Peter Dutton forges ahead on the campaign trail after his father's heart attack, paying tribute to the "tough bugger".
Just before the first leader's debate on Tuesday night, Mr Dutton's dad was rushed to hospital after the medical episode.
The opposition leader considered pulling out of his showdown with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese but decided to follow through, as his sisters fed him updates on their father's condition.
On Wednesday, Mr Dutton donned a high-vis vest for the fourth time of the election campaign as he visited the BlueScope steel factory in western Sydney.
Asked if he would visit his father, the opposition leader said his dad was doing well but his family would monitor the situation.
"I've spoken to dad this morning ... he's stoic, he's a tough bugger," Mr Dutton said.
"He's a great dad, so of course I'm thinking about him."
The opposition leader narrowly lost his debate against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, according to the audience. But one in five members remained undecided, reflecting the tightness of the election race.
Coalition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said Mr Dutton's decision to show up for the debate proved his credentials for the top job.
"That Peter fronted up to the debate after hearing that news and performed exceptionally well is demonstrative of just how dedicated he is to the job that he has, and the kind of prime minister he will be," she told Seven's Sunrise program.
Mr Dutton turned back to one of the coalition's key lines of attack by focusing on immigration.
"We are a great beneficiary of the migration program in our country," he told reporters.
"But it doesn't work best for us when you see an escalation in numbers to this record high."
He said high migration levels had led to the housing crisis, a claim contested by many experts, and re-committed to cutting 100,000 migrants from the nation's annual intake.
Asked if he was worried his remarks would hurt his chances in multicultural outer-suburban electorates on May 3, the opposition leader said many diaspora Australians shared his concerns.
"When I speak to young migrant families who have teenage kids ... they're desperately worried about whether their kids can find a house," he said.
Mr Dutton has also tried to court this demographic with a promise to cut energy prices, by forcing companies to keep gas in the Australian market.
The plan would offer households a seven per cent fall in their gas bills and three per cent cut to their electricity bills, though Australians may have to wait up to a year for savings to kick in.
