Australia got the breather it was calling out for yesterday, as day 5 marked the first real truce of the campaign. Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard both took the opportunity to attend the funeral of soldier Nathan Bewes, who died in Afghanistan earlier this month. Gillard’s Moving Forward Taskforce continues to lead the tracker race with 5,877 clicks, however Tony Abbott’s Real Action Brigade is fast catching up with a respectable 5,493km. Together that’s a combined 11,370km — or 2,045 nautical leagues in the old money.

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It was a quiet day all round yesterday, but Kevin Rudd continues to feed the news cycle with revelations he sent his chief of staff to high-level security meeting. Here’s the low down on day 4:

Gillard and Abbott:

Rudd:

Any giant novelty cheques?

  • The stunts were put on hold temporarily yesterday, as the two candidates took full advantage of their day off. But the Daily Telegraph wins points for its new “perfect PM” initiative. According to the website, people can vote in an online poll and whatever the results, that’s what their candidate’s policy will be.

What’s happening in the seat of Batman?

  • Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your next member for Batman:

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Quotable:

  • Annabel Crabb gives her (rather bizarre) take on the return of Kevin Rudd:

“Kevin Rudd’s schoolyard visit yesterday made kind of weird television, as anyone who caught the full broadcast would have to agree… Watching it, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Princess Diana. Back in July 1997, when the betrayed Diana was governing in exile, Prince Charles decided to throw a 50th birthday party for his new girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles… Holidaying in St Tropez, the exiled Princess said nothing. But as the sun set on the night in question, she slipped into a leopard-skin bathing suit and headed out for a dip, at a beach to which photographers had been advised to hasten. The resultant pictures, which of course displaced the ageing royal lovebirds from front pages all over Britain, told readers very eloquently what Diana did not have to vocalise: Here I am. And yes: I am as fabulous as you remember me being.”

Where are they moving today?

  • Julia Gillard will be in Brisbane today, where she will announce details of a new climate change “citizens’ assembly”. The policy launch comes two-and-a-half months after the federal government decided to shelve its emissions trading scheme.
  • Tony Abbott will be in Perth where he is expected to announce a new border security policy. It is also anticipated he will meet members of the mining industry, who are sure to give Abbott a rapturous welcome.
  • Bob Brown will hit the hustings in Hobart today, where he will launch a new Greens emerging artists policy.

What is the tracker?

Crikey tracks each leader’s amazing race across the country via our Election Tracker. Each day we’ll plot the leaders’ movements, feeding in the key policy announcements and spending commitments, the best media coverage and social media chat, plus the campaign stunts and bloopers. You can also use the tracker as a hub for the best Crikey coverage.

Click on the tabs across the top to watch how many kilometres Gillard and Abbott have clocked up, the movements of other key players and finally our bloopers and stunts bonanza on the right. You can click on each stop to see what they’re up to, with links to extended coverage and detailed electorate information.