rules make it more difficult to change leaders and require a ballot of the party membership on contested leadership spills. 4 August – Kevin Rudd announces the election date as 7 September 2013. 5 August – Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General, issues the election writ. 11 August – The first of three televised leaders debates between Rudd and Abbott is held in Canberra. 21 August – The second televised leaders debate between Rudd and Abbott is held in Brisbane. 25 August – The Coalition's formal campaign launch is held in Brisbane. 27 August – Treasurer Chris Bowen and shadow treasurer Joe Hockey debate at the National Press Club. Later that evening, the third and final televised leaders debate between Rudd and Abbott is held at the Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney. 28 August – The Coalition releases a document outlining $31.6 billion of proposed budget savings. 29 August – The Rudd Government releases several costings estimates which it claims show a $10 billion shortfall in the Coalition's claimed savings released the previous day. In a strongly-worded statement, the secretaries of the Department of Treasury and Department of Finance criticise the use of these confidential costings prepared for the government, re-iterating that the assumptions used differ from the costings prepared for the Coalition. 1 September – Labor's formal campaign launch is held in Brisbane. 5 September – The Coalition releases its remaining policy costings, claiming a further $9 billion worth of savings, including a $4.5 billion reduction in Australia's foreign aid budget. Later in the day, the Coalition releases a policy document announcing the implementation of an opt-out Internet filter. That evening, Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull states that the document was "poorly worded" and released by mistake, and that the Coalition had no such policy. 7 September (election day) – The Liberal-National coalition defeats the Australian Labor Party with the Coalition expected to win about 90 seats in the House of Representatives. Kevin Rudd conceded defeat and announced that he would not renominate for the ALP's leadership. 18 September – The Abbott Ministry is sworn in by Governor-General Quentin Bryce. 17 October – A recount of all "above-the-line" Senate votes made in Western Australia is initiated after an appeal by the WA Greens and the Australian Sports Party is upheld. 31 October – The AEC announces that it is unable to find 1,375 ballot papers during the WA Senate recount. 31