It was the crucial final debate of the election campaign - and as the two leaders sniped at each other, one awkward moment stood out.
Welcome to our live coverage of the third debate between Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten at the National Press Club in Canberra.
This is the last chance for the two leaders to go head-to-head on stage, and that makes it one of the election campaign's most pivotal moments. Keep reading below for live updates.
We will leave the debate blog there for tonight. Thank you for what I'm sure was your undivided attention.
If you're just catching up now, read on for all the highlights.
And be sure to check back in tomorrow morning, when we will once again bring you live coverage of the election campaign.
Mr Morrison and Mr Shorten will have to compete for attention with the royal baby, who might even have a name by then. So that should be fun.
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten both had a few shaky moments. These were my favourites:
– When Mr Morrison claimed he "brought the Budget back into surplus next year", and the audience laughed at him;
– When Mr Shorten delivered a sarcastic zinger, then immediately forgot what Mr Morrison had asked him.
You can of course read about all the policy debates in glorious detail below.
It was perhaps telling that all four questions asked by the leaders themselves – two apiece – were about Labor policies. Mr Shorten had more to talk about tonight, but that also means he was playing defence.
Lane finishes with the one question that was definitely, totally on all of our lips – would both leaders agree to establish an independent debates commission?
"Yes," Mr Morrison says.
"Yep!" says Mr Shorten.
Huzzah.
So ends the third and final debate.
In the middle of another rather dull exchange, the spice Sabra Lane promised so very long ago finally emerges.
It starts with a dig at Labor's shadow ministry. Mr Shorten has not named a direct counterpart for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
Morrison: "Who is your home affairs minister going to be?"
Shorten: "We will pick after the election."
Morrison: "I was wondering."
Shorten: "Will you keep the same environment minister?"
Morrison: "Yes."
Shorten: "Where is she? If you win you'll have more people to promote because so many of your current ministry is leaving."
Morrison: "No need to get nasty."
Shorten: "I'm sorry if you think -"
Morrison: "Smile, it was a joke!"
Shorten: "I'm sorry if you think so many of your people leaving is a source of great amusement. I think it's more a judgment on the government."
Morrison: "I will pick him up there. He has just said that Kelly O'Dwyer, who is a dear friend of mine, who decided to retire from parliament because of her choices, about her own family … I won't allow that statement to stand."
Ms O'Dwyer cited a need to spend more time with her family, and her desire to have another child, as the main reason for her retirement from politics.
"Certainly we shouldn't reflect on members for their decisions to leave the parliament as the Leader of the Opposition just did," Mr Morrison said.
We are now back to the gimmick of the leaders asking each other questions. Mr Morrison asks about the effect of Labor's policies on homeowners and renters.
"Can you give an absolute guarantee that those changes will not lead to a fall in value of the value of their home or increase in their rent? Can you give them that absolute guarantee?" Mr Morrison says.
"The Grattan Institute and the New South Wales Treasury, even as late as today, have indicated our policies and our reforms will not have an impact on housing prices. This is a scare campaign," Mr Shorten responds.
"As for falling house prices, the biggest falls in house prices have happened under this government's watch. If you want to talk about renters, look at the reduction in the amount of social housing. This is an out of touch government."
The Prime Minister keeps pressing.
"So I take it that's a no? That's a no?" he interjects.
"You heard the answer," Mr Shorten says.
"So there's no guarantee," Mr Morrison pushes.
"No, you heard the answer," the Labor Leader says.
"I asked you a simple question. Will you guarantee rents won't go up and values won't go down?" Mr Morrison says.
"You don't like our policy. That doesn't give you the right to scare Australians or ignore first homebuyers," Mr Shorten says.
Question: "To both of you, on your approach in this next parliament. Whoever wins, will they have a mandate to enact their policies, and should the opposition, whoever that be, acknowledge that it's time to end the climate wars?"
"Well if the government win the election, I think their minimalist approach to climate change means the argument goes on," Mr Shorten says.
"The question here at this election is not should we be taking action on climate change. That is agreed," Mr Morrison responds.
"The question here is what is a responsible approach to take? Should we be choosing between our economy – which my kids are interested in as well by the way – and the environment? And my view is you don't have to pick between those two."
Lane keeps the argument going.
"You have a chance to rebut, Bill Shorten. I see you've been busily taking notes," she says.
"If you believe the PM, we're doing everything that needs to be done and no need to look any further. Move along. I don't buy that," Mr Shorten replies.
The Prime Minister returns to one of the key attacks of his campaign – Labor's alleged failure to adequately outline the cost of its climate change policies.
"What price will Australians pay in their hip pockets, in their jobs, in economic costs?" he asks.
"Bill Shorten said it was a dumb question the other day to ask what the cost was. I don't think it is. I think it's a fair question."
Lane throws back to Mr Shorten, though not without a brief moment of levity.
"You're still taking notes, Bill Shorten?" she asks with a smile.
"No, I'm happy to answer that," he replies.
"I accept the cost question is not a dumb question. I'll rephrase that. I think it's a dishonest question.
"It's a crooked, charlatan argument."
Question: "Turning to religious freedom. Wallabies star Israel Folau has been found guilty of a high breach of the Rugby Australia rules over his social media posts. Should people be allowed to express their fundamental beliefs or is free speech being threatened in this country?"
It's a curly question, and the Prime Minister takes it first.
"Free speech is one of our fundamental freedoms, so is religious freedom. I feel this very strongly. I mentioned it in my maiden speech to the parliament. If you're not free to believe, what are you free to do in this country?" he asks.
"Freedom of speech is important, but we have to exercise it responsibly and exercise it in a society such as ours with civility and due care and consideration to others.
"That is why I seek to do as a public figure, and as public figures we have I think a higher and more special responsibility in relation to what happens in matters of contracts law and employment law, we're all subjects to those."
That boils down to an argument that Folau's predicament is more about him violating the terms of his employment than freedom of speech and religion.
Mr Shorten is in broad agreement.
"You went to the specific issue of Israel Folau. Mr Morrison is right there, it's a contractual negotiation at one level but I'm uneasy about where that debate's gone," he says.
"On one hand, I think Israel Folau is entitled to his views. And he shouldn't suffer an employment penalty for it. So I'm uneasy about that part of it.
"But I also think that we've got to be mindful about the other side of the equation. People putting out on social media that if you're gay you're going to go to hell – I get that's what he genuinely believes. When you're a public figure, that has negative impact, a hurtful impact on other people."
Question: "To the PM, we hear often you talking about Labor's policy on franking credits, negative gearing changes. In 1993 Paul Keating warned the public in parliament that if John Hewson won that election – which was contested over the Fightback GST plan – that Labor would pass this package holus-bolus in the Senate and it wouldn't block it. Why don't you use the same tactic this time around?"
"You're right. It was a tactic. Politics isn't about tactics, politics is about what you believe," Mr Morrison says.
"It's a heinous tax on Australians who have worked hard all of their lives. And to be told they have to pay a higher rate of tax than others do on their dividends based on their marginal rate of tax, I think, is wrong."
Lane gives Mr Shorten an extended opportunity to defend his policy.
"Mr Morrison's deliberately calling taking back a subsidy that gets paid to people, and he's pretending it's a tax. It's not. If you get an income tax refund and you haven't paid income tax in that year, it is not a refund. It's a gift," he says.
"No one else in the world does it and there's a good reason why they don't, because it's not a good, sustainable idea."
Question: "There is a global slowdown happening and a trade war will only exacerbate that. In the event of a sharp downturn, will you allow the Budget to slip further into deficit?"
Mr Shorten goes first this time.
"We won't have to, because of the reform decisions which we're presenting to the Australian people," he says.
Mr Morrison says "the short answer" is that his government will keep the Budget in surplus.
"We have brought our Budget back to surplus. We're the party, we are the party that has done that. And I think Australians can trust us to keep it in surplus," he says.
"It's not in surplus now," Lane points out.
"I said next year. I said we brought the Budget back to surplus next year," the Prime Minister responds.
The audience laughed at that. It's good to see Australians still care about proper use of tense.
Bill Shorten gets to ask his question next.
"I announced a plan to help eliminate, to quite a great extent, the cost of cancer treatment. What that included was millions of extra scans funded through Medicare, visits to oncologists, a range of measures which we think will help with the out of pocket costs of fighting cancer. Initially the government, you've ruled that out, that you're not interested in our $2.4 billion cancer plan. I would like to invite you to, would you agree to implement our cancer plan, which will lower the out of pocket costs to practically nil for hundreds of thousands of our fellow Australians?" he says.
Mr Morrison emphasises the government's record of listing drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and says the details of Labor's policy are not yet clear.
"If we're elected I'm happy to assess it in the context of the next Budget," he says.
"If you're in a public hospital at the moment, all of your cancer treatment is free. And you know that to be the case, and that is exactly as it should be."
Mr Shorten interjects.
"Not if you're in a hospital. There are plenty of out of pocket costs, and people can attest to that," he says.
"If you're receiving public treatment for cancer it is funded by the Commonwealth and supported as well. The point I was going to make is to meet those out of pocket expenses for those Australians who are doing it through the private system, you need your private health insurance, and that is really important," Mr Morrison replies.
He says only one side of politics – his own – has ruled out changes to the private health insurance rebate.
"Not everyone can afford private health," Mr Shorten fires back.
"That's why you have a private health rebate and that's why it is targeted to those on low and middle incomes," the Prime Minister says.
Lane tries to move on to the next question, but Mr Shorten isn't done.
"Sorry, was that a yes or a no on the cancer plan? A definite maybe?" he quips.
"Bill, once you can tell us what everything costs and what your policies are, then people can assess them," Mr Morrison says, before turning the question back on the Labor Leader.
"I have a simple question. How many Medicare benefit items are actually addressed under your policy? How many have changed? How will you make the specialists and others who are treating pay only the fee that you're saying they should pay, and not pay a higher fee? In my experience Bill, every time you subsidise something, it always pushes the price up," he says.
"In terms of the Medicare items, there's two specifically we're proposing to change. In terms of access to scans and in terms of seeing specialists and oncologists, there are two," Mr Shorten answers.
"There are well over 100. What about the other 100?" Mr Morrison interjects.
"Don't look so disappointed I answered your question. The second one in terms of the … what was the second part of your question Scott?" Mr Shorten awkwardly asks.
"I was simply asking how you were going to ensure the specialists and others don't put their fees up," the PM says.
"Thank you for that," Mr Shorten responds.
Lane gives him a strict time limit of 20 seconds to finish his point. Needless to say, he exceeds it.
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