Australia's own fortune telling octopus, Bugsy, made its prediction for the August 21 federal election, media reported on Tuesday.

Bugsy was a bit hesitant at first, but finally picked Julia Gillard over Tony Abbott.

According to his owners at the Sydney aquarium, Bugsy had accurately predicted several unlikely winners in the past.

Despite the octopus predictions, Tony Abbott continued campaigning in Melbourne where he was heckled by a Labour party staffer dressed in Speedo swimwear.

Abbott, the leader of the opposition party, has been photographed numerous times wearing similar swim attire.

Meanwhile, Julia Gillard encountered no incidents on Tuesday during her campaigning.

Another setback for the campaign came from prime time rating worries.

The first, and at this stage only, candidates' debate of the campaign scheduled for Sunday was pushed to an earlier time slot so it wouldn't clash with the popular TV cooking show MasterChef. The show is expected to draw an audience of some four million Australians.

The prime minister's ruling Labor party wants only one debate, while conservative opposition leader Abbott wants three debates ahead of the election.