The Shadow Treasurer, Wayne Swan, was the keynote speaker at the opening of Labor’s Forde Campaign Office on Saturday. Over one hundred people gathered at Forde Candidate Brett Raguse’ York Street office in support of his campaign to win the seat of Forde.

Mr Swan said that the Labor Party had to win over Howard’s ’battlers’ in Forde to ensure a Labor win. He complemented Mr. Raguse on his ‘grass roots’ campaign which was aimed at bringing the ‘battlers’ back to Labor.

Commenting on Kevin Rudd’s budget response speech he said that Kevin Rudd has put forward a comprehensive plan to tackle the economic challenges of the future, particularly the economic challenge of lifting productivity to ensure prosperity beyond the mining boom.

“That’s why Kevin Rudd has been talking about an Education Revolution - to lift our productivity, to create prosperity when the mining boom turns down. And of course he’s been talking about the need for modern infrastructure, particularly high speed broadband, once again to lift our productivity. Labor is definitely in the future business,” he said.

Labor’s Candidate for Forde, Brett Raguse, who’s working background was in the education sector, said that the campaign was about returning equity to the Australian work force.

“In order to ensure our future we must invest the wealth created by the mining boom in education and modern infrastructure. It’s about the future, not the past,” he said.

Actor, Noni Hazlehurst, who was also present to support Mr. Raguse’s’ campaign, said that there was a feeling in the community that it was time for a change.

Mr. Raguse’s campaign office is situated at 6/102 York Street Beenleigh.