[abc] Prime Minister Julia Gillard has urged the new Parliament to deliver the sort of nation-building projects championed by Labor hero Ben Chifley.
Ms Gillard spent Saturday in Bathurst paying tribute to Mr Chifley, the town's favourite son.
She delivered the annual Light on the Hill address, an event held in honour of the train driver turned prime minister.
After struggling for weeks to form a Government, Ms Gillard is now setting out her agenda.
In her speech she called on the new Parliament to follow Mr Chifley's lead and get on with initiatives that improve the lives of all Australians.
"We can build the National Broadband Network, as great a nation-building plan as the Snowy Hydro Scheme," she said.
Ms Gillard counselled the party faithful not to despair of the new hung Parliament, saying she wished to govern as though she had won in a landslide.
She said the new Parliament can help Australia emulate the post-war boom that Mr Chifley laid the foundations for.
"Let's not lower our ambitions," she said.
"Let's not decide, because no party holds a majority, that this can not be a Parliament that makes progress and delivers lasting achievement."
The Prime Minister also said the main challenges facing Labor were to put a price on carbon and greater equality for regional areas.
She urged federal MPs to invoke the spirit of Mr Chifley when they return to Parliament later this month, and asked the Opposition not to act as wreckers.
Gillard sets out Labor's nation-building agenda
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