Prime Minister Kevin Rudd claims building a high speed rail project from Brisbane to Melbourne by 2035 would cost less than the Coalition's paid parental leave scheme for the same period of time.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says households will be $550 a year better off if the Coalition scraps the carbon tax.

Treasurer Chris Bowen claims the Coalition's proposed paid parental leave scheme will cost Australian investors $1.6 billion.

Federal MP and businessman Clive Palmer claims infant mortality rates are higher among Indigenous Australians than in Africa, Asia or South America.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has accused Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of cutting $1 billion in public hospital funding when he was health minister.