ALP leadership; Craig Thomson; Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee: Tony Abbott Doorstop
06/02/12
TRANSCRIPT OF THE HON. TONY ABBOTT MHR
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW,
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
Subjects: ALP leadership; Craig Thomson; Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.
EO&E..............................................................................................................................................................
TONY ABBOTT:
Look, this is the beginning of the new parliamentary year and while the Labor Party is tearing itself apart over leadership the Coalition is getting on with the job of providing a credible alternative government with plans for a stronger economy, stronger communities, cleaner environment, more secure borders and infrastructure for the future. The Australian people know that we can be so much better than this. They know that we are a great country with a poor government and so the Coalition’s job today, this week, this month, this year, is to demonstrate to the Australian people that we can have better government. We want to give Australia the better government that it deserves.
Now, I should also just mention the Craig Thomson affair, which drags on and on and endlessly on. It really is up to the Prime Minister to state whether she has full confidence in Fair Work Australia’s investigation. It is up to the Prime Minister to state whether she thinks it’s acceptable for any Fair Work Australia report to remain secret. I think the low paid workers of the Health Services Union deserve to know what’s happened to their money and, as long as Craig Thomson remains under this terrible cloud, this will be a tainted government because it relies on the support of a tainted member.
Finally, this is the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s succession to the throne. That’s 60 years of duty and service. It’s an extraordinary record and I think on this day, all Australians think of our Queen with respect and affection.
QUESTION:
Does Julia Gillard have a credibility problem?
TONY ABBOTT:
I think that the government has a credibility problem and it has a credibility problem because it’s got a policy problem and the trouble with this government is regardless of who the leader is they’ll still have the carbon tax, they’ll still have the mining tax, they’ll still have an addiction to big spending and they’ll still be hopeless when it comes to the actual due process of government so what Australia needs is a prime minister chosen by the people at an election, not a prime minister chosen by the faceless men.
QUESTION:
Why do you think there’s still a high dissatisfaction rating in your leadership and in Ms Gillard’s leadership?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, I think it’s very important that we have better government and that’s what the Coalition is on about every day. That’s what I was talking about at the National Press Club last week. Strong plans for a stronger economy, for stronger communities, for a cleaner environment, for more secure borders and for infrastructure of the future and that’s what I’ll be talking about every day because Australians know that we can be so much better than this.
QUESTION:
But that doesn’t explain why your dissatisfaction rating is so high, Mr Abbott.
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, the point is that Australians are yearning for better government and that’s what they would get under the Coalition.
QUESTION:
Are you disappointed the Coalition’s support has decreased compared with Labor’s?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, again, contrasted with a shambolic Labor Party which has begun the year betraying Andrew Wilkie over pokies, mired in the endless investigation of Craig Thomson, and with ongoing big questions about the culture of dirty tricks and deception inside the Prime Minister’s office – contrasted with that is a Coalition with strong plans for a stronger economy, for stronger communities, for a cleaner environment, for more secure borders and infrastructure for the future.
QUESTION:
What do you say to Tony Windsor? This morning he came out and said if there’s a change in the leadership he thinks there should be a snap election potentially.
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, I know that that’s what the Australian people increasingly want. I think that minority government is an experiment that’s failed. I think the Australian people are sick of a governing party which makes decisions on the basis of squalid backroom deals. It’s time for a Prime Minister who was chosen by the people at an election, not one chosen by the faceless men.
Thanks very much.