After Michael Daley’s series of unfortunate events, Labor candidates try to talk about everything else. And Seven reveals its surprising election night line-up

It seems the wheels have fallen off somewhat for Labor in the final week of campaigning. Polls show a close race, with the Coalition and Labor 50-50 heading into Saturday, but the opposition leader, Michael Daley, has faced a rough lead-up to election day.

Monday began disastrously, with the release of footage of Daley telling Blue Mountains voters in September last year that “Asians with PhDs” were “moving in and taking jobs”.

It was followed by a bizarre press conference on Tuesday in which Daley repeatedly apologised “if anyone took offence” to the comments, while insisting they were not racist and were instead about housing affordability in Sydney and his daughter having to move to St Kilda, or something.

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“It’s not a bad thing because Asian kids are coming to work here, it’s a bad thing because I’d like my daughter to be living in Maroubra rather than St Kilda,” he said.

By Wednesday Labor was in full damage control. Daley upgraded the apology to “unqualified” and the party took out a full-page advertisement on the front page of the Australian Chinese Daily.

But, lo, the universe, or rather Sky’s David Speers, had more in store for Daley. At Wednesday night’s final debate between the two leaders he stumbled badly on Labor’s commitments to school education and Tafe funding.

Daley mistakenly said he would invest $3bn in Tafe when Labor has pledged to spend $64.5m over four years

“Three billion?” Speers asked.

“Let me check the figures,” Daley responded.

ben english (@bennyglish) Thursday’s front page of The Daily Telegraph ⁦@annacaldwell⁩ ⁦@clarissa_bye⁩ ⁦@SheradynNews⁩ ⁦@Houghtontweets⁩ pic.twitter.com/gC2Xmxp4uE

On Thursday, Daley was trying out a new slogan: “We’re [only] human,” Daley said at a press conference, choosing to do away with the vertical pronoun. So much for “stadiums, stadiums, stadiums”.

Promises, promises

The Coalition started the week by promising the weekly cap on Opal cards would be cut from $63.20 a week to $50 if the government is returned, as well as committing to changing strata laws to make it easier to get owners’ support for solar panels, in a bid to boost the government’s green credentials.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, holds Jordan Hiley on a visit to Blacktown hospital on Thursday. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

The government also promised to invest $70m over the next four years on free mobile dental checks and basic dental care for primary school children in certain parts of the state.

Labor promised $100m to install solar panels on hundreds of public schools across NSW, as well as setting aside another $100m to compensate residents and businesses affected by the government’s beleaguered Sydney light rail project.

Costings prepared by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office showed Labor’s election promises would cost double the Coalition’s – $2.4bn to $1.2bn – but that the overall budget position would improve under Labor by $1.4bn. Under the Coalition, the state’s budget would be $700m worse off and borrowing would increase by $7.3bn.

Dodging the question

There’s nothing more delightful than watching politicians duck and weave when faced with questions about a leader’s stuff-up.

The media were treated to a masterclass on avoidance this week, as pollies accompanying Daley were peppered with questions about whether his “Asians with PhDs” comments were racist.

Labor’s deputy leader, Penny Sharpe: (PUSH THE POLICY) “Michael is very clear about the type of city he wants us all to live in. It’s a diverse and multicultural city and we want everyone to be able to afford to live there. Michael has been very clear about our plan for affordable housing. The issue is that young people in this city struggle to buy in this city … We have the best policies to deliver affordable housing.”

Lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore: (NOT MY PROBLEM ) “We have a very successful multicultural community here and we see its success in the City of Sydney. It’s what we do and who we are, and that’s my position.”

Labor MP for Bankstown, Tania Mihailuk: (DIVERT TO ANOTHER TOPIC) “I was at prepoll [and] nobody raised it with me. The thing they raised with me was the waste of money on stadiums. My parents were born in China, they lived there for 40 years, and I must say Michael has apologised and the point Michael wants to make is everybody, all of us, irrespective of their background, should have a fair go.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The opposition leader, Michael Daley, and the lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Where to watch

Channel Seven was copping heat on social media on Thursday after it unveiled a peculiar looking line-up for its election night coverage.

Along with Seven news anchor Michael Usher and political editor Mark Riley, a promo image featured as pundits the 2GB radio broadcaster Alan Jones, former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, NSW transport minister Andrew Constance, One Nation’s Mark Latham and former NSW Liberal leader Kerry Chikarovski.

Notice anything amiss? Well, leaving aside for a moment that Jones has donated to Latham’s campaign during this election, there’s the small issue of having no one left of Chikarovski on the panel.

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Not a conspiracy though, according to Seven. Labor’s shadow water minister, Chris Minns, and federal Labor senator Jenny McAllister will both be on hand – they were just left off the poster. The retiring NSW Liberal MP Pru Goward was supposed to be on the panel too, but won’t be joining the coverage.

On the other networks, the ABC’s Juanita Phillips, Brigid Glanville and election guru Antony Green will be joined by the NSW treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, and the shadow transport minister, Jodi McKay, as well as federal MPs Trent Zimmerman and Linda Burney.

Nine missed out on snaring Mike Baird so instead will plump for the former Labor premier Morris Iemma. Labor’s shadow minister for Tafe, Prue Car, will also be there, with the NSW education minister, Rob Stokes, and the roads minister, Melinda Pavey, from the Coalition alongside. Hosting duties will fall to Peter Overton and Deb Knight, with chief political editor Chris Uhlmann and state politics reporter Chris O’Keefe also on hand. Ross Greenwood will provide analysis from the “Election Mega Wall”.

Green on Green clash

What a campaign this has been for the NSW Greens. The party managed to time an election with a civil war, with predictable results.

The latest et tu Brute moment came this week when one of the founders of the Australian and Queensland Greens, Andrew Hutton, came out in support of the self-appointed “rogue MP” Jeremy “I set a river on fire” Buckingham. Buckingham quit the Greens to run as an independent after the party formally asked him to step aside as a candidate for the state election in March.

“As a founder of the Australian Greens and as a founder of the Lock the Gate Alliance, I’d like to recommend that people who live in NSW vote for Jeremy Buckingham in the NSW upper house,” he said on social media. “Jeremy has been a champion for the movement to protect land and water from coal and gas. He is a genuine activist MP and environmentalist.”

Party, party, party

Where to party on election night? There are a few rules for the major parties. Be in a seat where you will win so the ground troops have something to celebrate, even if you don’t win on the night. It also has to be accessible to media and it should be reasonably close to the opposition party so the stars and columnists can move between the venues. And it has to be big and secure.

With that in mind, Labor has opted for a venue in Coogee, a seat they are very hopeful of picking up. If they don’t win there – it has a margin of 2.9% – it will be a grim night indeed.

The Libs have opted for a big CBD hotel, where they can take out the ballroom and supporters can travel in by train from the west, where they will be defending numerous seats.