Hello and welcome to day five of the election campaign.

Try as the leaders might to avoid it, international issues continue to overshadow the Australian election campaign. Donald Trump’s tariffs and authoritarian take over of already weak institutions, Israel’s assault on the Palestinian civilian population and plans to ethnically cleanse the people of Gaza, Europe’s concerns, China’s needling of the region – the world continues to creep in on the domestic campaign and there is nothing either leader can do to stop it.

Meanwhile, protesters on the campaign have heightened security concerns – you may remember the laughable shots of Dutton’s campaign in a field at a winery looking at a placard from yesterday, which was meant to be the Melbourne airport announcement.

Well no one really knew why they were there, and the Coalition wasn’t saying, but Rising Tide protesters have been following around the campaign and it seems like maybe the Coalition is a bit sick of it.

Meanwhile, anti-genocide protesters are continuing to make sure MPs and candidates who they feel have not responded to the war on Gaza as one ought when innocents are being slaughtered and international law trodden on, have made it clear that Mosques and locations hosting Eid celebrations are not comfortable places for them.

These are just some of the undercurrents to the campaign, where the leaders are doing their best to stick their head in the sand and pretend there is nothing more happening than the Australian election campaign.

We’ll continue following them today, as well as let you know what else is going on around the campaign and fact check and answer your questions as they go.

You have the entire brains trust of the Australia Institute at your disposal and me, Amy Remeikis, the least smart person in the room – but I bring a bit of sass, too much coffee and fast fingers.

I can hear the second coffee about to boil on the stove and my third cup of tea is almost empty.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.