Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has stepped up his warnings about budget cuts under a Coalition government, saying they will "tear Australia down" and risk throwing the nation into recession.

The Opposition has repeatedly denied Labor claims that it will have to cut $70 billion from the budget to fund its policies.

Both major parties targeted the family vote in their policy announcements on Sunday, with Mr Rudd continuing to say the Opposition will "cut, cut and cut" to health, education and jobs.

"If you were to rip out that or a large part of it, by cuts to jobs, health and education, you don't have to be a mathematical whiz to work out that that would throw the economy into recession. There is a real risk of that," the Prime Minister said.

Rudd delivers fiery speech: 'I am determined to prevail'

Mr Rudd, who earlier announced a $357 million pledge for health services funding, including a redevelopment of Sydney's Westmead Hospital, delivered an impassioned speech to Labor supporters in western Sydney.

The Prime Minister declared he was determined to prove his critics wrong, and that despite the Government's poor polling, the battle for the election is far from over.

"We're not even in the middle of the second quarter [of the election campaign] yet if you play AFL, and we're certainly not up to half-time yet if you're in the NRL. There's a long way to go," he said.

"When Tony Abbott goes out there and says he's got this in the bag and he's already the prime minister of Australia, I think the Australian people may scratch their heads and think about that and say 'Mr Abbott, that's just a little too arrogant'.

"September 7 is three weeks away. We have campaigning to do each and every day - campaigning around one core proposition for the Australian people: we build a nation's future - he cuts, cuts and cuts the nation's future.

"This Government is determined to prevail, I am determined to prevail, and we're determined to prove each and every one of those critics fundamentally wrong."

PM rubbishes Abbott's paid parental leave scheme

Mr Rudd also slammed the Opposition Leader's "fair dinkum" paid parental leave scheme, which Tony Abbott re-launched on Sunday morning.

The 26-week replacement wage scheme will begin on July 1, 2015, paying the primary carer the mother's full wage - up to an annual salary of $150,000 plus superannuation - for six months.

Using $5 and $50 notes as props, the Prime Minister made the point that the Opposition's cuts will take more from taxpayers than the parental leave scheme would give.

"What Mr Abbott is saying is that he is prepared to put $5 in the pockets of some Australians and at the same time take $50 out of the pockets of all Australians," he said.

Abbott says scheme is fully costed and funded

Sorry, this video has expired Coalition's paid parental leave scheme unveiled ( Mark Simkin )

But Mr Abbott says the measure has been "fully costed and fully funded" at around $5.5 billion a year.

It will be partly funded by a 1.5 per cent levy on the 3,000 largest businesses in Australia - which is offset by a 1.5 per cent company tax cut.

The Opposition has not released its full costings advice from the PBO but says the net additional cost to the budget is $6.1 billion over the two forward estimates years to 2016-17.

The rest of the cost will be "fully met" by budget savings, including $2 billion from abolishing the Government's existing leave provisions, reductions in family payments and an increase in income tax.

The cost of the Opposition's scheme will also be covered by bringing in public servants at all levels of government - an issue of workplace "justice" according to Mr Abbott, who launched the policy at a coffee shop in the Melbourne electorate of Higgins.

"Why should my staff or why should Kevin Rudd's staff get paid parental leave at their real wage and not the girls working at a coffee shop like this?" he said.

"This is about justice for the whole of the workforce."

Coalition scheme 'built on shaky ground': ACTU

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says the Coalition's paid parental leave scheme would only minimally address major issues faced by women at work.

ACTU president Ged Kearney says the policy alone does not go far enough.

Coalition's parental leave scheme Mothers will be provided with 26 weeks of paid parental leave at their actual wage or the national minimum wage (whichever is greater), plus superannuation

Mothers will be provided with 26 weeks of paid parental leave at their actual wage or the national minimum wage (whichever is greater), plus superannuation Fathers will be eligible for two weeks for paternity leave at their actual wage or the national minimum wage (whichever is greater), plus superannuation

Fathers will be eligible for two weeks for paternity leave at their actual wage or the national minimum wage (whichever is greater), plus superannuation If the father is nominated as the primary carer rather than the mother, he will be able to access paid leave to reflect either his or the mother's wage (whichever is lower) or the minimum wage (if it is higher than that wage)

If the father is nominated as the primary carer rather than the mother, he will be able to access paid leave to reflect either his or the mother's wage (whichever is lower) or the minimum wage (if it is higher than that wage) To be eligible, a person must have worked for at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of their child and have worked at least 330 hours in that 10-month period, with no more than an eight-week gap between two working days

To be eligible, a person must have worked for at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of their child and have worked at least 330 hours in that 10-month period, with no more than an eight-week gap between two working days For a woman earning $150,000 per annum or more, paid leave is capped at $75,000

"The issues that women face at work are enormous," she said.

"The barriers to women participating fully in the workplace are complex, and they're complex solutions and we don't hear anything of that from Tony Abbott - we've heard about one paid parental leave scheme."

Ms Kearney says the Coalition's paid parental scheme is "built on shaky ground".

She says she is suspicious that the scheme would not come into effect until July 2015.

"He's delayed it for two years, which gives plenty of time for big business to put pressure on Tony Abbott to abandon it," she said.

"They can claim financial hardship, they can claim all sorts of reasons why they shouldn't have to pay the levy and we know that the Coalition is committed to listening to big business and that's what makes me very suspicious about why he's pushed it out two years."

Macklin says wealthy will benefit more

Families Minister Jenny Macklin says the levy on big businesses will be passed on to householders.

"Australian families will be paying increased prices at the checkout so that very wealthy people get $75,000 to have a baby," she said.

However, Mr Abbott has told Channel 10 he doubts large companies including Coles and Woolworths will need to pass any costs on to consumers.

"Sure there'll be the levy but their overall tax burden won't increase," Mr Abbott said.

"And in the case of Coles and Woolies, they'll no longer need to pay their own in-house [paid parental leave] schemes because it'll be administered by the government."

"So they'll be better off under this scheme."