2013 Federal Election: Economy, trust and parental leave emerge as some of the key issues Voters have identified the economy as a key issue in this election. THE economy and trust have emerged as the key battleground areas for the 2013 election campaign. With the official campaign beginning two days after Labor's mini-budget revealed the country had plunged deeper into the red, both Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott highlighted the economy as a key issue. "This election will be about who the Australian people best trust to lead them through the difficult new economic challenges that now lie ahead," Mr Rudd said. Mr Abbott pledged to provide a stronger economy by getting taxes down - including a "modest" company tax cut "as soon as it is responsible" - and by reducing business red tape by $1 billion a year. "So if we get taxes down, if we get regulation down, then we can get productivity up," he said. Health, education, and border protection will also loom as significant issues during the five-week campaign. The carbon tax and paid parental leave will be high on the agenda. Ian McAllister from the Australian National University said an election survey of 1200 people nationwide shows voters believed the major two parties were quite similar on many key issues. He said the election would ultimately come down to a contest between the two leaders and which party could be trusted more. "It means that if the policies are close, the only thing different is the personality of the leaders," Professor McAllister said. It makes it very interesting as it will be a lot about who do people trust, rather than the technical detail of the policies. A spokeswoman for Kevin Rudd said the election would be about "who has the positive plans and leadership to meet the challenges that Australia faces." "We are facing the end of the China resources boom and the global economy is experiencing a sluggish recovery," she said. A Labor government will continue to protect families, protect jobs and make sure there are no cuts to health and education. Liberal party federal director Brian Loughnane said Australians were "particularly concerned by the instability and chaos of the last six years of Labor." "Tony Abbott and the Coalition have a positive plan for real action to build a strong prosperous economy and a safe secure Australia," he said. Former chief of staff to John Howard and election strategist Graeme Morris said health, education, asylum-seekers job security and cost of living would be the issues that reign supreme in the election. He said the 33-day campaign would be run on more than two issues. "It's always a mixture of trust, of economic management and some specific issues like health, education, asylum-seekers, job security and cost of living," Mr Morris said.