SBS News political correspondents Pablo Viñales and Naveen Razik are on the 2022 federal election campaign trail with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese respectively.
Each week, our correspondents will bring you the moments not to miss from both sides on the road to polling day.
Here is how the second week of the campaign unfolded:
On the road with Scott Morrison: Pablo Viñales
The convention of a political truce over the Easter long weekend didn’t necessarily have much impact on either of the campaigns.
Scott Morrison’s campaign has been buoyed by the Labor leader’s interest rate gaffe in the first week of campaigning and while the prime minister has measured his attack on that front, he has capitalised on the momentum.
Mr Morrison used Easter Sunday at the Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney to confirm should the Coalition be re-elected.
She will replace Greg Hunt in the critical portfolio following his retirement from politics at the next election.
For much of this year, the prime minister has accused Labor of not being transparent over who will fill key portfolios such as Home Affairs and Defence.
But when pressed on who would replace Senator Ruston in Social Services he refused to say.
At his press conference, he was asked several times and as questions were shouted Mr Morrison momentarily thought he was in the House of Representatives, mistakenly calling reporters “Mr Speaker” three times.
While the moment was amusing – with the PM himself even cracking a laugh – it was also telling.
Mr Morrison often appears to be unfazed and at times even enjoys the combative nature of press conferences.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Anne Ruston (left), who will become health minister if the Coalition wins the election, and outgoing health minister Greg Hunt (right) at Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE
It demonstrates the power and advantage of incumbency.
The week wasn't all smooth sailing for Mr Morrison - he was criticised for saying he and his wife Jenny were "blessed" for not having children with disability in reply to a question from a mother of a child with autism at the leaders' debate in Brisbane. He later said he was sorry if he had caused offence with his comments.
The prime minister also copped heat from some quarters for, who has been pilloried for transphobic comments made on Twitter.
For the first time this election, the Government took its campaign to Western Australia, a state that had the hardest border policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unable to travel to the west for over a year, Mr Morrison knows how much ground needs to be covered.
Visits included the marginal electorate of Cowan, held by Labor’s Anne Aly and the safe seat of Pearce, held by outgoing Liberal Christian Porter.
While the seat has a margin of 5.2 per cent, privately the Liberals are concerned it could fall to Labor.
Former Attorney-General Porter announced he was quitting politics after historical rape allegations were made against him.
Mr Porter has strenuously denied the allegations.
The concern in the west underscores how narrow the path to victory will be for both major parties.
There’s also some concern the popular support for Labor Premier Mark McGowan could translate federally.
A constant message repeated on the two night stop in Perth was: a McGowan Labor government is very different to an Albanese Labor government.
Expect that to continue right up until polling day.
On the road with Anthony Albanese: Naveen Razik
The first week of Anthony Albanese’s campaign did not go to plan. The second week saw immediate plans ripped up entirely thanks to that pesky virus.
The positive Covid-19 test overshadowed a week in which Mr Albanese began to find his feet on the campaign, and appeared to be gaining momentum.
The Opposition leader finished a rocky first week with an escape to the tropics for Easter, visiting the key seat of Leichhardt in Far North Queensland, but the long weekend proved no holiday.
During a post-Easter Sunday mass press conference, Mr Albanese appeared to confuse Labor’s position on temporary protection visas.
The Opposition has long opposed them, but in response to a reporter’s question on the visas and the broader issue of boat turnbacks - .
For the third time this campaign, Mr Albanese had to front up to the cameras again to clarify his position - claiming he’d misheard the question.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese greets local kids as he inspects a street affected by recent flooding events in the Brisbane suburb of Auchenflower. Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE
Easter is traditionally a season of renewal and Labor was looking to retool its campaign over the weekend, to sharpen up the performance and raise Mr Albanese’s profile.
A visit to Bluesfest at Byron Bay to appear next to rock royalty Jimmy Barnes had mixed results.
Cheered in the afternoon during an appearance at The Waifs’ gig at the festival, Mr Albanese copped a barrage of loud boos from a section at the front of the crowd when he turned up for Barnes’ show.
The Opposition leader battled on regardless, unfazed as he followed through with his stump speech, winning cheers when he mentioned Labor’s promise of constitutional recognition for Australia’s First Nations people.
Still it was yet another campaign moment that has spiralled out of Labor’s control, of which there had already been too many.
Next stop was Brisbane, and it was here the Opposition leader began to rediscover his mojo.
At the press conferences, he was on the offensive.
On Monday, it was the response to Brisbane’s recent flooding disaster, on Tuesday the government's record on climate action and on Wednesday industrial relations.
Wednesday night was the televised leaders’ debate, and after Mr Albanese came away with a narrow victory according to the Sky News audience in attendance, it was straight on the plane to Nowra, and the seat of Gilmore - one of Labor’s few gains in 2019.
A visit to a local aged care home was a fully-masked affair for COVID-19 safety reasons, with Mr Albanese letting slip to one resident that he felt “very lucky” not to have picked up the cursed cough.
“I’ve got to say, a lot of my colleagues, a lot of parliamentarians [picked it up] because we mix and go around,” he said.
“But so far, crossed fingers.”
That gesture came too late.
At 6:30 that night came confirmation that Mr Albanese had contracted COVID-19 and a planned trip the next day to Western Australia - where Labor is hoping to strike electoral gold - was off.
The opposition leader was now housebound - and the campaign stuck in Sydney.
The Prime Minister continued his campaign at full steam while Labor frontbenchers sought to keep their party in the news cycle in the physical absence of their leader.
By the afternoon the Opposition leader had already a long list of media commitments to make from isolation.
But his physical absence will be a blow for the campaign, and for MPs and candidates contesting marginal seats who might have benefited from his presence.
