Mr Shorten's judgment came into question, though, when he said that the Coalition planned to privatise Medicare. Labor's overreach suggests the party opposes sensible and much-needed reform. It raises doubts about whether the party has learnt from the political expediency of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years when union-faction leaders, including Mr Shorten, ousted two elected prime ministers. That in turn raises doubts about Labor's willingness to change.

Indeed, the 155,000-odd Fairfax Media readers who have participated to date in the YourVote survey strongly support Labor's core policies on education, the NBN and health.

We know Mr Turnbull faltered on reform and lurched to the right to shore up his leadership. His policy platform was not fully developed. He has run a cynical scare campaign against Labor's laudable plan to limit negative gearing and the capital gains tax.

We had seen hope for a better way when the Coalition elevated the previously moderate Mr Turnbull to replace Mr Abbott last September.

Disappointingly, both sides have regressed to negativity, and the scare approach that characterised Tony Abbott's rise to the top job in 2013 - and much of his time in office.

The YourVote results show that most people have already made up their minds. The 125,000 respondents who have answered questions on leadership believe Mr Shorten is more empathetic than Mr Turnbull. Those responses have been weighted to reflect the Australian population. Crucially, Mr Shorten's average score on capability to govern is 4.7 out of 10. Mr Turnbull's is 5.5.

Granted, this election is not just Turnbull vs Shorten. We urge readers to seek out and investigate all candidates and parties. And we know a week is a long time in politics. The next six days could reveal a smoking gun.

But The Sun-Herald has not seen from Mr Shorten a compelling case that Australia needs a new government. We see little sign that he is willing to free Labor from the union shackles that too often oppose sensible reforms. Labor opposes a building industry watchdog and better union governance. We do not see, either, that the nation's challenges - complex and immense as they are - are so parlous as to warrant Mr Shorten being made our sixth prime minister in six years.

Mr Turnbull has had barely nine months to set a stronger economic and fairer social path than his predecessor. That is not enough time to write him off.

We believe that if Mr Turnbull reconnects with his core values and keeps his promises, he deserves a chance to establish his own mandate. Australians need a leader they can trust to drive economic reform and build national consensus on social issues.