Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joined his state Liberal colleagues on the campaign trail in Tasmania for the first time but his brief visit was hijacked by the Barnaby Joyce saga.
Mr Turnbull was alongside Premier Will Hodgman at a paper mill north of Hobart on Wednesday morning, a little over two weeks out from a March 3 poll.
He announced $1.5 million in federal funding to help Norske Skog develop an environmentally friendly solvent.
But the day was overshadowed by the ongoing saga between the prime minister and deputy Mr Joyce over his affair with a staffer.
Mr Turnbull was also grilled on his stance on poker machines - a key Apple Isle election issue.
The state's Labor opposition has vowed to remove the electronic gaming machines from pubs and clubs by 2023 if it wins power, in contrast to the Liberals.
The PM and Mr Hodgman were snapped on Thursday night with a pro-pokies lobbyist at Lauderdale's Foreshore Tavern.
The pub is part of the 'Love Your Local' campaign to keep electronic gaming machines at suburban venues.
Mr Turnbull believes the state Liberal policy would save jobs but legislation was a matter for states.
"Will is standing up for Tasmanian jobs, thousands of jobs, in the hospitality sector," he said.
"(But) the regulation of pokies is obviously a matter for the state's premier."
State opposition leader Rebecca White hit out at the prime minister, saying he made it his issue by appearing on the campaign trail.
"He has previously advocated for poker machine reform and now he's saying that it's not his issue," she told reporters in Hobart.
"Every politician has a responsibility to care for the people they represent and to make decisions that are in the best interests of the entire community."
Labor is hosting an anti-pokies gig at a North Hobart pub on Friday night, with The Whitlam's singer Tim Freedman to perform the band's 1999 hit Blow up the Pokies.
Mr Turnbull's second stop was in Launceston, where he pledged $94.6 million in state and federal funding to improve the health of the Tamar River.
Australian Associated Press
