Mr Turnbull officially rejected the invitation on Tuesday and made clear he regarded the offer as an ambush. Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "Look, the answer is your network, your company, Sky News, announced they were inviting me and Bill Shorten to attend a debate on a particular night," Mr Turnbull told a Sky News journalist at a press conference in Picton. "What we've said is normally you would have approached us and sought to come to some arrangement. "You chose not to do that and to issue what in effect is a decree and we've said 'no'."

Sky News hosted a peoples' forum in week one of the campaign at Windsor RSL which averaged only 54,000 viewers. A second debate at the National Press Club, hosted by the ABC, scored better ratings but was judged to be dull and overly stilted. Mr Turnbull said he wanted to move the third debate into the era of smartphones and social media. The Coalition has reached an agreement with Facebook and news.com.au (which, like The Courier Mail, is owned by News Corp Australia) to hold an online debate next week and will invite Mr Shorten. "We've had a Sky peoples' forum debate, the traditional Press Club debate," Mr Turnbull said. "It is traditional to have three debates so let's have the third one in an innovative way. "We are in 2016, this is the 21st century.

"This is the time of innovation. "This is the most exciting time to be an Australian and to participate in an election debate in the media of our time." Mr Turnbull said the Facebook debate "will engage a vastly wider audience than formats used before". A Labor campaign spokesman said it was the first the party had heard of the online debate proposal but Mr Shorten would accept. "There's no doubt Mr Turnbull isn't comfortable talking to ordinary Australians," the spokesman said.

"It is remarkable that the man who promised the NBN would be finished by the end of 2016 yet has delivered it to less than 20 per cent of Australia would propose an online debate. "Having said that, we're happy to agree to this debate, as well as the one in Brisbane on Wednesday night. "Mr Turnbull should do the same." Mr Turnbull has also been resisting attempts by the ABC for him to appear on the Q&A program during the election campaign. At the end of Monday night's episode, Q&A host Tony Jones challenged Mr Turnbull to appear on the program.

"We see reports today the Prime Minister is looking for a national debate that's live and interactive with questions from Australian citizens and social media," Jones said. "If only such a thing existed. "Prime Minister, Q&A is ready when you are." Follow Matthew Knott on Facebook Follow us on Twitter