Last week I was in Brisbane for Labor’s campaign launch. The party launches are probably the most significant of the various campaign set pieces. They cut through to voters who are only just beginning to turn their mind to voting, and a successful launch can make or break final week momentum.

There were a few standout features from Labor’s launch. Chief among these was Kevin’s speech, which set out the final chapters of Labor’s education revolution. Also important was the recognition given to Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. This election Labor has benefited from pointing to the successes of the Hawke/Keating years to highlight our economic reform credentials.

The key message of Labor’s launch was that government should be about more than appealing to our bottom-dollar instincts. This means scrapping the pork barrel in favour of investing in the determinants of prosperity, such as infrastructure and human capital. It means lifting our head out of the sand and confronting future challenges, such as those posed by climate change and expanding globalisation. It means being less greedy and fixing social equity issues now, such as housing affordability and access to higher education.

As Shadow Finance Minister, I’ve had a great deal to do with the quantum of Labor’s spending this campaign. There is always a strong temptation to keep up with your opponent in election campaigns, so I’m proud that Labor provided a circuit-breaker last week and refused to match the Government’s spending spree.

But I’ve long argued that, for a reforming government, the quality of government spending is even more important than the quantum. It was unedifying to watch the Government attempt to claw back support last week with slapdash spending in its campaign launch. It was like a budget closing down sale, with the government’s usual offerings: poorly targeted initiatives which needlessly circulate government money to the top end of the income ladder.

Labor’s policies are designed to improve the quality of government spending. We are about investing in the future, rather than recycling our current prosperity for short-term gain.

From the moment he became Leader, Kevin Rudd has talked about the importance of education, not only to our future prosperity and economic growth, but to achieving a more engaged and equitable society. The launch underscored Kevin’s desire if elected to be known as the education prime minister. While the Liberals have tried throwing money at education, they don’t understand that one of the best ways to spend education dollars is to invest in people. Labor’s plans for improved and expanded commonwealth scholarships and for the Future Fellowships program to retain Australia’s best researchers are just two examples of such investment.

The final contest in this election campaign is going to be very tight. Labor is working as hard as it can to get Australians right across the country to support us. I’m looking forward to the chance to clean up government in this country, and ensuring that we can make the quality investments in learning, skills and infrastructure our nation needs to create greater opportunity and a better society for all.