Wed, 30th April 2008
Nelson Doorstop - Sydney
The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP
Leader of the Opposition
E&OE
DR NELSON:
The Coalition maintains its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, civil unions, gay adoption and gay IVF. However we believe very strongly that no Australian by virtue of his or her sexuality should pay a dollar more in tax or receive a dollar less in social security. For that reason we will examine carefully what the Government is going to propose in changes to laws that affect same-sex couples. We will consider the cost of any changes and also the common sense approach that might be taken in relation to this. The economic and financial injustices faced by same-sex couples and homosexual Australians are ones that we believe need to be addressed. But we will not under any circumstances support anything which undermines marriage between a man and a woman, nor will we give any kind of support to civil unions or gay adoption or gay IVF. But the Coalition will certainly support dealing with those things, based on commonsense, which means that economic justice is bought to Australians who are homosexual.
At the weekend the Government announced, through the newspapers, and then its Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced that there would be a 70 per cent increase on the excise on ready-mixed drinks. This 70 per cent increase in the excise we are told by the Government will bring in half a billion dollars more a year. We’re told now, after three days, it will raise $2 billion over the next four years. The Government has tried to dress this up as some sort of health initiative and, as I said on Sunday, we are prepared to support something based on evidence that we believe will bring a social good to Australia and reduce the harm inflicted by alcohol abuse and binge drinking in particular by young Australians.
After three days we are yet to see any evidence at all from Mr Rudd or from Mr Swan that the 70 per cent increase in excise on alcopops is going to do anything other than bring a half a billion dollar a year slug to Australians who drink these products. It’s also interesting in looking at the actual evidence, that over the last six years we’ve had a 10 per cent reduction according to the National Drug Household Survey in young people, and young women in particular binge drinking on a weekly and a monthly basis.
So in other words my challenge to Mr Rudd is put up or shut up. Show us the evidence Mr Rudd. This has all of the hallmarks of a tax binge. The Government is proposing on its own figures to raise half a billion dollars a year from some Australian drinkers, and based on the Government’s own figures they are currently raising $800 million a year in excise on these alcopops or ready-to-drink mixes. The 70 per cent increase, in other words, will produce a half a billion dollars a year in increased revenue. On the Government’s own figures it is not expecting any reduction in the consumption of ready-mixed drinks and on that basis I say to the Government: show the Australian people, show the Opposition the evidence that shows that this tax slug will actually reduce the abuse of alcohol and that it will have in itself any appreciable impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of young Australians.
In the end this is about the education of young Australians. It’s about the policing by state governments of under age drinking and the abuse of alcohol, and at the moment all Mr Rudd is doing is dressing up a huge tax slug as some sort of health initiative and already we’ve now seen calls for a 300 per cent increase in the excise on beer and wine.
The obvious thing, as a parent, apart from a former health professional, the obvious thing here is that the young people and those who are buying ready-mixed drinks will continue to buy them, and those that don’t will substitute for some other form of alcohol. It just seems to me that this has been put together in great haste. It’s also being dressed up as something that is primarily about health when in fact all of the evidence so far that we’ve seen from the Government is this is just a major tax increase and nothing more then a tax binge.
QUESTION:
What’s wrong with gay adoption?
DR NELSON:
As far as we are concerned marriage is between a man and a women and the ideal environment in which a child should be brought up is with a man and a women as parents. And when there is such a significant demand for the adoption of children, ideally those children should be adopted into a relationship which is between a man and a woman in a stable long term basis.
QUESTION:
What about civil unions? I mean that’s got nothing to do with children. That’s just two people who love each other, isn’t it?
DR NELSON:
Look, civil unions is just a sophisticated way, particularly by the ACT Government, to undermine the institution of marriage between a man and a women. And Mr Rudd needs to make it absolutely clear to Australians that he will not be supporting civil unions. From our point of view, from the Coalition parties’ point of view, marriage is between a man and a woman. I don’t think anybody is yet to come up with a better system. And civil unions simply undermine the conventional marriage and is another way of eroding the importance and the basis of marriage between a man and women as the basis of Australian society.
QUESTION:
Don’t we need to move with the times?
DR NELSON:
Times may change but our values should not.
QUESTION:
How does it undermine a marriage, a civil union?
DR NELSON:
A civil union is giving legal legitimacy to a same-sex relationship. From our perspective it undermines marriage between a man and a woman and I call on Mr Rudd to be upfront with the Australian people; will he or will he not support or oppose civil unions?
QUESTION:
Dr Nelson is it appropriate for Kevin Andrews to be airing his perspective on the Haneef matter while it’s before a [inaudible] judicial inquiry?
DR NELSON:
Well I don’t wish to comment on that matter.
QUESTION:
Do you have confidence in the process [inaudible] by the Government?
DR NELSON:
I think the nature of the inquiry that the Government has chosen to pursue is an appropriate one and I don’t wish to comment any further on it at the moment.
QUESTION:
The fact that it’s been held in secret in the past, do you think it’s a good idea?
DR NELSON:
As I said, I don’t wish to comment any further.
QUESTION:
What is your view of the actions of the West Australian Liberal leader and his chair sniffing performance? It does seem a strange behaviour by a politician that should be condemned by everyone.
DR NELSON:
Well look he’s said everything that needs to be said about it and it’s obvious to anybody that has seen Troy Buswell that he’s extremely remorseful about it and he has changed his behaviour. And Troy Buswell as the leader of the Liberal Party in Western Australia enjoys my confidence. I mean the real issue in Western Australian politics is the relationship between the Carpenter Government and more recently Mark McGowan and the disgraced former Premier Brian Burke.
QUESTION:
Did you find it hard to believe when you heard about that chair sniffing incident?
DR NELSON:
Well I think everything that needs to be said about it has been said by Mr Buswell himself.
QUESTION:
But is he the most appropriate person to be party leader in Western Australia?
DR NELSON:
Well, the decision as to who is the leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party is one taken by the parliamentary members. Mr Buswell enjoys my confidence and my support and it’s obvious that in the state of Western Australia there does need to be a change of government later this year.
QUESTION:
Have you got any comment on mounting tensions in the New South Wales Labor Party over the power sell-off?
DR NELSON:
Well the only thing that…. as a resident of New South Wales I think all of us are despairing that we have to wait another three years before we can actually go to a state election. I mean as a resident of New South Wales, whatever the politics of individuals, we’re living in a state where the Government is disinterested, has lost energy and momentum, has no ideas and, in areas, borders on corrupt practice and behaviour and it’s disappointing we have to wait three years before we can go to the ballot box.
QUESTION:
Do you think [inaudible] generators be sold?
DR NELSON:
Well generally speaking as Liberals we believe that where the private sector can provide essential services, then that’s something that should be considered. But Barry O’Farrell and the state parliamentary team will give you a view of that.
QUESTION:
Well he’s not giving us an opinion about it. Do you think that’s wrong?
DR NELSON:
Well you should go and ask him.
QUESTION:
[Inaudible] What is your opinion? Do you think it’s in the best interests of New South Wales to be selling?
DR NELSON:
Well I’m the leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party federally, of the federal Opposition, and in terms of the state decisions, as far management and ownership of key assets and instrumentalities, you need to speak to Barry.
QUESTION:
Malcolm Turnbull wasn’t so reserved when he was on 2UE talking about power privatisation earlier.
DR NELSON:
Well I’m the leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party federally and you need to ask Barry O’Farrell at a state level. But our general philosophical principle as a party is that if the private sector is able and willing to provide services then it should do so.
QUESTION:
What can the Government do to increase NATO participation in southern Afghanistan? Is there any measures they should be taking?
DR NELSON:
Well this is one of the things that Mr Rudd failed spectacularly on in his recent world trip.
It was certainly argued by the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that a further 10,000 troops would be required to be deployed from NATO forces. We ended up getting 4,000 from the United States and just under 1,000 from the French. I think that every pressure needs to be applied to the NATO countries to not only fully deploy their troops but also to get them into the south where the real heavy lifting is being done by Australia, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada and a handful of other countries. It’s very important that Mr Rudd continue to apply as much pressure as he possibly can as the Australian Prime Minister to the NATO forces to get them fully deployed.
I mean you’ve got to remember that the NATO countries have between them 2.4 million troops under their command and yet they have only 46,000 actually deployed into Afghanistan. And to those terrorists, to the Taliban and those who were responsible for the death of our Australian soldier over the last few days and the wounding of four others, the clear message from Australia is that we will not be beaten in this. We’re absolutely determined to stand up for our values and our beliefs, the freedoms of the Afghans and to make absolutely sure that we do not live in a world where they are able to bring their violent political utopia to prevail over peace loving and free human beings.
QUESTION:
[Inaudible] last year’s federal election, Anthony Albanese this morning has called on you to find any extreme factions in the Liberal Party and determine who up the ranks is responsible for this. What’s your response?
DR NELSON:
Well the charges against these people and the conduct of which they are accused is absolutely deplorable. It’s being dealt with through the courts and I think Mr Albanese should look in his own backyard, and if he’s not happy to look in his own backyard he needs to go down to Wollongong.
Thanks very much everyone.