Australian election about safeguarding economy, says Rudd in debate

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and conservative rival Tony Abbott went head-to-head yesterday in the first debate of the election campaign, an encounter which focused on the economy and divided viewers.

Rudd, whom some commentators said looked nervous initially and appeared to check his notes, called for a "new way of politics" and promised to introduce a bill to legalise same sex marriage.

Abbott, a veteran politician who served as a minister in John Howard's government, countered that a new way of government would require an end to Labor's six years in power.

Both leaders have put management of the world's 12th- largest economy at the centre of their campaigns amid slowing growth as a China-led mining- investment boom wanes. Abbott, who leads a conservative Liberal/National coalition which is narrowly ahead in opinion polls, said a government he led would strengthen the economy, as he committed himself to abandoning Labor's industry tax on carbon pollution.

"We can't afford another three years like the last six," Abbott said. He also vowed that his government would stop asylum-seeker boats embarking on the dangerous journey to Australia.

Abbott also rejected Rudd's attack that, if elected, the conservatives would embark on billions of dollars of spending cuts, including in government services.