Malcolm Turnbull didn't want to talk about Newspoll - and neither did Sydney mother Vanessa.
She had the prime minister's ears for nearly 10 minutes, frustrated with being a renter, after bailing him up outside a suburban childcare centre on Monday.
"I want to know how you can assist with, not just housing affordability, but the inequality and imbalance ... between people who own their homes and what rights they have compared to renters," said the 50-year-old, who raced over from her nearby home after seeing him speak on TV minutes earlier.
Mr Turnbull barely spent the same amount of time fielding questions from media about the coalition's 30th consecutive Newspoll loss under his leadership.
He regrets setting that mark when giving reasons for toppling Tony Abbott in 2015, but that's not what Australians cared about.
"Australians are focused on the real contest which is the type of country you want to be," a well-scripted Mr Turnbull said, before rolling out his government's achievements - record jobs growth, economic leadership and traditional cabinet government.
"That's the benchmark that matters around the kitchen table. That's the benchmark that matters in this child care centre."
Mr Turnbull had been prepared for this day for weeks.
His minders chose a childcare centre in Sydney's southwest, nearly 30km outside of the city, to spruik the government's revamped childcare scheme.
It doesn't come into effect until July, but the Liberal leader wanted to remind parents to update their details so they can take advantage of the changes.
"It's really important," he said, flanked by cabinet minister Kelly O'Dwyer and local MP David Coleman.
As Mr Turnbull was leaving, parents dropping off their kids were caught off guard by the hoopla at the centre.
"Has there been an accident?" one concerned mother asked.
"Just Malcolm Turnbull," another replied.
