The Prime Minister has used her first speech since her father died to warn the nation it only has to look to Campbell Newman's LNP to know what a Tony Abbott-led government would be like.

Speaking at the Queensland Labor Party Conference at Brisbane's Mercure Hotel today, Julia Gillard labelled the human cost of last week's Queensland budget "dreadful", and said Queenslanders –deserved better than Premier Newman.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks to media after addressing the Queensland Labor State Conference in Brisbane. Credit:Glenn Hunt

"Even Clive Palmer is having doubts," she said.

"You know the ship is going down pretty fast when the bloke who wants to resurrect the Titanic is seen leaving it."