Good morning, this is Luke Henriques-Gomes bringing you a special election edition of the morning mail for Saturday 4 May.

The week that was

There’s really no other way to say this: Week four was Week Farce.

The leaders duked it out in front of a small live audience and an only slightly larger TV audience on Monday. The punters in the room called it for Shorten, though no one watching the thing felt like a winner afterwards. It was screened on 7Two, pushing Bargain Hunt and the Vicar of Dibley off our TV screens for the night.

Over on A Current Affair, One Nation’s Queensland leader and second Senate candidate was revealed to have groped women at a strip club. Steve Dickson promptly quit. The next night Pauline Hanson popped up on the same program. She cried, hitting out at Dickson and her “history of bad men”. She is sick of it.

Bill Shorten spent most of the week trying to avoid answering a question to which he says there is no reasonable answer. A tough ask. Scott Morrison wants Labor to put a dollar figure on the potential economic cost of its climate abatement policy. He was asked this almost every time he stepped in front of a camera, including in a robust interview with Leigh Sales on 7:30.

Shorten ducked and weaved, before going on the attack on Thursday, describing unflattering modelling of the Labor policy by economist Brian Fisher as “propaganda”. But other experts strong disputed Fisher’s figures and, as Katharine Murphy wrote this week, the intense focus on a mythical “big scary number” might be missing the point anyway.

Play Video 2:46 Federal election week four roundup: rogue candidates burst forth from main parties – video

The big issue

The main story of the week was played on a loop. It went something like this: [Insert political party] is facing growing calls to dump [insert candidate and seat] over a series of offensive social media posts they made about [insert particular issue or marginalised group].

Names you won’t hear again after this week include Peter Killin (Liberal candidate for Wills, quit over anti-gay comments), Jeremy Hearn (Liberal candidate for Isaacs, disendorsed over conspiracy-laden anti-Muslim posts) and Wayne Kurnoth (Labor NT Senate candidate, quit over antisemitic posts).

The biggest casualty was Jessica Whelan, the Liberals’ candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons, which Labor holds by a narrow margin. On Thursday, Whelan said anti-Islam Facebook posts attributed to her had been falsified. The Liberals said the Australian federal police had been swiftly called in. The PM backed her. But on Friday, more posts emerged, and Whelan was dumped.

Then there was Luke Creasey, Labor’s hopeful in the Greens’ seat of Melbourne. Years ago, Creasey shared rape “jokes” and other offensive material on Facebook.

He apologised, said he had grown up, and tried to hold on. By 1.20pm on Friday, he had pulled the pin. “I think this is a really important lesson for young people that your social media footprint will follow you,” he said.

There might be a lesson for political parties, too. Something about vetting, and something about the eventual cost of all this online warfare.

On the ground

Gabrielle Chan reported from the seat of Farrer in rural New South Wales. There she found an electorate frustrated by Canberra and anxious about the future. The issue on everyone’s minds? Water. Farrer covers the towns of Deniliquin, Griffith and Wentworth, as well as Albury. Its mayor, Kevin Mack, is considered the best chance of knocking off the current Liberal MP Sussan Ley.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Organic farmer Jane Crowhurst at the Blighty pub near Deniliquin, in the NSW seat of Farrer. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Labor’s Cathy O’Toole claimed the Queensland seat of Herbert in 2016 by 37 votes. The LNP wants it back. But as Amy Remeikis wrote from Townsville this week, voters are hardly enamoured with the major parties. Preferences will be key, with One Nation, the United Australia party and Katter’s Australia party peeling off disillusioned voters.

Good week for…

Angus Taylor. Just ask Angus Taylor. “Fantastic. Great move. Well done Angus.”

Bad week for…

The major parties. Scott Morrison wants to be talking about how Labor is going to tax everything in its sight. Labor wants to talk about its new policies on childcare and free dental for seniors.

Instead, they spent the week talking about the social media histories of a slew of unknown candidates with almost no chance of getting elected even before they disgraced themselves.

Meme warfare

I’m not sure how many times Bill Shorten has been called a prick and been happy about it, but the answer is at least once. Last Sunday at Hobart’s Salamanca markets, a woman sidled up to the aspiring PM and lobbed said insult his way. So why was Shorten (probably) happy? The woman mistook him for Scott Morrison. When she realised, she apologised, and told the Labor leader she actually liked him.

Also worth your time: this creepy compilation of United Australia party candidates reading the same video script word for word. And Scott Morrison was presented with a portrait, made from wood, that probably won’t be going on his desk next to the “I stopped these” boat.

Campaign dog of the week

Liberal minister Michaelia Cash joined MP Jason Falinski on the campaign trail in Sydney, where they met Charlie, Axel (below) and Sammy.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Axel acknowledges his subordinate position in this pack. Photograph: Twitter

And an honourable mention for Bill Shorten’s meeting with the first cat of the campaign, which its owners brought to Tasmania’s AgFest. In a pram.

They said it

You wouldn’t believe anything you read in the Guardian.

Clive Palmer responds to the report that UAP candidates are asked to sign contracts that require them to return $400,000 in election support if they win a seat but subsequently leave the party.

In case you missed it in the Guardian

Sarah Martin revealed that the far-right extremist Neil Erikson briefly met the WA Liberals’ Andrew Hastie and Ian Goodenough at a rally in Perth supporting white South African farmers. Her report came after denials from Liberal party officials, and Hastie’s refusal to answer what he called “defamatory” questions.

Lorena Allam delved into the financial records of a foundation Clive Palmer set up to benefit Aboriginal people. The $100m fund has $109 in it, according to documents filed with the charities regulator.

What we read elsewhere

What might happen beyond 18 May? Two of the week’s best pieces tried to answer this question.

Sean Kelly wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald about what might happen if Bill Shorten loses the election. The overarching observation is that Labor has gambled its fortunes on the belief that the Australian electorate has evolved. That this is generally now a progressive place. Kelly argues that a Coalition victory would shatter that notion, and Labor’s belief in it.

Over at the ABC, Patricia Karvelas argued that the Victorian Liberals’ candidate woes were about more than poor vetting. Describing Thursday as the party’s “darkest campaign day”, she wrote that Liberal MPs had told her the “problems can be traced back to toxic management in the Liberal party with recruitment drives targeting conservative churches and community groups”.

What do the polls say?

In brighter news for the government, Monday’s Newspoll had the Coalition closing in on Labor. The two-party margin was 49%-51%, a result mirrored in Guardian Australia’s Essential poll the following day.

Coming up

A third debate has been floated for 8 May at the National Press Club. The event would be in prime-time with the leaders taking questions from a panel of journalists, but it is yet to be finalised. Bill Shorten will be on Q&A on Monday, a day after Labor officially launches its campaign.

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