Rudd tries to steal Abbott's spotlight with Bonner appearance

KEVIN Rudd has taken up the cudgels for the woman who took his job, challenging Tony Abbott to defend his economic policies.

Kevin Rudd poses for pictures with well-wishers during a visit to Carindale shopping centre. Picture: Adam Smith

KEVIN Rudd has taken up the cudgels for the woman who took his job, challenging Tony Abbott to defend his economic policies.

Mr Rudd also called on the Opposition Leader to explain to voters why he would be a better prime minister than Julia Gillard.

The former PM stepped out for the first time today in his new role as campaigner at large for Labor in a bid to drag attention off Mr Abbott and the official Coalition election campaign launch in Brisbane.

Characteristically, Mr Rudd's appearance at a shopping centre with Labor MP Kerry Rea, who holds her Brisbane bayside seat of Bonner by 4.6 per cent, took on a life of its own with uncertainty over where he would pop up almost until the last minute.

Mr Rudd had been due to fly to Gladstone in central Queensland to campaign with Labor's Chris Trevor in his marginal seat of Flynn, but the arrangements were changed at short notice.

A hotel room had been booked for Mr Rudd in Gladstone, and Mr Trevor admitted to The Australian he had been on standby to hit the hustings with the former prime minister, as Ms Gillard continued on her own way in Darwin.

Mr Rudd received a warm welcome at Carindale shopping centre, which is in Bonner, but used by people living in his adjoining seat of Griffith on Brisbane's southside.

He posed for dozens of pictures, cheerfully shook hands and borrowed notepaper from reporters to write messages to some of the well-wishers who mobbed him.

Mr Rudd again refused to answer questions from the big media pack that assembled with only about 30 minutes' notice from his office.

But he accused the Opposition Leader of ducking debate about his economic policies, his purported plans to tear up the hospital funding agreement Mr Rudd had negotiated as prime minister and a “secret” agreement to resurrect Work Choices industrial relations arrangements.

“Mr Abbott's strategy is to lie low and subject himself to no scrutiny,” Mr Rudd said at the end of his two-hour visit to the shopping centre.

“My challenge to Mr Abbott is to come out and defend his position on the economy, defend his position on ripping up our historic agreement on hospitals, defend his position also on their plan to bring back Work Choices.

“I think it's quite worrying with two weeks to go before a national election for Mr Abbott to believe he can simply slide through without any scrutiny.

“The spotlight is on him and what he would do to Australia if he was prime minister ... I do not believe he is up to the job of being prime minister.”