Australian election rivals to hold first debate

Opinion polls say Mr Rudd, pictured,
will loose Septembers elections.

Australia's Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and opposition leader Tony Abbott are due to hold their first televised debate of the election campaign. The candidates will face an hour of questioning from a panel of journalists, in the Australian capital Canberra. Sunday's debate, which has now begun, is the first of three such possible meetings before the Australian people head to the polls. Topics set to dominate the debate are thought to include the economy and the issue of asylum seekers. Current opinion polls put Tony Abbott and his Liberal-National coalition in the lead for the 7 September election, but Kevin Rudd's Labor party has narrowed the gap since he ousted Julia Gillard in June.