Labor's plan to progress a high-speed rail network along Australia's east coast has sparked debate over spending priorities.
With two weeks until the election, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took his campaign to Sydney to announce $52 million to start the process of buying land for a high-speed rail corridor connecting Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, campaigning in Brisbane on his plan to support apprentices, said roads should be at the top of the government's infrastructure list.
"I'd much rather spend money now to get better outcomes tomorrow, rather than in 40 years' time," Mr Abbott said on Monday.
Building or upgrading a range of roads across the country, including WestConnex in Sydney and the East West Link in Melbourne would be "substantially under way" under a coalition government's first term.
Mr Rudd said a Labor government would introduce legislation to reserve land along a 1748-kilometre rail corridor between Melbourne and Brisbane, and set up a new authority to oversee the project's delivery.
"This is an exciting project for Australia's future," Mr Rudd said of the rail plan, which Labor sees as crucial to supporting jobs beyond the mining boom.
Homing in on the coalition's budget priorities, Mr Rudd said the 2035 rail plan would be cheaper than the opposition's $22 billion paid parental leave scheme.
"Put that into context - what is more necessary for the nation's future?" Mr Rudd said.
"A high-speed rail network which links these vital cities along Australia's east coast, or an unaffordable, unfair paid parental leave scheme?"
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said the rail project could have been under way now had Labor supported her party's $700 million proposal.
The Greens have also weighed in on the debate over the coalition's parental leave policy, saying they would work with an Abbott government to make the policy "fairer, more affordable and better targeted".
But Greens spokeswoman Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the coalition needed to explain how their policy would be funded.
The latest Essential poll found 24 per cent support for the coalition's leave policy, compared with 35 per cent for Labor's scheme and 41 per cent for "neither" or "don't know".
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey is expected to outline some coalition costings at a National Press Club debate with Treasurer Chris Bowen on Wednesday.
Mr Abbott said it would be "foolish" to guarantee the timing of a coalition government's budget surplus because of declining revenues.
"What I can say is, the budget bottom line will also be better under the coalition," he said.
Two new polls show the coalition in an election-winning lead, but Labor largely holding its ground.
Newspoll put the coalition's two-party preferred support at 53 per cent, down one point on the previous week, while the Essential poll had the parties at 50-50 for the second week running.
Mr Rudd was not prepared to discuss defeat when asked on Triple J's Hack current affairs program if he would commit to a full term if Labor lost, but he hung on to his seat of Griffith.
"I'm not in the business of talking about the possibilities of defeat," Mr Rudd said.
"My responsibility as prime minister and leader of the Labor party is to put my argument to all your listeners right across the country as to why they should support us in this election."
