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The election is about Australia’s future. It’s about the
leadership Australia needs right now to stay strong, prosperous and
secure.
Australia has come a long way in the last decade based on the hard work
of all Australians and the tough decisions of the Coalition. Now
we must make Australia even stronger.
This will not happen automatically. It will happen not through new leadership or old leadership. It requires the right leadership.
The right leadership is the team that knows how to do the
job. The right leadership has the experience to further expand
Australia’s prosperity and to ensure that everyone gets a fair share of
it.
The right leadership is prepared to take unpopular decisions in the
short term that will benefit the Australian community in the long term.
The right leadership is a group of men and women who will govern for
all Australians and who will not be beholden to a narrow section of the
Australian community.
At this election, the Australian people must decide who is better able
to build Australia’s prosperity for the benefit of everyone. They must
also decide who is better able to promote our national security and
stand up for Australia’s interests abroad.
Is it a government with a proven track record on the economy and national security or is it a group of men and women 70 per cent of whom are former trade union officials?
In the weeks ahead, the coalition will be unveiling detailed plans for
Australia’s future and I will share them with the electorate of
Sydney. They will be both practical and achievable, underpinned
by the Coalition’s record of putting the national interest ahead of
sectional interests.
As part of our plan for growth and opportunity the coalition is
committed to a goal of full employment. Australia’s unemployment
rate today is at a 33-year low. It can go even lower with the
right policies.
There is no reason why Australia’s unemployment cannot have a three in
front of it. If Labor is elected, its anti-small business
policies mean unemployment will rise.
The Seat of Sydney has the most renters with 58 per cent of homes
rented. To achieve home ownership the residents of Sydney require
a good job, salary improvements and low interest rates.
Labor left Australians with Real wages growth at -1.8%. Under the
Coalition, Australians have enjoyed 21.5% real wages growth.
Sydney residents need continued growth to become home owners.
Interest rates under Labor peaked at 18% with an average of
12.75%. Under the coalition the current interest rates at
7.15%.
Under Labor Australians were in debt $95.8 billion with an $8.4 billion
annual interest bill or $700 million a month. It’s paid off and
has underpinned eleven unbroken years of prosperity. With the
Coalition, you can count on another three.
We will unveil policies to lift family living standards and to help
sections of the community under pressure. Our plan for stronger
communities will deliver better services, more choice and genuine help
for Australians in need. It will put more power in the hands of
local communities, including by giving communities a greater say in the
running of their public hospitals.
In the weeks ahead, the Prime Minister will outline a plan to further
reinforce Australia’s national security into the next decade. Our
environment policies will tackle in a balanced way the great challenges
of climate change and water security.
Our plan for Australia will also give voice to the coalition’s
passionate belief that we are One Australia based on a common
citizenship, common loyalty and where all are entitled to equal justice.
The Coalition’s plan for Australia’s future has been carefully put
together and builds on the strong decision-making of the last
decade. Our plans are fully costed and affordable.
Labor is not ready to govern because it hasn’t done the hard
work. Mr Rudd has plans for process; not for action. And
his core convictions remain a mystery, both to him and, more
importantly, to the Australian people.
If Labor is elected, Mr Rudd’s inexperience and lack of judgment would
leave a vacuum at the heart of Australia’s government. That
vacuum would be filled by a trade union movement determined to take
back the running of the country.
And wall-to-wall Labor would mean no checks and balances in our Federation.
Our $1 trillion economy simply can’t afford it.
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