PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has attacked the former Howard government for squandering the rivers of gold flowing before the financial crisis, saying there should be no false nostalgia.

In a speech in Sydney, Ms Gillard said the upcoming September 14 election would not be a contest about some ''lost golden age'' and nor was it time for ''cosy bed-time stories''.

''There should be no false nostalgia for the days that preceded the global financial crisis: the days when our household savings ratio hit zero, when easy credit and rapidly rising terms of trade created a sugar hit that could never be sustained,'' she said today.

''Even then, with rivers of gold flowing into federal coffers, a priceless opportunity was squandered.''

Ms Gillard said if the Howard Coalition government had collected the same amount of revenue as a unit of gross domestic product (GDP) as her government now does, it would have spent its last seven years in office in deficit.

''But rather than invest in the future, this (Coalition government) revenue was spent on quick fixes, at the same time bequeathing a legacy of declining productivity, rising inflation and skills shortages,'' she told the Foreign Correspondents Association function.

Ms Gillard also turned her attention to the Coalition and its criticism of Labor's strategy in dealing with the fallout of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC) and the resulting rise in government net debt.

''Anyone who pretends this debt should not exist is effectively denying the GFC happened,'' she said.

''Anyone who pretends the GFC didn't happen should be treated as the same kind of amusing curiosity as those who believe the earth is flat.''

The Prime Minister also talked up the need for Australia to prepare for the Asian Century, saying that by 2030 there would be more than three billion middle class consumers in the region.

Australia was already ''pushing on an open door''.

''But once we enter, everything that follows depends on our skill and ingenuity,'' she said.

''Nothing is guaranteed to us - success is not pre-ordained.''

Ms Gillard said the federal election would be a test of which side of politics had a blueprint for Australia's future in Asia.

''And it is only Labor that has that plan.''

The Labor strategy for Asia rested on five pillars, Ms Gillard said - skills and education, high speed broadband, clean energy and innovation, competition and deregulation, and tax reform.

''These are the five pillars this government has identified as key to increasing jobs, prosperity and productivity,'' she said.

Ahead of her trip to China on Friday, Ms Gillard said she would be promoting trade and economic interests and sharing views on global and regional security challenges.

''The timing of this visit so soon after the new leadership has entered into office is deliberate,'' she said.

Ms Gillard cited Australia's rapidly evolving relationship with China and the government's high-level political oversight of that relationship.

''And more broadly, it reflects the centrality of Asia in the story of our nation for the 21st century,'' she said.

Ms Gillard was asked if Australia's influence was waning as China stepped up its presence in places like Fiji.

The Prime Minister recognised China's growing power.

''As China's weight and power continues to rise then of course it will have a stronger and more diverse relationships around the world, including in the Pacific,'' she said.

Ms Gillard said Australia wanted to see more countries working in aid and development in the Pacific, but believed there needed to be more accountability.

''We believe that aid and development money needs to be the subject of proper accountabilities and transparencies so people can see the work that is being done,''she said.

On Fiji, Ms Gillard said Australia continued to look forward to ''free and fair'' elections being held in the island republic which has been run by Commodore Frank Bainimarama since a 2006 military coup.

Asked by a BBC reporter if she took responsibility for the ''ugly'' debate about asylum seekers in Australia, the PM denied the issue was an Australian phenomenon, saying a similar debate was occurring in European countries.

''If you walked out on the streets of London and asked people what they thought about the various waves of asylum seekers coming through into the UK...you would get a variety of views expressed, some of them quite harsh views,'' she said.

The PM defended her government's tough policies on irregular boat arrivals, which includes sending people to Nauru and Papua New Guinea for processing.

''What I have always done in this area is not focus on or seek to demonise the people who are looking for asylum but to deal with the policy principles,'' she said.

These principles were based on compassion and aimed at deterring people from taking dangerous boat journeys to Australia, she added.

Earlier, Ms Gillard told the function Australia managed its immigration intake according to its needs.

''We will continue in the years to come...to be a nation that welcomes migrants, and particularly welcomes skilled migrants,'' she said.

Meanwhile, the Asian century implementation plan will be released by Trade Minister Craig Emerson today.

Dr Emerson will name Leighton chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt as chair of a strategic advisory board, together with Kraft Foods regional chief Rebecca Dee-Bradbury and RMIT vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner, News Ltd reports.

Former treasury secretary Ken Henry, Telstra chair Catherine Livingstone, The Australian National University's Peter Drysdale, and Corrs Chambers Westgarth chief executive John Denton will also sit on the group.

Under the implementation plan, universities will be encouraged to boost their Asian programs, while there will also be a push to put Chinese language on the curriculum for Year 10 students.

News Ltd says other details of the plan include work to improve trade relations with 16 nations in the region, and the so-called "significant investor visa" to attract migrants willing to invest at least $5 million.

The implementation plan comes after the release of the Asian Century white paper in October last year.

"The implementation plan charts a course for the further release of practical policies in the coming months, giving effect to the white paper's aspirations," Dr Emerson told News Ltd.