Then, famously, the Prime Minister Bob Hawke effectively gave the entire nation the next day off.

BBC: Cycling fans' endurance rewarded

If he is right, he could still join only two other Australian prime ministers, Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke, in winning a fourth term.

ECONOMIST: Iraq, the economy and honesty will dominate the campaign

Previous prime ministers such as Bob Hawke and Paul Keating established the first ties with Asia, but the new policy would be deeper and more organised, adds our correspondent.

BBC: Australia PM Julia Gillard outlines Asia manifesto

For that, there is a powerful precedent in previous Labor governments' free-market reforms, under prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, which helped pave the way for the economic boom of the Howard years.

ECONOMIST: Labor's defeat has unleashed an internal war