Meeting the locals. Credit:Pat Scala Signalled that the Coalition would unveil ''significant, but not scary'' changes to workplace laws when it suited tactically, saying no one should assume further changes would follow in a second term of an Abbott government. Re-committed himself to implementing his promised paid parental leave scheme in full in the first term should he win the election. Promised a hard line on a asylum seekers found to be refugees but deemed security threats by ASIO, declaring: ''People should not come illegally to this country. That's the bottom line, mate.'' Mr Abbott said the issue of same-sex marriage had been subject to a vote in this Parliament which was ''fairly decisive''. Although the Coalition had not allowed a free vote, he believed a dozen ''at most'' Coalition MPs would have voted in favour of change.

''So it still would have been pretty decisively beaten, regardless of the fact that we didn't have a free vote,'' he said. ''Now, an incoming Coalition government is going to have a lot on its plate, so I can't see much enthusiasm for having another go at this from the Coalition. That's not to say that others might have a go at it.'' Mr Abbott conceded that his sister, Christine, who is a lesbian, was a passionate supporter of the change and that his wife and three daughters were ''probably less traditional than I am on this one''. But he said they did not see the issue as a number one priority, and likened expectations of change to the republican debate in the 1990s. ''Everyone thought a republic was inevitable as well, and no one thinks it's inevitable any time soon now,'' Mr Abbott said.

On asylum seekers, he said he would be dismayed if, by the end of the first term of a Coalition government, ''we hadn't substantially stopped the flow''. Pressed on which of the Coalition's three policy tools - offshore processing, temporary protection visas and turning back boats when safe - would have the most impact, Mr Abbott said: ''I think all of them are important, but there's a fourth which is critical as well, and that's having much better relationships with Indonesia.'' Mr Abbott would not commit to continue with reviews of adverse ASIO assessments by former judge Margaret Stone, saying: ''Without wanting to say that an adverse ASIO assessment is identical to the finding of a court, almost anyone who has had an adverse finding made against that person is going to regard it as unfair and will have a story. ''Now, whether the story is credible or whether the story does in fact render unjustified the adverse assessment, well, that's a matter for judgment. So look, let's see what this process produces.'' He rejected alternatives to detention for those whose adverse assessments were upheld, saying: ''Anybody who turns up illegally in Australia cannot expect to be subjected to anything other than rigorous processes. And, if the processes produce an adverse finding, well, they've got to expect potentially a long period of detention - indefinite detention - unless another country is prepared to take them or unless they are prepared to go back to the country where they came from.''

And on his day off, an Ironman Tony Abbott hopes to compete in the Port Macquarie Ironman next year, which, if the Coalition wins the election, would make him the only world leader to submit to sport’s toughest challenge. Mr Abbott stressed his participation in the event — less than a fortnight before budget night — would be subject to the the demands of his schedule. "I think even prime ministers are allowed to take one Sunday off. So, provided I’m not going to make a fool of myself, I don’t see why I couldn’t do an Ironman as prime minister. The event begins with a 3.9-kilometre swim, then a 180-kilometre bike ride, and a 42.2-kilometre run.