Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese outline their election pitches
Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have launched their election ad campaigns. Here’s how they hope to win your vote — in their own words.
Opinion
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The federal election date has been officially set for May 21. Here, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese outlines their vow to Aussie voters, in their own words.
Scott Morrison: ‘You know what we stand for’
Australia has faced a series of defining challenges over the past three years.
Fires, floods, a pandemic, a global recession, a mouse plague, a war in Europe, economic coercion from China. They’ve all been hard on our families, on our businesses, on our jobs, on our farmers, on our children.
But set against those difficulties Australia, and Australians, have shown what we can overcome together. Unemployment was predicted to reach 15 per cent, but it is now just four per cent — the equal lowest level in 48 years.
Our economic recovery measures saved around 700,000 jobs. Australia is one of a small number of countries to maintain a AAA credit rating — a global standard for economic management.
We have achieved the biggest Budget turnaround in 70 years with our plan delivering an extra $100 billion to the country’s bottom line.
Our economic growth is one of the best in the world — faster and stronger than the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
On almost any measure — fatality rates, vaccine rates, economic growth, jobs growth, or debt levels — Australia’s recovery is leading the world.
But I know our country continues to face very real challenges and many families are doing it tough. There is still a lot of uncertainty ahead.
To build a stronger future our government has laid out a clear plan. Delivering more jobs and working towards unemployment below four per cent. Our plan will deliver more jobs and the lowest unemployment in nearly 50 years. Delivering tax relief for workers and small businesses. We’re halving the tax you pay at the petrol pump for six months. And our tax plan will put more money in the pockets of 10 million Australians, on top of our longer-term tax relief for everyone earning up to $200,000 a year.
Investing in roads, rail, water and renewable energy technology. We have a more than $120 billion pipeline of infrastructure, including Western Sydney Airport, the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, the Inland Rail, upgrading the Bruce Highway and building Hells Gates Dam.
Our record investment in health and other essential services means we have record bulk-billing rates, made Telehealth permanent, and includes listing more than 2800 drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to make medicines more affordable.
Investing in stronger defence, security and borders. Locking in to new partnerships like AUKUS to build the best submarines in world, develop long range hypersonic missiles and triple the size of our cyber offensive and defensive forces. Restarting the QUAD with the US, India and Japan.
This election provides a clear choice, with real consequences for Australia.
Our Government is not perfect. But we have been upfront. You know what we stand for, you can see our record of delivery, and you can see our plan for the future.
Our economy has a lot of moving parts and a lot of risks. But also, many opportunities.
Anthony Albanese and Labor have no economic plan. They would weaken our economy and put our recovery at risk. Now is not the time to risk it. Only the Liberal and Nationals have a plan for a strong economy and a stronger future.
Anthony Albanese: ‘We can be a nation that builds’
We live in the greatest country in the world, but with a better government Australia can be even greater. We can aim higher and strive for more.
We have all suffered during the past few years of pandemic, bushfires, floods and economic uncertainty.
But Australians have been magnificent. We’ve looked after each other. We’ve pulled together, anchored in our sense of community and our determination not to be beaten down by adversity.
In the future, we must hold firm to this sense of community and work together to create a better future.
That’s the approach behind Labor’s election campaign — building a better future, where no one is left behind and no one is held back.
We want a better future where jobs are plentiful and secure, and where strong and prosperous businesses reap the rewards of their enterprise and create even more jobs.
We want a better future where Australians can access the skills training they need to find good, secure jobs instead of being reliant on multiple and unreliable casual jobs to make ends meet.
A better future means being able to find a doctor when you need one, wherever you live. It means older Australians being able to access affordable, safe aged care when they need it — and being treated with respect and dignity.
We live in that part of the world which is experiencing the fastest economic growth in human history. Huge opportunities are beckoning if we have the courage to seize them.
We have the opportunity to become a renewable energy superpower and use clean, cheap, renewable energy to drive a revival of Australian manufacturing in our cities and our regions. Australia can once again be a nation that makes things.
We must rebuild our self-sufficiency, particularly when it comes to critical supplies like vaccines, PPE and medical equipment. We must train Australians for the jobs of the future. We need to identify critical areas of skills shortages and make sure our TAFEs and universities are working to fill those gaps.
The government’s budget only provided short-term relief which ends once the election is over. Right now, Australians know the price of everything is going up, but their wages aren’t. The cost of living is increasing by 3.5 per cent a year. But wages are growing by only 2.3 per cent. That’s not good enough.
But it is also no surprise. In 2019, then finance minister Mathias Cormann said low wage growth was a deliberate feature of the government’s economic policy.
Labor will campaign in coming weeks with a positive and forward-looking agenda. Across health, education, training, the environment, communications and the full range of policy areas, we will outline ideas to take this nation forward.
We’ll create a national anti-corruption commission. We’ll embrace the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including a Voice to the parliament.
And most importantly, we will seek to unite the country, rather than look for division.
If I am privileged to become Prime Minister, I will work with business, unions, premiers, mayors and civil society in a spirit of co-operation.
I am proposing solutions to the challenges which lay ahead. I want outcomes that serve the national interest.
That is how you build a better future.
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