Former prime minister Paul Keating has criticised Kevin Rudd's decision to appoint Peter Costello to the board of the Future Fund.

Mr Keating says the former treasurer squandered 11 years of economic growth and stood by as Australia's overseas debt sky-rocketed.

Mr Keating says Mr Rudd is a "goodie two-shoes" who has shown disloyalty to the Labor Party by not considering former MPs for the job.

He has described the former treasurer as a "policy bum of the first order" who squandered 11 years of economic opportunity.

Mr Costello left politics last month and will take his place on the Future Fund board in December.

Mr Rudd says he is not concerned about the criticism.

"Mr Costello and I have had many disagreements over the years," he said.

"That does not mean that once he is retired from active political life, we should not draw upon the experience that he has had as 12 years as treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia.

"That's my view. I think if you have got Paul Keating in one corner criticising this appointment and Malcolm Turnbull in the other corner criticising this appointment maybe we have just got something right here."

The Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has welcomed the appointment, but says it exposes hypocrisy on the part of the Prime Minister who has repeatedly trashed the Coalition's economic legacy.