PRIME Minister Julia Gillard faced a grilling last night from western Sydney voters who have made it clear they won't tolerate broken promises, rewards for the machine men who rolled Kevin Rudd or more Government policy failures. In an historic town hall-style People's Forum hosted by The Daily Telegraph, Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott faced the electors at Rooty Hill RSL in a battle that could shift the direction of the election campaign as it nears its final week. And while a post-forum secret ballot of the 200 swinging voters gave Mr Abbott a narrow victory by 35.5 per cent to 30 per cent, it did not give him the knockout blow he was looking for, with 34.5 per cent still undecided. But the margin among the 39,000 readers who watched the forum on The Daily Telegraph's website was overwhelmingly in Mr Abbott's favour, with 74 per cent of respondents giving him the victory. Ms Gillard, who chose to sit on a chair on the stage in front of the independently picked voters, was put on the spot from an often hostile audience about everything from the roofing insulation scheme to her opposition to gay marriage. But Labor's message about its handling of the economy went down well. Mr Abbott, who changed the game by coming down to speak from the floor, faced a surprisingly receptive crowd. It was clearly his best performance of the campaign, only falling flat when faced with questions such as how a Coalition government would improve health services and its policy on a high-speed internet network. Ms Gillard, however, was strong on detail and answered directly the concerns of voters. It became clear from the outset there is deep-seated anger among Labor voters in key marginal seats of western Sydney at the way Mr Rudd, a man not popular in the region, was rolled.The very first question Ms Gillard faced was about the way she became Prime Minister. "What's really been worrying me for weeks now is that people who organised the outing of Kevin Rudd ... Mark Arbib and Bill Shorten, are they going to be rewarded for what they did to Kevin Rudd?" Louise Spalding, of West Ryde, asked. In a sign the election is Ms Gillard's to lose, her answer that "there is no one who is going to be rewarded for it" drew mocking laughter. Voters also vented their anger at the state Labor Government in a sign that its poor record is weighing on their federal counterparts. One voter demanded to know if the promised $2.6 billion Epping to Parramatta rail link would go ahead given $500 million of the funding would come from NSW. "They're broke," he said. Mr Abbott's strengths were on questions about mental health, the cost of living and asylum seekers but people were more sceptical of his economic reform abilities and his internet plan. Ms Gillard was on message about Labor's strengths: education and health and continually playing to fears about Mr Abbott's credentials on handling the economy.
