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It is with an immense amount of personal pride and also an enormous amount of humility that I bring together today the essential argument as to why, after 13 long and difficult years, this nation of ours needs emphatically a change of government. Thirteen years is a long time in anyone’s language, but I don’t ask that the Government be turned out simply because it’s been in power for 13 years. When Labor came to power Australia owed the rest of the world about $23,000 million. We now owe the...

Thank you very much Peter Costello and to all of my fellow Australians gathered here today and can I particularly acknowledge the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party, Tim Fischer. If you ever get into a political trench, make sure Tim Fischer is there beside you because he’s the best. Ladies and gentlemen, and my fellow Australians. Election campaigns are never held in a vacuum. They are not dry comparisons of neat policies, be it economic, taxation or...

Peter Costello, Chris McDiven, my parliamentary colleagues and my fellow Australians. This campaign, more than any other that I have been involved in, is very much about the future of the Australia we know and the Australia we love so much. The one single, irrefutable question that must be asked and answered by the Australian people on the 10th of November is who is better able to lead Australia over the next three years into difficult, challenging but times and circumstances which ought not to...

Let there be no mistake. This is the most important election in memory. Today we stand against radical right-wing proposals which are hostile to fundamental Australian beliefs and Australian institutions and all that we have achieved in recent years. Not new proposals, but old ones. Proposals which have been tried in other countries and which in every case have failed – at great social and economic cost. Dr. Hewson says these other countries did not try hard enough. He is nothing if not zealous...

Three years ago, I asked the people of Australia to entrust to Labor the most important responsibility a government can have – I asked Australians for a mandate to create jobs and help the unemployed. To create jobs, I asked Australians to give Labor the task of creating sustainable economic growth on which jobs depend. To create jobs, I sought a mandate to make Australia stronger; to find our place in Asia and the Pacific; to encourage the industries of the future; to massively expand education...

This election is not about John Hewson, and it is not about Paul Keating. We are servants of the people of Australia. This election is about the people of Australia and their problems. We hear about the debt rising to $200 billion, increasing by about $50 million a day, or $2 million an hour. We hear about the fact that there are 1,017,600 Australians who can’t find work and nearly as many others who can’t find as much work as they want. We hear about the 700,000 children who live in homes where...

Men and women of Australia: today I offer myself as Prime Minister of this great country. I want the job. I’m committed, I’m qualified, and I’m here for the long haul. I have a plan to deliver a fair share, and a secure future, for all Australians. I stand for the best possible education for all, not just the rich. I stand for a health system where your Medicare Card is more important than your credit card. I will put the care back into aged care. I stand for making the GST simpler and fairer...

My message today comes straight from the people of Australia. It’s a message to the people, drawn from the strength and wisdom of the people. From the Australians I’ve been privileged to meet, across the vast suburbs and regions of our nation, over the past 10 months. And the millions of their fellow Australians they represent. Today I want to speak on their behalf. I want to talk about opportunity, responsibility and honesty – the key themes of this great campaign for a new Labor Government...

In this election, we are now engaged in the fight of our lives. It is a fight about the values which underpin Australia’s future. A fight about our vision for Australia’s future. And it is a fight about how we go about building our nation’s future – a future for the many, not just the few. And for those who say the fight is up, I say they haven’t seen anything yet. Because we have something worth fighting for. And that’s the jobs of all Australians. The pay packets of all Australians. And an...

Isn’t it great to lead a united political party with a deputy I can trust, a predecessor who’s a friend and a former prime minister who’s a hero! My fellow Australians, this election is about you. It’s about your future, your family’s future and our nation’s future. But not everyone thinks so. The Labor Party thinks that this election is all about them. They’re worried about who gets the top job while the Coalition wants to create more jobs. They’re worried about their own squabbles while we...

I am so proud of my girls…I am proud of my family that has given me so much…I am so proud of my team, and I am so proud of our country. Again, I want to speak directly to you, the Australian people. This election is about making a great country even better; and that starts with changing the worst government in our history. I will spend the next two weeks reassuring people that there is a better way, while Mr Rudd will spend the next two weeks trying to scare you about what might happen if he...