Federal Election 2019: Parramatta Labor candidate on why Bill Shorten is fit to be PM
Bill Shorten is a short-priced favourite to become the next Prime Minister. And one Labor MP has given an insight into why he would bring long-lost stability to the nation’s top job.
Bookies have Bill Shorten as a short-priced favourite to become the next Prime Minister — and one Labor MP has given an insight into why he would bring long-lost stability to the nation’s top job.
Julie Owens, who has held the federal seat of Parramatta since 2004, says one of the greatest strengths of Mr Shorten is that he empowers those in his parliamentary party.
“Bill is a modern leader; he’s a good team builder and we head into this election with an incredibly well-prepared shadow Cabinet,” Ms Owens said.
“When you get Bill, you get (frontbenchers) Tanya Plibersek, Tony Burke and Penny Wong at full strength. He empowers everyone in the party.
“He doesn’t assume he knows better than everybody else — and he consults widely.”
The TAB has Labor at $1.25 to win government on May 18, after opening at $1.50 in February last year, ahead of the Coalition at $3.60. And Sportsbet has Ms Owens at even shorter odds of $1.01 to retain her seat.
Parramatta has traditionally been a bellwether seat, going with the government of the day. But Ms Owens has bucked that trend, getting elected even when Labor has been rolled nationally at the polls.
Ms Owens says if Labor wins government, she will be fighting for a greater focus on tackling climate change.
“Education and health are the absolute centre of people’s lives, but climate change is now another big issue,” the 60-year-old said.
“But more people are talking to me now about climate change and renewable energies. They want more details on Labor’s policies, because they have been concerned Australia wasn’t moving in this direction fast enough.”
Labor plans to cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, and ensure 50 per cent of the nation’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2030.
It is also aiming for half of all new car sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.
Ms Owens said costing for all policies to tackle global warming would be done if her party wins government.
“There’ll have to be extensive consultation and an incredible amount of work done to develop our climate-change policies,” she said.
“The rest of the world has already moved on this. There are some countries which already have 50 per cent electric vehicles.
“You’ve got China phasing out the sale of all fossil-fuel vehicles, so if a country that big is moving on it that fast, then manufacturers are too.
“There is a clear need for Australia to modernise and move with the rest of the world.”
EDUCATED CALL
Julie Owens counts her role in Labor’s “education revolution” during the Rudd-Gillard governments as her biggest achievement as Parramatta MP since 2004.
“When I first got elected in 2004, people in Parramatta were half as likely to go to university as the rest of Sydney,” Ms Owens told the Advertiser.
“But in our six years of government (from 2007-13), we really changed that around.
“Western Sydney became a university with one of the largest numbers of advanced students.
“Unfortunately it’s swung back in the wrong direction in the past six years under the Coalition, so we’ll have to turn it around again.
“We’ll be in catch-up mode on education, if we’re elected.”
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