“I say to regional Australia, let us use common sense and hard work as our compass and partnership as our way ahead,” she said.
“I want to work very closely with you. I want to help you achieve your goals so that together we can build a sustainable Australia.”
Ms Gillard says the program is aimed at providing more homes in regional centres as Australia’s major cities become more crowded.
However only certain cities have will be invited to apply and out of those applications it is expected that 15 cities will receive around $15 million each.
Councils would use the money to fund infrastructure projects such as roads, drains and community facilities that would be needed for new housing projects.
“One of the greatest pressures on sustainability is housing affordability,” Ms Gillard said.
“Our cities are under stress and so are many families.”
She has also used her speech to target anxiety among those living in outer-metropolitan seats in Brisbane who are dealing with traffic congestion and infrastructure problems.
In a swipe at the Coalition Ms Gillard says will always put Australians quality of life first.
“This is a time for choosing between cuts or services, fear and optimism, going backwards or going forwards,” she said.
“What I am saying is that growth should make life better for Australian families – not make things harder.
“Growth should not mean greater congestion, longer queues and more intense competition for scarce resources like housing and water.”
In her first official event of the campaign, Ms Gillard this morning joined her deputy Wayne Swan at the annual meet the babies family day he holds in his electorate of Lilley.
In amongst the stalls and jumping castles, the Prime Minister mingled with parents and had time for the obligatory campaign photographs with several babies.
Ms Gillard told those gathered she believes every child deserves access to a good education and decent health services.
As Ms Gillard seeks to connect with voters in Brisbane, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is today visiting western Sydney.
Mr Abbott has accused the Government of rushing into a quick fix on a population policy after it abandoned former leader Kevin Rudd’s support of a “big Australia”.