The prime minister's plan to boost long-term productivity will be a political struggle, a leading economist has warned.
Kevin Rudd says he's worried about Australia's ageing population and wants to ease the burden by boosting the nation's productivity growth from about 1.4 per cent per year towards two per cent.
Chris Richardson, from Access Economics, says that will be a challenge.
'Struggle before prosperity'
"Australia can be a more prosperous place, but it's going to take some struggle to get there," he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
Many areas of the economy needed reform but most "involve cheesing off select groups of voters", he said.
Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop said Mr Rudd's speech, outlining a productivity growth target, was a missed opportunity.
"Mr Rudd should have set out what he will actually achieve for Australia," she told ABC Radio.
Rudd is 'all talk'
The speech shows he is "all talk and little if any real action", federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.
Mr Abbott said the speech was typical of the prime minister, making plans for the future while refusing to act in the present.
"It was typical Rudd - talking about what we needed to do, but not talking about how we were going to do it," he told Macquarie Radio on Tuesday.
"Talking about what would happen by 2050 when Mr Rudd will be long gone, not talking about what he's going to do this year that might actually make a difference.
"I think people are starting to get the impression that the prime minister is all talk and little if any real action."
