Thank you for that kind introduction, Julia, and thank you one and all for being here.

Friends, Australia needs new leadership.

Australia needs a leader with fresh ideas and a new direction for Australia’s future.

Australia needs a leader who can provide long-term leadership to deal with future challenges like education, hospitals and climate change, and a leader who will bring balance and fairness to our workplaces.

Friends, Kevin Rudd is the leader Australia needs for the future.

As someone who has spent 25 years in the Australian Army – and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan – I understand the importance of vision, integrity and strong leadership in an uncertain, less secure and challenging world.

It is why I believe that Kevin Rudd is the best person to lead Australia for the next decade.

Kevin Rudd has a plan to invest in the future.

He has a plan to keep the economy strong and make sure it delivers for hardworking families, to make it easier to buy a home, expand child care places, and police rising grocery and petrol prices.

He has a plan for an Education Revolution – to invest in preschools, schools, trades and universities so that all our kids get the best start in life, boost our productivity and grow our economy.

He has a plan to bring balance and fairness to our workplaces by protecting the wages and entitlements of hardworking families – by getting rid of Mr Howard’s extreme and unfair workplace laws.

He has a plan to act urgently and decisively on climate change – by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and investing in renewable energy like wind, solar and clean coal to protect the future of our economy and the future of our children.

He has a plan to end the blame game between Federal and State Governments, and has a $2 billion National Health Plan which will take the pressure off our emergency departments and support our doctors, nurses and health care professionals.

Kevin Rudd has shown the Australian people that he understands the challenges Australia faces in the future and he has plans to deal with them.

He believes in the Australian people, he understands their concerns, their hopes and their aspirations.

He is an optimist when it comes to Australia’s future.

The Australian people are responding to him warmly, especially here in Penrith, which the Howard Government has betrayed on interest rates, the rising cost of living and a disinvestment in education.

And to think that Mr Howard once trumpeted the seat of Lindsay as an ‘electoral trophy’. Just imagine how much more can be achieved if Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister of Australia.

Friends, the time has come for new leadership and a new national Labor Government.

Australia needs a leader who will stand up for hardworking familles, not a leader who will do, say and spend anything to get re-elected.

Australia needs a leader with a plan to take Australia forward over the next 10 years, not just a leader with a plan for winning the next election.

Australia needs a leader with a positive vision for Australia’s future, not a leader addicted to scare campaigns, running on fears and smears.

Australia needs a leader at the helm of a united party ready for government – for the long–term – not a divided party unable to determine which leader it should have, and a Prime Minister who will say he will retire in a few years.

Friends, as we head into this election campaign, I believe that more than ever, Australia needs a Labor Government, a Rudd Labor Government.