He also promised to bring Australia's troops home from Iraq and to make his country's voice heard more loudly on the international stage.

In a pointed strike at the policies that have brought criticism of his 68-year-old incumbent rival, opposition leader Kevin Rudd, 50, portrayed himself as a catalyst for generational change, brimming with fresh ideas.

Speaking at his party's official campaign launch in Brisbane, Mr Rudd, who speaks fluent Mandarin and served as a diplomat in Beijing, accused Prime Minister John Howard of failing to understand the rise of China and India.

He vowed to help fight poverty and promote development in Asia while meeting the challenges emerging from the two economic giants.

'I want Australia to be a leader in the global fight against poverty, disease and under-development, starting right here in our own region,' he said, although he did not elaborate how.

In a thinly veiled criticism of Mr Howard's close friendship with US President George W. Bush, he said: 'I want to ensure that Australia once again has its own voice in the affairs of the world.'

And he hinted at an early return home for Australian combat troops deployed in Iraq: 'The time has come to implement an exit strategy.'

Mr Howard has come under fire over his close ties with the United States, Australia's troop presence in Iraq and his pro-coal environment policies. His ideas have been called 'stale'.

This was seized upon by Mr Rudd, who spent much of his time castigating his rival as an old man 'stuck in the past'.

He described Mr Howard's A$9billion in new spending, mostly tax breaks announced on Monday, as an irresponsible, vote-buying spending spree that would drive up inflation and interest rates. He pointed out that his party's campaign promises, at A$2.3billion, would be a quarter of the government's costs.

His package included a productivity-boosting 'education revolution' that would provide an extra 450,000 training places, 65,000 apprenticeships, plus higher broadband speeds for schools.

He also announced a plan to provide every high school student with a personal computer, and said Labor would invest in Asian language studies 'to equip the next generation of Australians with the languages of the major economies of the future'.

To help the environment, Mr Rudd announced A$1billion to fund solar, wave, wind and geothermal products.

He is keen to convince Australians that Labor can manage the economy, which has increased by almost 50 per cent to A$1.1 trillion under Mr Howard's 11-year stewardship.

Opinion polls suggest the younger man will sweep to victory on Nov24 - but the economy could prove his undoing.

After Mr Rudd's speech, Mr Howard accused him of failing to outline any plan to continue Australia's 16 years of economic growth, and described his speech as 'juvenile'.

rogmaynard@compuserve.com

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS