The campaign launches behind them, Labor and the Coalition are arguing over who is outspending the other in election promises.

Labor leader Kevin Rudd tried to take the moral high ground at yesterday's launch in Brisbane by limiting his spending to $2.3 billion.

That's about one-quarter of the $9.4 billion Prime Minister John Howard pledged at the Coalition's event two days ago, which Mr Rudd called an irresponsible spending spree.

Mr Howard described the claim as juvenile, while Finance Minister Nick Minchin said Labor had so far in the campaign out-pledged the coalition by $12 billion to $11.7 billion.

Labor finance spokesman Lindsay Tanner said the party's tally was $3 billion less once its identified savings were taken into account.

Mr Rudd yesterday promised $1 billion to link all schools to a broadband network and give each student from Year Nine to year 12 access to their own personal school computer.

He also announced an extra 450,000 skilled training places over the next four years, a $500 million renewable energy fund andmeasures to tackle the urban water crisis.

Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said Mr Rudd's so-called education revolution had turned out to be a con job.

Ms Bishop said that after all the hype about Labor's education plan, the launch had been underwhelming.

The Coalition also attacked the renewables fund for mostly copying government policy but leaving out low-emission alternatives like clean coal technology.

Minchin: Labor will spend more than the Coalition

Finance Minister Nick Minchin says Labor is treating the Australian people as fools with claims that it is spending less on its election promises than the coalition.

Senator Minchin said today Labor could not be trusted with money.

"If Labor gets in you can bet your bottom dollar they will lose control of spending just as the state Labor governments have and just as former federal Labor governments have," Senator Minchin told ABC Radio.

Senator Minchin claimed Labor had out-pledged the coalition by $12 billion to $11.7 billion.

"So on the face of it for Mr Rudd to deceive the Australian people by saying he is only going to spend a quarter of what the coalition is going to spend is outrageous and treating Australian people as fools," he said.

Labor's finance spokesman Lindsay Tanner said the party's spending tally was half what the coalition claimed.

"Nick Minchin now has imaginary costings of Labor's promises the net costing of our promises, thus far, is little more than half of what he claims," Mr Tanner told ABC Radio.

"His claims are riddled with errors."