And on Friday, he was all about the regions. Regional Australia, life in the regions, jobs and opportunities in the regions, and his commitment to, that's right, the regions.

"You know why people will go, when they come to this country, to live in the regions?" he said.

"Not because you make them, but because there's a job there, there are services there, because there's a life and there are opportunities there. And there is, in Australia, in our regions."

Here's a thought: if the Prime Minister cares so much about regional Australia, why doesn't he take the time to speak to the country's biggest regional publisher?

The publisher, that is, of this and around 140 regional publications across every state and territory. The publisher that, at any given moment, has journalists on the ground reporting on this election, and what the latest announcements mean for their readers.

This election has had a certain break-neck, polished and choreographed quality to it - more so than in previous years.

It's been marked by leaders dropping into electorates they think they need to win or hold, flying high-profile metropolitan journalists around the country and dolling out interviews to sympathetic publications and new stations.

Meanwhile, in each and every one of these communities has been a local publication, ready to canvas local issues and hold the government to a different kind of account.

Back in February, ACM conducted a national readers' survey of more than 7200 readers.

Climate action, political integrity and leadership were resoundingly returned as the defining issues of the upcoming federal election, well ahead of bread-and-butter issues such as jobs, wages and cost of living.

This survey should have been a wake-up call for our major parties to sit up and listen.

It's clear that regional Australians need to hear directly from both leaders, whether they're rusted on or undecided when it comes to polling day.

And yet, despite many invitations to both party leaders to speak to ACM publications ahead of the campaign, we have been repeatedly rebuffed or ignored.

Morrison spoke on Friday about the need to do things differently, and has admitted there is always room for improvement when it comes to his own approach.

There are still five days to go on this campaign, and if there's one thing we can be sure of, it's that an awful lot can change in that time.

There's still time for both leaders to reach out to those regions they claim to be so passionate about, and show that they are willing and able to face our questions directly.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: