Sat, 28th June 2008
Nelson Doorstop - Brisbane
The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP
Leader of the Opposition
E&OE
DR NELSON:
Every Australian should be reminded today of just how proud we are in our Australian soldiers. The uniform of the Australian Army reminds us that there are truths by which we live as Australians that are worth fighting to defend. These men and women in Iraq have fought to support and protect the Iraqis to give them freedom, to give them the opportunity to educate their children, and to go about their lives in peace and many of the things that we take for granted in Australia. All I can say on behalf of Australia is thank you, we are proud of you, and we thank your families for the sacrifices that they in particular have made to enable these men and women to serve our country under our flag, in our name in Iraq.
QUESTION:
[Inaudible]
DR NELSON:
Yeah, Kareem is… Well I’ve met Kareem and I don’t know if I agree with his sister’s assessment but the women say that he is actually a pretty sexy guy.
QUESTION:
What do you think about getting a bigger round of applause than the PM?
DR NELSON:
I won’t comment on that. Look, the important thing is that if we think about what it means to be Australians. The men and women who wear our uniform and have worn it in the past more than any group of Australians have shaped our values and our beliefs and what it means to be an Australian. And I have been privileged to actually visit them in the field. I have seen them in Iraq. I have seen them suffer the threats of indirect fire and rockets coming in, of improvised explosive devices on the side of the road; working in more than 55 degree heat in sand storms. And every Australian soldier sees himself or herself, every Aussie soldier is not only a soldier but a teacher, an aid worker and a diplomat. And these soldiers have done extraordinarily well because of leadership, training, equipment and the Aussie character where our soldiers basically want to understand people, respect them and go about their work professionally to protect them.
QUESTION:
[Inaudible] Gippsland by-election?
DR NELSON:
Well we’ll just have to wait until the outcome of the poll tonight. It’s certainly very tight. You would expect in an environment where the Government is only seven months into the job and still having a bit of a honeymoon, you would expect the Government would do very strongly. But we’ll see when the polls close.
QUESTION:
[Inaudible]
DR NELSON:
Yeah, the average Australian is starting to wake up to it. Obviously we all need the government of the day to do a good job for all of us. But Australians are waking up to the fact that Mr Rudd makes a lot of promises but he doesn’t actually do anything. And the things that are really worrying us about our interest rates, our groceries, petrol, looking after carers and seniors, pensioners, all of these things – Australians are progressively waking up to the fact that unfortunately Mr Rudd is all talk and no action. And as I’ve said when it comes to not only petrol but other things: he is all blow and no torch.
QUESTION:
Are you hopeful [inaudible]
DR NELSON:
I won’t comment on that. The men and women of the Australian Defence Force are the finest people that this country produces and I’m not going to comment on any of that.
QUESTION:
How important are the results from the Gippsland by-election in light of what you have said today about [inaudible]
DR NELSON:
Well what is really important in Gippsland is the decision the people of Gippsland actually make. And it is very important that the people of Gippsland send Rohan Fitzgerald to Canberra because they need another person in Canberra that is actually to stand up for lower petrol prices, lower taxes and action on the things that really count for the people of Gippsland. Whether it’s the Traralgon Post Office, the Princes Highway duplication, Traralgon bypass, water management or especially the 2,000 jobs in the Latrobe Valley that are threatened by Mr Rudd’s climate change policies.
It is increasingly looking like the Government is in chaos and we know that Mr Rudd recently said that he couldn’t physically do any more for the Australian family budget. And it seems that after only seven months that he is out of touch, out of ideas, and also out of control. The most significant economic change that is going to sweep across Australia is the Government’s response to climate change and the emissions trading scheme. We learn today that the Government is hopelessly divided, the head of Treasury has gone off for a five week break, and Mr Rudd and his cabinet seem incapable of deciding whether or not they are going to protect Australian families when it comes to petrol and also electricity costs, especially for families and pensioners. Mr Rudd needs to guarantee Australians that in responding to climate change that his policies don’t increase the price of petrol or increase the price of electricity in net terms for people who are on low incomes and everyday families.
QUESTION:
The scheme is flawed?
DR NELSON:
Well at this stage it looks as if the Government is flawed in its own thinking about how it is actually going to bring about the necessary reforms to address climate change. We must deal with climate change but in the process the Government has got to make sure that it is focused, that it’s disciplined. And the Government importantly must protect Australian motorists to make sure that – already paying $1.70 a litre – as a direct result of Mr Rudd’s policies we don’t pay more because of his response to climate change.
QUESTION:
If the Coalition loses the by-election does that cast doubt on you leadership?
DR NELSON:
I won’t comment on that at all. We’ll just wait for the outcome of the poll.
QUESTION:
Do you think the Government has been dragging the chain on getting Jayant Patel extradited from the US?
DR NELSON:
Well look it would be easy to make some critical comment on it but the impression I have got is that everybody has done everything they reasonably can to get him back to Australia. I mean anyone that has had any familiarity with the legal processes, particularly when you’re trying to extradite somebody, knows how drawn out it can be. So we know the most important thing is that we actually get the outcome and the outcome is that we are going to get him back to Australia. So I’m not going to join some chorus of criticism of the Government in that regard.
Thank you very much everyone.