Coalition govt to back insulation inquiry

The coalition is set to pledge a judicial inquiry into Labor's bungled home insulation scheme as Opposition Leader Tony Abbott takes his election campaign to Kevin Rudd's home state of Queensland.

Mr Rudd will be in Melbourne for the first time during the campaign, spruiking Labor's schools funding plan.

The home insulation program, which he put in place as a part of an economic stimulus package during the global financial crisis, claimed the lives of three young Queensland tradesmen and one in NSW.

The coalition has campaigned for three years to have a judicial inquiry and for the government to release all documents related to it.

"This is an indictment of our prime minister," Mr Abbott said of the deaths on Friday. "It's proof that you've got to look at a guy's record."

In July, a Queensland coroner found the rushed rollout of the scheme was a significant factor in the deaths of the four men.

Mr Rudd issued a public apology over the deaths after the coroner's finding and personally telephoned the families.

But Kevin and Christine Fuller, the parents of Matthew Fuller who died in October 2009, say Mr Rudd is yet to respond to their July 20 letter despite promising to meet with the grieving families.

"That was well over a month ago and he has not been able to fit it in to his busy campaigning schedule, or to make it make it any sort of priority to have any meeting with the families," Mr Fuller told News Corp.

The prime minister will begin the day in the Victorian capital, where Labor is hoping to save marginal seats Corangamite, Deakin and La Trobe, and win back the Greens-held seat of Melbourne.

Mr Abbott will visit the Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane, better known as the Ekka.

The two leaders will face off in the first campaign debate at the National Press Club in Canberra on Sunday.

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard will visit the NSW seats of Dobell and Robertson with Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos.