Labor's progressive education policy will win it the election and "secure the future for our people", Foreign Minister Bob Carr says.
Speaking at the launch of ALP candidate Matt Thistlethwaite, Peter Garrett's replacement in the Sydney seat of Kingsford Smith, Senator Carr said on Saturday Australia's education system could either regress under the coalition or "go forward under a Rudd Labor government".
Senator Carr wants people to consider "what goes on in the classrooms, what support we give our hard-working teachers, what encouragement we give our students, what resource we put into the schools", before voting.
"Let's make this election ... a referendum on how we continue Labor's work on lifting the standards in the schools of Australia," he said.
Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke was also at the launch, a day after another former PM, John Howard, spruiked the Liberal's candidate in the Central Coast seat of Dobell.
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The ALP has held Kingsford-Smith since 1949, but there was an 8.9 per cent swing against it in the 2010 election.
