The opposition Labor Party in Australia has officially launched its campaign for the country's general election.
Labor has a 10-point lead in opinion polls over the centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister John Howard, who has been in office for 11 years.
If elected, opposition leader Kevin Rudd has said he will ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and pull Australian combat troops out of Iraq.
Mr Howard launched his formal campaign for the 24 November polls on Monday.
The prime minister said jobs, childcare, education and affordable housing were his key policies.
'Decade in denial'
Mr Rudd kicked off Labor's election bid in his home city of Brisbane, with a plea to end poverty in Asia.
AUSTRALIAN ELECTION
"I want Australia to be a leader in the global fight against poverty, disease and underdevelopment, starting right here in our own region," he said.
In a speech in front of about 800 party faithful, Mr Rudd accused Mr Howard of failing to understand the challenges of Australia's future, including those posed by "the rise of China and India".
He said the prime minister had "spent a decade in denial" on climate change.
"Even now Mr Howard still opposes Kyoto. I make this commitment. If we are elected, I will immediately ratify Kyoto."
And he used the speech to attack the government's foreign policy record, saying the time had come to "implement an exit strategy for our combat forces" from Iraq.
The opposition needs a huge swing in its favour to gain the 16 seats in parliament to give it an overall majority.
Liberal Party leader Mr Howard also launched his campaign in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland and a key election battleground where Labor holds just six of 29 federal seats.
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