Federal election 2010
Leaders prepare to face the public
- From: AAP
- August 11, 2010
IT won't be politicians or journalists setting the agenda as the election campaign nears its final week - it will be ordinary voters.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will be grilled by 200 undecided voters at a forum in Sydney this evening.
The pair will share the stage but they won't debate each other at the forum, which has been organised by The Daily Telegraph newspaper and Sky News and will be held at Rooty Hill RSL Club in Sydney's west.
Instead, they'll answer the voters' questions separately.
Questions are usually varied when the public takes to the microphone; one hot topic is broadband, with the Coalition yesterday announcing its alternative to Labor's National Broadband Network (NBN).
Another topical issue is water after Ms Gillard announced Labor would follow the experts' advice on the ailing Murray-Darling Basin and buy all the water required to save it.
Ms Gillard is starting the day in Melbourne while Mr Abbott is in Adelaide.
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LABOR narrowly ahead but poll reveals it's in danger of losing 16 seats in Queensland and NSW.