Minister, and have been for almost 12 months. So I've got full authority in terms of running the education portfolio," Mr Robert said.
"So where is Alan Tudge?" Lisa Millar asked.
"I suggest in his electorate. I don't know where he is. I tend not to keep track of my colleagues' whereabouts," he replied.
"Well he is a frontbencher, and the Prime Minister has said that he's welcome back in cabinet, but he's sitting in an electorate with a 10 per cent margin. So he would normally be out campaigning elsewhere, but he's not in this election, because of the allegations that have sat over him," said Millar.
She proceeded to ask him about the $500,000-plus taxpayer-funded payout to Mr Tudge's former staffer and lover, Rachelle Miller. Mr Robert had no answers, claiming he was "not across those issues in any detail".
Fun follow-up to that conversation – and hat tip to The Guardian here for noticing it before me – the Coalition made a cheeky edit to its transcript of the interview before distributing it.
Mr Robert said he'd been acting Education Minister for "almost 12 months". That was way off the mark, given he's only been in the role since the start of December.
In the Coalition's transcript, his quote changed to: "I am the acting Education Minister … and have been for a number of months."
Anthony Albanese was accused of not knowing his own party’s plan to improve the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – in a press conference that saw him dip off camera momentarily and return with key points of the policy.
The opposition leader was in Sydney and it was all supposed to be about green energy as he toured a “smart energy” expo in Darling Harbour.
After inspecting electric motorbikes and trucks inside the International Convention Centre, Mr Albanese was keen to talk about his party’s plan to create jobs, cut power bills and reduce emissions by boosting renewable energy.
However, the press conference took a sudden turn when Nine’s Jonathan Kearsley asked a question about the NDIS.
He asked the opposition leader to name the six points set out in Labor’s plan to “restore trust” in the system that assists 4.4 million Australians with a disability.
"In your speech later today, you'll talk about the legacy of Labor leaders. One of those legacies is the NDIS. Yesterday you talked about Labor's six-point plan. What are the six-points?" Kearsley asked.
Mr Albanese responded with what one might call a nervous smile.
“The six points are what we will do in terms of what was outlined by Bill Shorten. That is about making sure-” the Labor leader began before he was cut off.
“What are the six points?” asked Mr Kearsley.
"If you'll let me answer the question. What that's about is making sure that we take pressure off people who are, at the moment, having their programs cut," said Mr Albanese.
Kearsley stood with his thumb raised to indicate he had counted one point.
“We will make sure that there is administrative efficiency,” continued Mr Albanese.
“So much is being wasted by the claims that are going forward with legal battles for individuals. What we will do is put people at the centre of the NDIS.”
Kearsley, who had still only counted one point, asked: “What are the other five?”
“We will put people at the centre of the NDIS,” replied Mr Albanese.
The question was then echoed by four other reporters from different networks – to which Mr Albanese gave the same single-sentence answer.
When he took a question on a different topic, he stepped aside to allow the Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, to answer.
Mr Albanese then dipped off-camera and appeared to be speaking with somebody before he returned. When he stepped up to speak he appeared to refer to a written note as he listed the key six points of the NDIS policy.
Kearsley accused Mr Albanese of not knowing his own policy and suggested the opposition leader had been briefed when he dipped off-camera.
"Are these the six points that have been handed to you by your adviser?" another reporter asked.
"You have just been handed the six points."
Mr Albanese appeared to be reading the policy off a note.
For the record, the six key points of the policy, announced by former Labor leader Bill Shorten, are as follows:
1. To lift the staffing cap at the NDIA, commit to urgently reducing insecure labour hire arrangements, increasing permanent staff at the agency and improving the culture.
2. To review the excessive use of external lawyers, crack down on criminal activity and fraud, and review the value for money of lucrative consultancy contracts.
3. To streamline the planning process for better initial plans. Fix the planning pathway and appeals to make NDIS decision-making more efficient, fair and investment focused.
4. To introduce an expert review that will guarantee plans will not be arbitrarily cut.
5. To appoint a senior officer within the NDIA to tackle the concerning barriers to service delivery in regional areas of Australia.
6. To commit to co-designing changes to the scheme with people with disability and the sector and to boost the number of people with disability on the board of the NDIA.
After that lively press conference with journalists at a Lebanese sweets shop in Granville, the Prime Minister made a swift exit from the store before turning to address the issue of his injured thumb that has been raising questions all week.
“Thumb is fine!” he called out over his shoulder, almost taunting reporters who tenaciously perused the investigation.
We have a few more brief moments to run through from the Prime Minister's press conference and then we'll get to Anthony Albanese's, which turned into a bit of a farce (not for the first time this campaign).
First I want to mention the PM's vicious sledge against Harry Potter's economic management credentials. OK he was actually sledging Labor, but the wording tickled me.
"We understand the needs of small and family businesses. Labor doesn't have a plan to get their costs down. They think they have a magic pen or wand they can (wave) around like Harry Potter. You can't run the economy like Harry Potter. You need responsible financial management," he said.
Someone print "You can't run the economy like Harry Potter" onto a line of t-shirts and put them on sale in Diagon Alley ahead of the next wizard elections. I reckon they could really help Draco's campaign for office.
Second moment: Mr Morrison was asked about the news from the United States that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark case that underpins the nation's abortion rights.
"That is a matter for the United States. It is for them to determine their rules and laws and how they do things," he said.
Asked for his own "personal view on a woman's right to choose", Mr Morrison said Australia was not "changing any of the settings" and he didn't believe change was needed.
The third thing is hard to explain without footage, so I'll look to bring you some later, but I wanted to note the frustration of the media pack as Mr Morrison was wrapping up the press conference.
The Prime Minister typically pivots into his stump speech about the election being a "choice", etc., when he's decided it's time to go. It lasts a couple of minutes, and everyone has to stand around waiting for him to finish, knowing he won't be taking any more questions.
Not today. Mr Morrison had to practically shout the last few sentences because he was being bombarded with so many interjections. Yet he forged ahead as though he couldn't hear them.
"There is a choice. And it is a choice between whether you want the Liberals and Nationals to run the country and continue that strong economic management, or do you WANT THE LABOR PARTY SUPPORTED BY THE GREENS AND A CAVALCADE OF INDEPENDENTS, WHERE YOU ARE INVITING CHAOS AND WEAKNESS? A STRONG ECONOMY VERSUS A WEAK ECONOMY? I AM FOCUSED ON THE CONTEST BETWEEN LABOR AND LIBERAL AND MYSELF AND MR ALBANESE. Thank you very much."
Amusing stuff. Felt a bit like Yes Minister.
"Interesting developments with the journos on the ground getting used to the rhythm of these press conferences, and the Prime Minister in the stage of wrapping that up at the end, and the journalists shouting their questions at him, anticipating it was going to finish, to get something else out of him," the ABC TV anchor noted after cutting away.
A shock new poll has revealed Labor and the Coalition are neck and neck for the first time in two years – with one Coalition leader making a bold call.
