Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott have traded insults over having another debate or community forum.
They are now in their final week of electioneering with the poll to be held next Saturday.
The ABC reports Mr Abbott refused Ms Gillard's offer to make another town hall-style meeting also a debate on the economy.
The Opposition Leader on Sunday called for a second forum with Julia Gillard, similar to the one in which both leaders were grilled by voters in Sydney last week.
But Ms Gillard upped the ante, inviting Mr Abbott to join her in a televised debate.
Failing that, Ms Gillard said she would face him in another town hall forum on condition there was a one-hour debate on the economy followed by one hour of questions from the audience.
She also wants both leaders on stage at the same time while they are grilled by voters.
But in a news conference on Sunday afternoon, Mr Abbott sidestepped questions about Ms Gillard's compromise offer, repeatedly reissuing his challenge for a town hall forum in Brisbane.
Mr Abbott says the Prime Minister is scared of Queensland voters, while Ms Gillard has labelled him a coward.
Poll results
A poll published on Sunday points to a close result in next Saturday's Australian election with the chance of a narrow opposition victory.
A Nielsen poll issued on Saturday showed the Labor party regaining the lead.
But a poll taken in marginal seats by Galaxy and published on Sunday suggests the opposite.
The Galaxy poll of 4,000 voters, published in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph, was conducted in 20 marginal seats.
It put the opposition coalition ahead overall by 51.4% to Labor's 48.6% on a two-party basis, eliminating minor parties under Australia's system of transferable voting.
It also showed the conservative opposition might win the 17 seats it needs to take power, or the 14 that would give it a chance of forming a minority government.
Labor is struggling to hang on to marginal seats in several areas, particularly Queensland, a key resource state where plans to increase taxes on mining and Kevin Rudd's ousting as party leader and prime minister have damaged the ruling party.
