Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk denies her campaign is aimed solely at picking up the protest vote.
The Labor leader attacked the Liberal National Party's record on education on Wednesday.
She says the LNP has overseen huge TAFE fee price rises and closed TAFE campuses across the state.
Ms Palaszczuk also repeated her "modest" pledge to fund 100 new TAFE teaching and support positions.
But she denies her strategy is to talk up Mr Newman's mistakes rather than her own policies.
"Not at all, I am focused on growing our economy," she said.
But Ms Palaszczuk then immediately attacked her rival's track record.
"You grow the economy by creating jobs, the track record of the Newman government is 24,000 jobs that have been lost," she said.
Many of Labor's key plans involve restarting Bligh government programs axed by the LNP.
Ms Palaszczuk rejected comparisons between her education and training plans and that of the previous Labor government.
"I don't believe that's the case at all," she said.
"These are new initiatives, these are about growing the knowledge-based industries of the future.
"This is targeted, it is sensible, it's measured and it's the right direction Queensland needs to go."
The opposition leader also promised not to dump dredge spoil from the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port on the Great Barrier Reef.
The LNP wants to use the spoil to build up the port, but intends for it to be held in ponds that could affect vulnerable wetlands during the construction phase.
Ms Palaszczuk has claimed the spoil could be held on the port construction site without affecting wetlands.
She said Labor would seek legal advice about the existing federal approval to dump the spoil on the reef.
"We're going to have to have a look at that," she said.
"We're going to have to go through line by line, item by item and just make sure we've got legal advice in relation to that."
The Queensland Resource Council this week called on Labor to outline their plans to develop coal seam gas in the Galilee Basin, which would be piped to Abbot Point.
Labor has previously said it would withdraw state government investment in railways to the Galilee.
Queenslanders head to the polls on January 31.
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