The Greens leader was a notable absentee at the National Press Club. Here she outlines the issues she says her rivals missed

The economy

With all the talk about the economy neither Kevin Rudd nor Tony Abbott was prepared to talk about what we needed the money to do and where it should come from. The economy should deliver what people and the environment need to survive and prosper. In this century we need to decouple resource extraction and fossil fuel energy from economic growth.

Poverty and homelessness did not get a mention in Sunday's debate. People living on Newstart, youth allowance or single parents support were ignored.

They did not talk about the need to tax the big miners or end fossil fuel subsidies and while they didn't mention it, they intend to cut funds to universities and cut jobs from the public service.

Neither of the old parties is facing the reality that Australia can no longer rely on a "dig it up, cut it down, ship it away" economy, but that investment in education and innovation is what we need for future prosperity.

Where was the focus on innovation, research and development, the arts, and new clean, low-carbon economy jobs? Where was the focus on reducing the gap between rich and poor? Why didn't anyone talk about the jobs and wellbeing in environmental protection, looking after agricultural land and water, tourism or service industries?

The great revenue challenge needs to be addressed so that we can care for people.

Care for all

Caring for the marginalised and poor in our society was completely missing from the debate. As a country and as society, we will be judged by how we look after all Australians, not just the well off.

Australia is not facing an economic crisis but we do need to raise more revenue to continue to pay for the services and support we need for a caring society. Additional revenue should come from those who can afford it, like the overseas-owned mining corporations and the record profit-making banks.

If the Greens' taxation proposals were implemented they would only take taxation as a proportion to GDP back to around its level during the Howard-Costello government. During the Howard-Costello years the tax to GDP ratio reached 24.2%, at the end of the Howard years it was 23.8%. It is now 22.2%. We can raise taxes by more than $24bn and still only be at the same tax to GDP ratio from the end of the Howard years.

Minerals resource rent tax

There was no mention of how to fix the mining tax and Abbott committed to its repeal. With news this week that Rio Tinto is getting paid back the minuscule amount of the tax it has already paid, despite still making billions of dollars profit from its Australian mining operations, it is time Labor admitted it got it wrong and committed to fixing the mining tax.

Fixing the mining tax by increasing the rate to 40%, closing the depreciation and royalties loopholes, and extending the tax to all minerals will raise almost $20bn over the forward estimates. We can afford to pull people out of poverty by increasing Newstart and better supporting single mothers; dump the dumb cuts to universities and harsh cuts to the public service, as well as invest in research and development for the clean energy economy.

We want to give people an enforceable right to request flexible work arrangements so workers can manage their lives more easily. We know many of us struggle to balance our work with caring for our kids or our parents or other family and friends. We want to live fulfilling lives not just work in a struggle to make ends meet.

Fossil fuel subsidies

Another issue that didn't get mentioned at all in the debate between Rudd and Abbott is their continued financial support for the environmentally damaging fossil fuel industry. Australian taxpayers continue to subsidise mining companies use of fuel by around $2bn a year as well as giving them tax breaks to explore for more fossil fuels that we cannot afford to burn if we are to avoid global warming.

Instead of subsidising fossil fuels we should be investing in higher education, research and development and the clean economy. The Greens will stand up to the powerful mining companies and invest in clean energy technology.

Refugees

People like us with families and hopes for the future are fleeing persecution and seeking asylum in our country, but neither Abbott or Rudd will act with compassion or care. They promote cruelty. They think it is OK to bribe our poorest neighbours to take people away – out of sight, out of mind – and to undermine human decency and international law. This is wrong.

There is a better way. The Greens' plan is to provide hope to refugees for safer pathways to a secure free life by increasing our humanitarian intake to 30,000, including an emergency intake of 10,000 from our immediate region, and providing $70m extra to the UNHCR and other NGOs to support faster asylum seekers processing and better support for asylum seekers in Indonesia. Children should not be in detention and it is a national disgrace that 2,000 children are locked up in detention centres. The Greens stand up for people and compassion.

Climate change

The Greens are the only party you can trust to cut greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the reduction target to between 25% and 40% by 2020, net carbon zero by 2050, increasing the renewable energy target to 90% by 2030, increasing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation funding to $30bn over 10 years and stopping the expansion of coalmining and coal seam gas.

Rudd's hypocrisy on the Great Barrier Reef is breathtaking. You cannot save the reef by opening up the Galilee and Bowen basins to new coalmines and dredging ports and dumping spoil into the reef. Both he and Abbott will give the go ahead to Abbot Point coal terminal. Abbott doesn't even pretend to care about global warming. Both old parties cannot be trusted to act with conviction and internal consistency on addressing climate change.

Abbott has cast overwhelming uncertainty over clean energy investment and will stall all utility scale investment when he slashes the large-scale renewable energy target from 41,000 gigawatt hours.

Gay marriage

The Greens are committed to legislating for marriage equality. It is good news that Rudd has now committed personally to marriage equality. Politicians showing leadership can make a difference. But what we need now is action. It is time political parties as a whole committed to ending discrimination.

It won't help achieve marriage equality if Rudd votes for marriage equality but his fellow Labor MPs don't.

Voting for a Greens MP or senator means you will have a trusted vote for marriage equality. Voting Labor or Liberal or National could end up sinking marriage equality whatever Rudd does in the first 100 days.

And in the Senate, if Abbott's Coalition gets effective control of the upper house with the likes of the ultra-conservative Democratic Labour party in control, we'll never see an end to marriage discrimination.

Rudd could start by joining with the Greens to co-sponsor a bill immediately after the election in effort to drive cross party support. Let's go!