As Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese , Sarah Wang and Sydney Ye were interpreting the debate live for Mandarin speakers on
During the heated debate, held in Sydney and broadcast on Nine, the candidates were grilled on a range of issues, including cost of living, corruption, and rising inflation.
Sarah interpreted for the prime minister, while Sydney interpreted for the Opposition leader. But things quickly became difficult when both leaders started talking over one another, and moderator Sarah Abo.
A "yelling match," "shout fest" and "the Jerry Springer of leaders' debates" were among some of the labels given by viewers on social media.
Sarah called it "chaotic", saying the interruptions from both leaders proved challenging to translate, and potentially compromised the messages they were delivering to the audience.
"If it's live interpreting, I think in a very ideal environment, about 70 or 80 per cent of that can really be translated," Sarah told The Feed.
"And if it's chaotic, a lot of messages are lost."
In the lead-up to the debate, Sarah was preparing equivalences to snappy campaign phrases in order to keep their impact while working quickly under pressure. But with what ensued, that proved to be tricky.
"I came up with a Chinese phrase for Labor's 'show up, step up', I was preparing beforehand," Sarah said. During the debate, she admitted at times, "I actually missed parts, I didn't know what [Mr Morrison] was talking about."
During a typical live translation, Sarah says she's actively listening in on the next sentence as she's speaking. It was a difficult feat on Sunday night as leaders started sentences three and four times hoping to take hold of the debate.
It was a sentiment Sydney shared.
“You couldn't tell who is talking about what, when,” Sydney told The Feed.
SBS to interpret third leaders' debate
This debate was the first time the two leaders went up against one another on free-to-air television during this election campaign, with the first broadcast on Sky News.
This offering is the latest from SBS, following the first leaders' debate on 20 April, where live interpretations were provided in Arabic and Mandarin on SBS On Demand in an Australian first.
In the first debate, Mr Albanese secured a narrow win among the live audience, after 40 attendees backed Labor, with 35 behind Mr Morrison, and 25 left undecided.
The prime minister and Opposition leader will face off again in a third debate on Wednesday.
The third debate will be on Channel Seven and hosted by political editor Mark Riley. It's likely to be the final time the two leaders face off before voters head to the polls on 21 May.
