Labor promises to save music festivals and venues
At a campaign launch booming with the sounds of Jimmy Barnes and Kylie Minogue, NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has promised to “save” music festivals and venues, and spend more on mental health and education.
At a campaign launch booming with the sounds of Jimmy Barnes and Kylie Minogue, NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has promised to “save” music festivals and venues, and spend more on mental health and education.
“We are a family. We are a tribe,” he told 600 party faithful, including Bill Shorten and three former Labor premiers, gathered at the Revesby Workers Club.
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“The Liberals are afraid of us because they don’t have this. And in 13 days we’ll show their fear is justified when we win the election.”
Describing himself as “the son of a dairy farmer”, Daley praised “salt of the earth” rural people and promised an inquiry into water management in the Murray-Darling Basin.
He took to the stage with wife Christina and the two youngest of his four children, Austin and Olivia, before offering lots of election freebies: free TAFE courses, “100% Gonski” education funding, free public transport for schoolchildren, free travel on the M4 with the re-establishment of the cashback offer and free rooftop solar which he claims will lower electricity prices.
He attacked the government which he says “sold 70 billion dollars of your publicly owned assets … and wasted $14 billion on bungled projects mainly in Sydney … like the disastrous light rail”.
“Government is supposed to be for you and your family, not a few select insiders,” said Daley. “ … Our government will be about one thing and one thing only: Putting People First.”
Stadiums featured heavily at the launch, as Daley capitalised on his on-air stoush with Alan Jones in which he vowed to sack the broadcaster from the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust board if elected because of its support for the Berejiklian government’s $730 million rebuild of Allianz Stadium.
“Vote Labor for Schools and Hospitals Before Sydney Stadiums” was the Labor mantra at the launch, while supporters sported T-shirts referencing Daley’s comments to Jones: “Dear Alan. Thanks for your service.”
Federal opposition Leader Bill Shorten was the warm-up act describing Daley as “a good bloke … He will always stand up for normal people.”
Then he congratulated Daley for the Jones stoush. “‘Thanks for your service’. How good was that?” he said to a rousing cheer.
Daley greeted his parents John and Mary who sat in the front tow, along with his brothers Paul and Peter and sister Maree, all of whom live within a few streets of him in Maroubra.
“I think the whole Daley clan is here”.
In the audience were former Labor Premiers Barry Unsworth, Bob Carr and Kristina Keneally, as well as Labor federal MPs from western Sydney, Chris Bowen, Ed Husic and Jason Clare.
John Graham, who was billed as the “shadow minister for music and fun”, made a pitch for the youth vote at the start of the launch, saying the Berejiklian government had turned NSW into the town in the movie Footloose “where dancing and music have been banned”.
“Labor wants to save music, save venues, save the music scene … Labor will not be part of the Liberals and Nationals’ war on music and war on music festivals,” he said.
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