Surrounded by oil, Scott Morrison avoided slip-ups during a slick tour kickstarting his official campaign at a small business.
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The prime minister's first event was at a St Mary's factory in the Labor-held western Sydney seat of Lindsay.
Mr Morrison, the country's highest-profile Cronulla fan, chose to start in rugby league heartland as he aims up at Labor leader Bill Shorten.
At the business on Friday, drums of oil piled to the roof are painted red, yellow and green in honour of Penrith's NRL side.
A handful of the 72 workers employed on site greeted the prime minister as he spent half an hour whipping around the factory floor.
Gulf Western Oil owner Ben Vicary said he was supportive of the government's tax plan, a key election pledge.
"New taxes worry us as business owners and make us wonder about investing in our business," he told AAP.
Energy costs are also a big issue for Gulf Western, which will manufacture between 22 and 25 million litres this year.
Mr Vicary wants certainty in the energy market - a policy area which has driven wedges through federal politics over the past decade.
Addressing the travelling media pack, Mr Morrison brings back the biff as he tackles Labor's tax plan.
"If Bill Shorten won't tell you how much extra tax he's going to put on you, then why would you vote for him?"
The Liberal Party's candidate Melissa McIntosh flanks the prime minister and Foreign Minister Marise Payne during the tour.
The Lindsay hopeful will have to overcome a 1.1 per cent margin to beat Labor's Diane Beamer.
The former Labor state minister has replaced Emma Husar after she fell out with the party following an investigation into the treatment of her staff.
Australian Associated Press
