Labor is the party of nation-building. We build things - but not just in marginal or target seats. We are the party regional Australia needs. There is so much to be done - unless you're the Coalition. Nothing jolts them from their complacency: not drought, not fire.

The Nationals' focus has drifted from the people they are meant to represent - and onto themselves. On the day Parliament paused to remember bushfire victims, they brawled over who should be top dog. On the day the Indonesian President addressed our Parliament, they tore themselves apart over the Deputy Speakership. They've fallen a long way.

As a party proudly born in the bush, Labor's record is a proud one. Look at our transformation of the Pacific Highway. Look at the Hunter Expressway - talked about for years without a hole being dug, until Labor came along and invested $1.5 billion. Labor invested in the third rail line. The extra coal exports it now carries is generating the revenue that sustains the entire interstate rail freight network.

We understand the need for infrastructure that boosts productivity and, indeed, transforms our economy. Infrastructure such as high speed rail, which would promote decentralisation and end the tyranny of distance.

As the true party of the bush, we want rural and regional Australians to receive a fair share of the prosperity their efforts generate, and to build a more secure future in our changing economy.

What we need is a new paradigm for regional economic development. The task for the next Labor government will be to address the challenges of the future. Labor's priority has always been to shape change in the interests of people. We have done it before and we will do it again. Not least with climate change.

The climate wars have squandered a decade. The community is losing patience with this government. That's why last week I announced that a future Labor government would adopt a target of zero net emissions by 2050.

We will talk with a broad spectrum of farmers, workers, business and organisations to develop the road map to get us there. There is nothing radical here. Seventy-three countries have agreed to it, as have the Australians states - including Liberal states. Just this week, Rio Tinto announced it will invest $1.5 billion in climate-related projects over the next five years as part of its 2050 pledge. Here in the Upper Hunter, AGL is working with us to ensure that when the 50-year-old Liddell power station runs out of puff, the region remains the powerhouse of NSW.

The odd ones out are the federal Liberals and Nationals - hell bent on putting politics before science. They talk of the cost of action, but ignore the cost of inaction, which is far greater. They ignore the CSIRO, which tells us action on climate change means more jobs, and cheaper, cleaner energy for families and businesses.

We understand the global shift towards a carbon neutral economy provides new opportunities for growth in both our traditional industries and our emerging ones.

With the development of an Australian hydrogen industry, regional Australia would be a natural home for expanded industries in aluminium, steel, silicon and ammonia. There are huge opportunities for regional areas to contribute via carbon farming.

Australia has the potential to capture a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, generating a new source of income for our farmers in the process. The forestry industry has a bright future as our economy changes. We are also the second largest producer of rare earth elements.

Just as coal and iron ore fuelled the industrial economies of the 20th century, they will fuel the clean energy economies of the 21st.

As the true party of the bush, we will prioritise regional jobs. It is why I've created a Regional Jobs Taskforce under Meryl Swanson to lead this work. But all this requires vision.

Chifley spoke of the light on the hill. But afraid of the present and terrified of the future, the Liberals and Nationals have settled for the fading afterglow of the past.

It's time to have a frank discussion about climate change and jobs. Coal will remain an important part of the picture, but the Hunter doesn't have all its eggs in the coal basket.

Contrary to Nationals rhetoric, regional Australia is more than resources alone.

Look around you. The mighty Hunter is Australia's largest regional economy, with an output of more than $47 billion each year.

Could you imagine Australia without Hunter wine? Could you imagine horse racing without Hunter thoroughbreds?

Down the road we have the University of Newcastle. Up the road, the University of New England. Two of the jewels of our tertiary sector. To ignore the diversity of regional Australia makes no sense. To deny energy alternatives as the Nationals do is to rob regional communities of their future.

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