Julia Gillard

As our economy faces up to potential labour shortages due to our ageing population and as it moves to a new level of sophistication to compete with the rest of the world, we're going to need every Australian on board pulling their weight, rejoining the workforce, gaining new skills. Writing off individuals and communities suffering from poverty just creates a dead weight for our economy to drag along.

If G20 leaders are serious about sustainable growth and job creation and want to stem migration flows and promote long-term stability, education is an essential investment.

We see community organizations as major service providers and economic drivers rather than as recipients or distributors of charity, and coordinators of volunteers. Today they constitute what's referred to as 'the social economy'.

As more girls get basic schooling, larger numbers will move up the educational ladder - some to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. That's important because workplaces around the world, especially in many developing and emerging-market countries, are becoming more automated, favouring workers with technical skills.

In fragile and conflict-affected states, education can insulate children from chaos and insecurity and better prepare them to bring about future stability.

If you believe, as I do, that merit is equally distributed between the sexes, then any result that isn't around half and half should be troubling.

Educating the world's poorest girls can only be done with the firm commitment of many stakeholders - both domestic and international - to plan, fund, and build strong, sustainable, and equitable education systems.

I have travelled enough internationally to know and accept the reality that, overwhelmingly, people are well disposed to Australia but in truth know very little about it. In particular, people know hardly anything about Australian politics.

Investing in better-quality education outcomes - especially in maths and science - more than pays for itself.

Whether or not you welcome it, moving house requires you to make choices about the past as you move into the future. What of all of your bits of stuff is truly valued? What should be left behind?

Middle-income countries need to attend to the education of their poorest people to build their economies and ensure long-term stability.

All my life I've believed that men and women have equal capacities and talents...consequently there should be equality in life's chances.

My guiding principle is that prosperity can be shared. We can create wealth together. The global economy is not a zero-sum game.

Our future growth relies on competitiveness and innovation, skills and productivity... and these in turn rely on the education of our people.

So in many ways for me, having lived through what I've lived through, and endured what I've endured, I've got more confidence that I can do the next bit - and there's something sustaining about that.

We are constantly being told that we've never been wealthier. And many of us are. On average we all are. But that's just the problem.. no one is average.

Including everyone in the economic, wealth-creating life of the nation is today the best way for Labor (Australian Labor Party) to meet its twin goals of raising national prosperity and creating a fair and decent society.