Former prime minister Paul Keating has accused the Liberals of being "mean little people" who lack the imagination to deliver the kind of reforms led under Labor.

Mr Keating says Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard had steered the country through the "valley of economic death" in 2008-09 to be what no other country in the world has been.

'This big': Paul Keating accuses the Liberals of walking away from accountability standards. Credit:Mal Fairclough

"No recession, no great dip in employment," Mr Keating said, launching the campaign of Labor minister Bill Shorten in his Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong on Friday, to rousing applause from party faithful.