Labor campaign turns into a circus

Labor's election campaign came close to running off the rails on Saturday as Prime
Minister Julia Gillard was overshadowed by a pair of once-close allies, former Labor
leaders Kevin Rudd and Mark Latham.
It was another blow for Labor following the latest Nielsen poll, published in
Fairfax newspapers, which showed the coalition continuing to enjoy an
election-winning advantage.
And while the meeting with Mr Rudd, their first since she snatched his job in June,
was expected to be a circuit-breaker for Labor, the atmospherics suggested it could
take some time for wounds to heal in the ALP.
During the brief minute they were on view to the media, the pair looked distant and
barely made eye contact as they surveyed a map on a table before them.
Ms Gillard confirmed they wouldn't be campaigning together, as had been expected.
"Kevin and I, to maximise spread, will be campaigning in different places," she told
reporters.
But she insisted it was a positive discussion.
"The focus of our discussion, in what was a positive meeting, was in Kevin's
involvement in the campaign," Ms Gillard said.
Mr Rudd wasn't commenting.
Her major announcement of the day - $100 million for a range of measures targeted at
seniors - was completely overshadowed by the Rudd meeting and the surprise
appearance of her one-time political soulmate, Mark Latham.
Mr Latham - in his capacity as a guest reporter for the Nine Network's 60 Minutes -
stole the limelight when he turned up at a retirement home in the northern Brisbane
bayside suburb of Scarborough where Ms Gillard was making her announcement.
He later confronted Ms Gillard when she visited Brisbane's royal show, the Ekka,
accusing her of complaining about his new job.
She good-naturedly brushed off the incident, wishing him luck in his new endeavour.
After repeatedly being questioned about Labor woes, a slightly exasperated Ms
Gillard eventually reminded reporters about the troubles the Liberals had with
former leaders Malcolm Turnbull, John Hewson and Malcolm Fraser.
"Let's just get a little bit real about all of this," she said.
"When Australians come to exercise their vote, what they will be thinking about is
`What matters to me and my family? What matters to my future?'"
The Labor shenanigans also stole attention from Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who
met Nauru President Marcus Stephen in Brisbane to discuss the coalition's plan to
reopen an offshore processing centre for asylum seekers in the island nation.
Mr Abbott is unlikely to mind the media focus being squarely on the shaky Labor
election caravan, as it was on Saturday.
On the eve of the coalition's formal election campaign launch, the latest opinion
polls suggest the community see the coalition as a viable option.
After the distribution of preferences, the coalition was ahead 51 per cent in the
Nielsen poll, down one point, against Labor on 49 per cent, up one point.
While Ms Gillard was trying to escape Labor's three-ring circus, Mr Abbott was able
to present a more prime ministerial demeanour.
"The most important conversation Julia Gillard could have had in Brisbane today was
with the president of Nauru," he told reporters.
"It's a really pity she hasn't ... had that conversation.
"Today in Brisbane Julia Gillard ... has been meeting with Kevin Rudd to talk about
Labor's problems and I've meeting with the president of Nauru to the issues facing
our country.
Mr Abbott also signalled plans for a major reform of youth welfare in an interview
with Fairfax newspapers.
He again indicated he wasn't getting ahead of himself and thinking the election was
a done deal.
"I've got a huge job ahead of me," Mr Abbott said.
"I'm not getting ahead of myself, I've got an election to win."
But he scored an own goal when, during his meeting with Mr Stephen, he was overheard
by photographers joking that a "guided democracy" wasn't such a bad idea.
It was a response to complaints from Mr Stephen that the cameras and photographers
sent in to record the meeting were unusually disruptive.