Bill Shorten set go but PM Malcolm Turnbull a no-show
BILL Shorten could be forced to debate himself at Wednesday’s Brisbane people’s forum, with Malcolm Turnbull refusing to commit to showing up.
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BILL Shorten could be forced to debate himself at Wednesday’s Brisbane people’s forum, with Malcolm Turnbull refusing to commit to showing up.
The Prime Minister has not yet accepted an invitation to address voters in the marginal electorate of Brisbane — prompting event host David Speers to declare: “If the PM doesn’t want to another debate this campaign, then well fair enough, he should just say so.”
The Sky News/Courier-Mail People’s Forum will see 100 undecided voters to ask questions at the Bronco’s League’s Club at Red Hill from 7pm Tuesday night.
But on Monday Mr Turnbull said he would prefer to answer questions of voters via Facebook rather than in person.
“We’re looking at some alternatives,” Mr Turnbull said.
“What I’m hoping to do is to have a debate that’s a bit different, that involves Facebook and that involves a larger audience and that is more engaging.
“So I can assure you I enjoy debating and I want to reach as many people as I possibly can in the debate because we have a great story to tell ... and I want to have an opportunity to explain it and take questions on it from as many people as possible.”
Mr Shorten said he was happy to debate Mr Turnbull “anytime, anywhere” if he wanted to take the fight to Facebook in the future.
“But if he doesn’t front up on Wednesday, he is turning his back on Queenslanders, plain and simple,” he said.
“Queensland deserves its own People’s Forum: Unscripted questions on what matters to Queensland.
“I can’t understand what he is scared of.”
Facebook is understood to have held no formal talks about hosting a debate.
Rather, it proposes having the leaders separately answering questions on the social media platform.
Sky News editor and debate moderator David Speers last night said there was nothing wrong with that setup, but it was not a debate.
“A debate usually involves two people actually debating each other,” Speers said.
“If the Prime Minister doesn’t want to do another debate in this campaign, he should say so.
“If he wants to do more debates, well he should.”
Speers said tomorrow’s debate would go ahead either way.
“The invitation is still open for the Prime Minister to join us,” he said.
“We certainly hope he will.”
And Mr Turnbull has still left open the option of turning up as both major parties fight over a handful of key swing seats across Queensland that will be vital in winning government.
One is the seat of Brisbane, where MP Teresa Gambaro is retiring and former National Retail Association boss Trevor Evans faces tough competition to hold the seat for the LNP in the face of strong competition from former army major and Labor candidate Pat O’Neil.
So far the pair have debated in western Sydney in what attendees said was a win for the Labor leader and at the National Press Club, where no official winner was declared.
Queensland Labor MPs have also challenged Mr Turnbull over his apparent reluctance to participate in the debate.
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