On Monday Mr Rudd's Labor¹ party announced an A$200m ($177m) package to assist the car industry.

 

Conservative opposition² leader Tony Abbott, meanwhile, pledged to repeal³ Australia's carbon tax at his first campaign event in Brisbane.

 

Polls currently put the opposition Coalition⁴ ahead of Labor by 52-48.

 

The economy is expected to be a key issue in the election, along with asylum⁵ and climate change.

 

"I'm a believer in manufacturing's future," Mr Rudd told Australian broadcaster ABC, after the funding package for the car industry was announced.

 

"On a case-by-case basis, industry-sector-by-industry-sector, the government will provide support where necessary," he said.

 

Mr Rudd's cabinet is meeting in Canberra for what is expected to be its last meeting before the government enters into caretaker mode.

 

 

Mr Abbott began his campaign in Brisbane with a press conference followed by a tour of a meat-processing factory.

 

He reiterated⁷ the opposition's pledge to scrap⁸ Australia's carbon tax. "If the Coalition is elected our first legislative⁹ priority will be to scrap the carbon tax," he said.

 

He also promised a vigorous election campaign.

 

"I want a people's campaign," he said. "It is the people's choice and what I'll be doing over the next five weeks is travelling the length and breadth of Australia listening to people and explaining to them our strong positive plan."

 

The opposition remains¹⁰ the favourite to win the election, although opinion polls show that the Labor Party has significantly narrowed its lead since Mr Rudd ousted¹¹ his predecessor¹², Julia Gillard, in June. 

 

In one of the first opinion polls since the election was announced, a Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper suggested that the Coalition led Labor 52-48 on a two-party preferred basis, although more voters believed that Mr Rudd would make a better prime minister.

 

Meanwhile, Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper sparked controversy¹³ after its front page headline told voters to Kick This Mob Out, criticising the Labor party for causing "political chaos and economic decline".

 

The paper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, had supported Mr Rudd in the 2007 election.

点击收听单词发音