Thu, 1st May 2008
Nelson Doorstop - Gippsland Victoria
The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP
Leader of the Opposition
E&OE
QUESTION:
Dr Nelson, the National Party have held Gippsland for a long time. The candidate for the seat of Gippsland for the Nationals has put a sponsored link on Google every time you type in your candidate’s name and the Labor candidate’s name. Does this show some problems perhaps for the Coalition?
DR NELSON:
Well, look, there’s friendly competition obviously between the Liberal and National parties when we run in these contests. But as far as Rohan Fitzgerald is concerned and the Liberal Party campaign, this is about keeping a roof over your head, being able to feed, clothe and house your children, putting petrol in your car and buying groceries and making damn sure that we work very, very hard to see that the issues of water infrastructure, jobs, roads, health care and day-to-day living of people in Gippsland are strongly represented in the federal parliament.
And I can assure you that you’ve only got to meet Rohan Fitzgerald, his wife and his family and those who believe in him and support him to know that he’s obviously the best candidate for this election.
QUESTION:
You mentioned jobs there – the CFMEU have raised some concerns that they’ve been left out of discussions with the Federal and State Government about the future of clean coal in the La Trobe Valley. Is that an issue you’re concerned about?
DR NELSON:
Well, clean coal is a significant issue for Gippsland. Twenty per cent of Australia’s energy requirements come from brown coal. Gippsland is one of the key areas in this country that drives our energy requirements. The men and women who work in the coal industry in Gippsland deserve open, frank honesty from Mr Rudd and from Mr Brumby.
It’s very important that Rohan Fitzgerald be the man that goes to Canberra to make damn sure that Mr Rudd hears the voice of the workers in Gippsland because as far as Australia’s energy requirements for the future are concerned and trying to adjust to climate change, we’ve got to make darn sure that we have clean coal technology, that
coal is the primary basis upon which we deliver our energy requirements for the future. And I think it says so much about the Labor Government, that what they say when they’re trying to get into government is quite different from what they do when they’re actually there. They’re not even bothering to talk to the workers about their future. And, as far as we’re concerned, Rohan Fitzgerald is going to stand up and fight for the workers of Gippsland to see they keep their jobs and they’ve got long-term certainty.
QUESTION:
The Liberals are unlikely to win in Gippsland. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to field a joint candidate in this situation?
DR NELSON:
Well, I can assure you we are very determined in this. It’s going to be a very tough election. It’s going to be a difficult election for us to win but I can assure you we’ve got an absolutely outstanding candidate in Rohan Fitzgerald and we are very determined.
QUESTION:
Just moving on to the Budget. Wayne Swan this morning indicated they might consider closing the tax loophole for company directors. Is this something you’re supportive of?
DR NELSON:
Well, we’ll have a look at the detail of what’s actually being proposed. We’ve seen a few things in the paper in terms of what they might do, but any reasonable measures that address tax issues that support responsible economic management, we’ll have a look at them but we haven’t seen the detail. And what we’ve learned from Mr Rudd and Mr Swan – Mr Swan, in particular, is having a lot of trouble managing a $1 trillion economy – what we’ve learned is that they spin a few things out into the newspaper like the outrageous half a billion dollar tax binge on ready-mixed drinks, for example, and then it’s only in the next few days you get the detail. We’ll have a look at the fine print before we make some judgements about it, but we’re always supportive of dealing with reasonable tax measures and supporting them.
QUESTION:
Given that the Liberal Party don’t have a huge profile in Gippsland, do you feel that it will be either a help or a hindrance for the Liberal Party to build up a profile in Gippsland?
DR NELSON:
Well, I think I understand the question, but there’s no doubt we’ve had a strong Liberal family in Gippsland for a long period of time. We’ve respected the fact that Peter McGauran has been the National Party member for some 25 years or so. But I can assure you we are very active, we are very determined and I think people throughout Gippsland know what the Liberal Party stands for. We believe in supporting individuals, we believe in a fair go, we want encouragement and rewards for hard work and we want to keep people in their jobs with rooves over their heads.
QUESTION:
What do you believe that you can offer the Gippsland people that the Nationals can’t?
DR NELSON:
Rohan Fitzgerald.
We’ve got a bloke who’s fair dinkum. He’s got four kids to raise. He’s got a job. He’s got a mortgage. He’s a man who believes in making sure that people get a fair go and he’s also the Liberal Party candidate for the largest non-Labor party in the country and we’re very, very committed to this campaign and we’re very determined that we’ll succeed.
QUESTION:
Back on the Budget. Do you think the Rudd Government is living up to its pre-election promises and do you expect next week it will overspend?
DR NELSON:
Well, in terms of pre-election promises, I mean the people of Gippsland, like all Australians, have just got to ask themselves a few questions. After five months of Mr Rudd, what’s actually happened? Has it got harder for me to keep my house, is my job more or less secure than it was, is it easier to put petrol in the car, buy groceries every week? I mean, they’re the key questions.
And in terms of the Budget, it’s absolutely essential that all of us as Australians realise we had strong, solid economic management for almost 12 years under John Howard and Peter Costello. You know the Coalition is good at managing money. You know that Labor is bad at managing money. Already we’re in a situation where we’ve got much less security in our country than we had. We will be looking for very solid, sound economic management from the Government in the Budget that’s coming up. And let’s just remember – it’s like the cardboard cut out of Mr Rudd in the federal parliament – Mr Rudd last year decided that he was going to run some advertisements to try and tell people he was a fiscal conservative and now we’re about to actually find out just what the economic credibility of Mr Rudd and Mr Swan is. And for the sake of the people of Gippsland and the battlers of Australia, let’s just hope these people can get it right.
QUESTION:
Kevin Rudd’s sort of speculated that there might be… he might announce the date for the by-election today. There’s speculation that he’s going to announce it in Geelong. Do you think he needs to hurry up?
DR NELSON:
Well, I think Mr Rudd needs to focus on some of the decisions that need to be made. I mean, the most important priority he’s got is to make sure that the Budget is right for working families, particularly in Gippsland. He spent 17 days overseas when the Budget was being put together and I would like to expect that he will announce the date of the by-election very soon.
QUESTION:
Are there any moves to censure Tony Buswell or take any action against him?
DR NELSON:
I’ve said everything that I intend to say about that.
QUESTION:
What do you think ahead of the Budget the biggest issues are facing regional Victoria and what would you like to see come out of that in a fortnight?
DR NELSON:
Well, the most important issues are affording your house, making sure that the Government makes decisions that actually keep interest rates at a level that we can all manage, making sure that petrol and groceries are affordable, making sure for regional Victoria especially that the jobs of people, particularly those in the coal industry, are actually secure. We’ve got to make sure there’s good investment in roads and hospitals and the basic services and schools.
I mean, the State Labor Government spent almost 10 years starving state schools, particularly in regional Victoria, and now they’re trying to tell us they’re going to fix them. And it seems as if they’ve decided to mount a campaign against themselves. The key things we’ll be looking for in the Budget, as for all Australians, will be the security of our jobs, security of our homes and being able to feed, clothe and house our kids.
QUESTION:
There was some talk that the Rudd Government is perhaps planning on slashing funding for aged care facilities’ recreational programs such as bingo, going on outings, what are your thoughts on that?
DR NELSON:
Well, you’ve just got to have a look at what Mr Rudd does. When I went to his 2020 Summit, his talkfest, I met the representative of the sex workers collective, I met the representative of the Maritime Union of Australia, but there was not a single person there from the aged care sector.
I mean, when you think about the priorities for our country – including in regional Victoria and Gippsland especially – it’s how do we look after those members of our community that are ageing, how are we going to provide appropriate nursing and aged care for them? And the idea that you would scrap recreational support for people in aged care facilities means that Mr Rudd simply doesn’t get it.
I mean, this is the same Prime Minister that spent six days all over the place before he would actually admit that he got it wrong in scrapping carers and seniors bonuses. This is the same Prime Minister now that’s now talking about taking away recreational support and facilities for people in aged care institutions. These are the critical measures of a caring society and if the Government is thinking about taking anything away from people who are in need of aged care support then he simply doesn’t get it and he shouldn’t be doing the job that he is.
QUESTION:
Do you think Rudd’s going to be able to deliver the, I think it was 1.5 per cent surplus he promised in 2006?
DR NELSON:
Mr Rudd and Mr Swan in November last year were given an economy that was state-of-the-art and the envy of the rest of the world. The Budget is likely to deliver a one and a half per cent surplus, one and a half per cent of GDP without Mr Rudd and Mr Swan lifting a finger.
The Budget outcomes for the last three years under John Howard and Peter Costello were one and a half per cent of GDP. In fact, it is likely that the Budget surplus will be as high as $20 billion before Mr Rudd lifts a finger to cut anything.
I mean, we’ve got to understand – and Victorians especially and the people of Gippsland know this better than anybody else – you’ve just to remember that we had a Victoria where youth unemployment was in excess of 50 per cent in many parts of Victoria, including Gippsland. We had an Australia and a Victoria, when John Howard came to government, with a $96 billion debt and a $10 billion deficit. Mr Rudd and Mr Swan, thanks to the hard work over the last eleven-and-a-half years have inherited $60 billion invested in the bank, no debt, and an economy that’s sustained high levels of growth and is likely to deliver a surplus in the order of $20 billion. And anyone that believes this nonsense of Mr Swan and Mr Rudd suggesting that they’re not going to have a strong economy from which to budget believes in the tooth fairy.
QUESTION:
Did you have a comment this morning in the wake of the boat crash on Sydney Harbour last night?
DR NELSON:
Well, this is a great tragedy. We ask ourselves how it can be that in Sydney Harbour we have five Australians lose their lives. We ask ourselves how people could be injured in this way and how such a tragedy could occur. Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the families of those who’ve been killed and injured. The authorities will obviously investigate the circumstances of this crash, but it is a grim reminder for all of us, whether we’re on the roads or whether we’re on waterways, to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to be safe in the way we go about things.
Thank you.