As the countdown continues to July 1, Mr Abbott tried something new yesterday. He visited the Australian Institute of Sport for the announcement of the women's Olympic gymnastics team.

If people shook their heads at first (what does the Coalition have to do with a bunch of kids leaping about in leotards?), the connection soon became clear. Of course! Abbott is Mr Fit 'n' Sporty personified! And politics is all about stretching, bending and flipping around.

So, off Abbott went to the squishy surfaces of the AIS gymnasium. After congratulating the team, it was time for the Opposition Leader to inspect the foam pit. Perhaps spurred on by the competitive presence of Sports Minister Kate Lundy, Abbott jumped right in, work outfit be damned. Practice run over, he then worked up some height on the adjacent trampoline before somersaulting into the foamy bricks as if he does it every day.

Later in question time, the House went through its well-practised routine.

Wayne Swan made a joke for the fourth day in a row about Abbott being a ''snake oil salesman'' but stumbled on the balance beam - calling the Opposition Leader a ''snake oil spokesman'' instead (the judges deducted two points).

Then as Swan was talking about how the government was assisting households, he was interrupted by a small team of protesters in the gallery chanting ''sustainable mining is a joke''. The kids were promptly disqualified. Abbott himself also risked a DQ for some non-regulation heckling during (another) Swan question on the carbon tax. ''The Leader of the Opposition does not have the ability to interject constantly on any speaker,'' Anna Burke warned, with a level of stern worthy of a sports administrator. But the really tricky moves were left to Trade Minister Craig Emerson, who was asked a Dixer about Australia's future export prospects and how they might be affected by a carbon price.

After cheerfully reporting that Australia's exports were in fine form, Emerson took Abbott's ''python squeeze'' predictions and went on a pun run. If Abbott was a python, he'd be a ''No-aconstrictor,'' the Trade Minister said. ''You get it around your neck - 'No, no, no, it's trying to squeeze the life out of the Australian economy!' '' Emerson continued, tumbling down the middle of the question time floor. Then, changing direction, Emerson referred to Abbott's ''belly flop'' into foam. ''Tell you what: after July 1 it will be a much harder landing for you as you try your contortions and your gymnastics, and the world does not end''. Emerson had stuck his landing, but Burke was not impressed. ''I remind the Trade Minister that the use of the word 'you' is inappropriate,'' she said. Points were not deducted but with no clear winner, the gold medal stayed in the cupboard.