Abbott fails to land knock-out punch at Brisbane forum

The second and final 'town hall style' forum, held in Brisbane, has left Tony Abbott without the knock out punch he so sorely needed.

The forum, staged at the Bronco's Leagues Club, included 200 so-called undecided voters who were given an opportunity to ask questions of both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader.

Although the first forum, held at the infamous Rooty Hill RSL, had been severely criticised as being stage managed to favour Tony Abbott, the Labor Party was satisfied that the Brisbane forum would be more genuine.

After facing a week of polls showing Labor would be returned to office, the pressure was on Tony Abbott to make a 'knock-out' punch. However, most commentators believe that he failed to do so.

Mr Abbott was grilled by audience members on issues such as WorkChoices and the economy, seen as weak points for the Leader.

Julia Gillard, facing the audience immediately after Mr Abbott, was described as a strong performer by many who watched the live feed.  Indeed, social media sites, such as Twitter, were alight with comments in favour of Julia Gillard's performance.

Soon after the event, one 'Tweeter' was quick to post the result: "According to the those in the room Julia Gillard wins debate - voters give her 83 and T. Abbott 75".

There are no further scheduled debates between the two leaders before the poll on Saturday 21 August.