Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke says he rates Labor the "underdog" to win the election, but is still confident the party can beat the coalition on September 7.
"We'd have to still be rated the underdog but we can win," Mr Hawke told reporters as he left the campaign launch of Labor's candidate for Kingsford Smith, Matt Thistlethwaite.
The former PM was in the Sydney seat to spruik for Mr Thistlethwaite, who was preselected after retiring MP Peter Garrett announced he wouldn't recontest it.
Mr Hawke told the campaign launch he was "absolutely bloody staggered by the cheek of this bloke Abbott." He said history showed Labor performed better on economic management than the coalition.
"Look at the present, we have an economy in Australia that the other developed economies of the world would give their bloody eye-teeth for," Mr Hawke told the crowd of around 100 people at Maroubra surf club.
"Theirs (the coalition's) is a record of hopeless mismanagement." The former PM urged voters to assess both the ALP and the coalition like they were "buying a new car".
"You look at the record, the performance, you go for the one that's got the record, the performance," he said.
"Look at the records ... It's Labor, Labor, Labor, Labor every time." Mr Hawke's appearance comes a day after another former PM, John Howard, talked up the Liberal's candidate in the Central Coast seat of Dobell.
And Mr Hawke was not going to be outdone, describing Mr Thistlethwaite as a "bloody marvellous candidate".
"Kingsford smith couldn't have anyone better to represent it" he said.
The ALP has held Kingsford-Smith since 1949, but there was an 8.9 per cent swing against Labor in the 2010 election.
