Labor leader Anthony Albanese has outlined schools, Medicare and the economy as key battlegrounds in his first major pitch to Australians this election year.
The opposition leader used an address to the National Press Club on Tuesday to spell out out a $440 million plan to upgrade schools and help student wellbeing.
As states and territories unveil their back-to-school plans, Mr Albanese said children had suffered a "unique loss" during the pandemic and needed extra attention.
"Education is fundamental and essential to the jobs, productivity and prosperity of the future," he said.
"Education is the biggest and most powerful weapon we have against disadvantage."
Schools will be able to access grants from an upgrade fund to improve air quality with measures such as better ventilation, building more outdoor classrooms, replacing boarded-up windows and doors, and buying air purifiers.
Funding will also be available for school upgrades including new and refurbished buildings and trades training centres.
A Labor government would also provide schools with extra funding for counsellors and psychologists, as well as camps, excursions and other activities to improve kids' wellbeing.
Mr Albanese committed to lift wages, make child care cheaper, boost renewable energy, improve inclusion, legislate a national anti-corruption watchdog and work towards Indigenous reconciliation.
Labor will again campaign on protecting Medicare, which has proven a policy strength for Mr Albanese's party in past elections.
"Bob (Hawke's) first instinct was to bring Australians together. Under him, Labor built Medicare not just as a safety net but as a conscious act of nation building," he said.
"Protecting the health of Australians will be a defining issue in the upcoming election and a critical choice will be this: who do you trust to keep Medicare safe?"
On turning around the government's budget deficit, he said it could be achieved through cutting waste and mismanagement as well as economic growth driven by higher wages.
"If you have an economy that is seeing new industries grow ... then you can turn around the economy and that's our vision."
The prospective prime minister touched on foreign policy but didn't outline any discernible difference with the coalition over how a government he leads would approach China or Russia.
Mr Albanese said he would pursue peace through multilateral organisations and engage in diplomacy while continuing to promote Australian values.
"One of the problems we've had in the region is it was very short sighted for this government to withdraw aid from Asia and the Pacific in the way that they did," he said.
"If Australia and democratic nations withdraw, guess what? There are others who might want to fill that gap."
Federation reform was also put on the table but specifics weren't, with Mr Albanese only pledging "a clearer delineation of who's responsible for what".
