Defence is our best attack.

Our job as a government is to start with the great underpinnings of our current economic growth - particularly defence and mining - and build on these.

If we wish our state's growth to continue, then our future will increasingly be with industries that require a highly skilled and technically proficient workforce.

I've decided to lead in a way that takes people with me. It's the approach that I think will stand not only our party but also our state in good stead.

I believe that investing in our children's development from the earliest age is the single most important contribution we can make to the health and wellbeing of our citizens, their capacity and the future prosperity of our state.

We may very well be faced with the choice of retaining the AAA credit rating or abandoning some of our key infrastructure projects, which are about jobs for the future. I will choose jobs in that equation every time.