Shorten's best campaign morning

From Australia's youngest to some of the oldest.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's self-confessed favourite morning of the election campaign started with a toddler rendition of You Are My Sunshine.

It ended with reflection on 100 years of war veterans.

Mr Shorten kicked off his day entertaining some enthusiastic young kids at Ivanhoe Childcare Cooperative in the Labor seat of Jagajaga in Melbourne before revealing the sweetener to his childcare centrepiece.

Areas with long waiting lists for care will get a share of $100 million to boost facilities, creating up to 5000 new places.

"That was the best start to the day I've had on the campaign," Mr Shorten declared after enjoying several singing performances.

It follows an earlier pledge by Labor to hike the childcare benefit by 15 per cent, leaving some families $31 a child a week better off.

"Child care is a game changer. This is who we are," Mr Shorten told reporters on Monday.

The Ivanhoe centre has a three-year waiting list and childcare worker Ben Hall says Labor's promise would help get kids into care.

But he also reckons higher salaries could encourage more centres because workers in the industry are not well paid.

After 10 years as a childcare worker, Mr Hall is paid $42,000 a year and says he will never get much more than that.

But it's love that keeps him motivated.

"When I was a welder, no one came up to me and told me they loved me," he said.

After revealing Labor's policy, Mr Shorten put partisanship aside in a rare campaign encounter with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to recognise the 100th anniversary of the RSL.

The opposition leader used the opportunity to again apologise for skipping last week's repatriation ceremony for 33 Vietnam War casualties.

The leaders insist they missed the ceremony to avoid turning it political mid-election campaign.

"I wonder if our absence that day inevitably carried the sad echo of a lack of respect from governments past," Mr Shorten said.

The Labor leader heads to Adelaide where he's expected to campaign on Tuesday.