Gender gap makes worm get wriggle on

Unlike the programme that shoved Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott into an earlier time slot, no one was cooking up a storm on the sole leaders' debate of the Australian election campaign.

The debate gave way to top-rating MasterChef to avoid the humiliating prospect of the nation's top politicians being consigned to the television wilderness.

As it was, blood and excitement were not on the debate's menu.

Both leaders were polite, restrained and rational: Gillard perhaps a little more polished, Abbott at times obviously choking down his instinct to go for the jugular.

Neither emerged a clear winner, with both scoring off and losing points to the other on issues ranging from the ousting of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to asylum seekers, industrial relations and the economy.

Most of what was said had been heard before, albeit with fewer - thankfully - repetitions of the rival campaign slogans that have become increasingly grating over the past week.

What was interesting were the patterns that emerged from the infamous "worm" that crawled across television screens as a panel of voters recorded their reactions to the leaders' performances.

The warmer welcome initially extended to Gillard became less of an advantage as Abbott's first, chilly, response thawed as the debate developed, and swung from one to the other as specific policies were discussed.

The worm's wriggles as Gillard discussed the three key issues she addressed before calling the election - the mining tax, asylum seekers and climate change - confirmed the hits she is taking in opinion polls.

But she was well-received in social policy, such as health and education.

The worm also supported poll findings that Abbott and the Coalition tend to be more respected as economic managers, and he made telling points on Government waste and mismanagement. The score on immigration was about one-all.

But if the worm represents wider opinion, some of each leader's vulnerable spots - Rudd for Gillard and industrial relations for Abbott - may not be as telling as the polls have indicated.

And probably the biggest of the worm's revelations was the gender gap.

Women clearly preferred Gillard, most often reacting positively when she spoke, supporting her more strongly when men also backed her views, and frequently keeping their fingers on the "positive" button while the male worm wriggled through negative ground.

When Abbott spoke, the pattern often reversed: men positive, women negative.

That makes for an interesting divide.