Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has gone head-to-head with challenger Tony Abbott on immigration and the economy in a muted first debate of the country's election campaign.<br /><br />Rudd, who retook the Australian Labor Party leadership in late June, has repeatedly said he is the underdog in the September 7 national poll against Abbott, the conservative opposition leader.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas reports from Christmas Island.
