The man tipped to become Australia's next prime minister officially launched his pitch for office Wednesday with pledges to withdraw combat troops from Iraq and usher in an "education revolution".
Campaigning under the slogan "New Leadership", Labour party leader Kevin Rudd also promised to take strong action on climate change and adopt a more independent foreign policy stance than conservative Prime Minister John Howard.
The centre-left leader, riding high in opinion polls ahead of the November 24 election, said he would meet his campaign promises without the "irresponsible spending spree" Howard had embarked upon.
Entering the ritzy campaign launch in Brisbane to high-energy guitar riffs and thunderous applause from the gathered party faithful, Rudd said Howard's government had run out of ideas after more than 11 years in power. Rudd, who came from struggling farming family, said he offered a different leadership style to Howard and his anointed successor, Treasurer Peter Costello.
"For Labour, fairness is in our DNA," he said. "I'm offering new leadership with a plan for the future. Mr Howard is offering no leadership other than a plan to hand over to Mr Costello," he said.
Responding to criticism that Howard has followed US President George W. Bush's lead on foreign policy too closely, former diplomat Rudd said he wanted Australia to once again have its own voice in world affairs. "On Iraq, the time has come to implement an exit strategy for our combat forces," he said. "It's time for those combat forces to come home, they're needed much closer to home."
Rudd said Howard lacked direction on climate change but vowed that he, if elected, he would sign the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions and introduce a carbon trading scheme.
Rudd also placed a strong emphasis on education, pledging to get broadband Internet into schools, supply every student in the final years of high school with a computer and create 90,000 new university scholarships.
"This is an education revolution," he said, also pledging to abolish the government's unpopular industrial relations reforms, which critics say give too much power to employers.
This week's policy launches by the major parties marks the final phase in election campaigning, which began in earnest when Rudd became Labour leader last December and intensified when Howard named the poll date last month.
Howard launched his Liberal-National coalition's campaign on Monday with almost 10 billion dollars (9.0 billion US) in spending promises, taking the total cost of his platform to 64 billion.
Rudd, who has been accused of copying Howard's policy initiatives, said he would not match the prime minister's spending "frenzy", underlining his claim to be an economic conservative in a poll dominated by economic issues.
Howard responded to the Labour launch by saying Rudd's policies would push up inflation and unemployment, potentially derailing the country's economy. "Mr Rudd did not lay out a plan to keep the Australian economy strong," he said.
Rudd has consistently led Howard by about 10 points in opinion polls throughout the year, although pundits expect the gap to narrow as the election looms.
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