Liberal Party campaign launch: PM’s bizarre Bunnings claim
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has invoked Bunnings while slamming the Opposition as the Liberal Party launches its official election campaign.
With less than a week before Aussies head to the polls, the Liberal Party has launched its federal election campaign in Brisbane today.
There have been chaotic scenes out the front of the convention centre, with more than 100 protesters gathering to jeer Prime Minister Scott Morrison – with the group immediately lashed as “raving banshees” by Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce.
Sunday’s launch marks the first time the Coalition has launched its federal election campaign in Queensland since Tony Abbott rose to power in 2013 almost a decade ago.
Mr Morrison and treasurer Josh Frydenberg will be headlining the speeches.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will also be speaking, while Attorney-General Michaelia Cash, Employment and Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert and Superannuation Minister Jane Hume will also be attending.
PM’s bizarre Bunnings claim
After announcing his plan to allow Aussies to dip into their super to help with a deposit, the Prime Minister had some choice words about Labor’s shared equity scheme.
He claimed under Labor’s plan, homeowners would have to ask the government if they wanted to buy a new tin of paint for their home at Bunnings.
“We’ve been careful about the design of our policy, we think these things through, we do not want it to affect your long-term savings for retirement,” he said.
“So, this will responsibly ensure that the majority of your super remains in your existing fund and maintains the diversification of your savings. But this will be a game changer for thousands of Australian families.
“There is no limit on who can use it. You don’t have to sell it if you get a pay rise. Or someone wants to go back to work full-time. There are no complex rules about income thresholds or who gets what.
“When you do an improvement, you don’t have to check with the government every time you go to Bunnings to buy a can of paint.”
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‘Let’s not turn back now’: PM signs off
After almost an hour of speaking, the Prime Minister wrapped up with one final pitch to Australians before he was joined by his wife Jenny on stage.
As he walked out of the room, he shook hands with former Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard, and the crowd went wild – chanting “three more years”.
Here’s his final pitch in full:
“I love Australia and Australians because of our hope … I love their optimism. I love their kind-heartedness to one another. When it really, really matters. I deeply admire, as Josh and I know, their resilience [as] we have gone through this terrible pandemic. I admire their aspiration. The aspiration of Australians who want the best for themselves, their families and their fellow Australians in their own community and across our nation …
“As a Prime Minister, you pour your heart and soul into this job every single day. You do all you can to help Australians achieve their aspirations. You don’t get everything right. I’ve never pretended that I have. But I tell you what, I never leave anything on the field. It’s a great privilege to serve in this role. It’s the great professional privilege of my life. And I’m seeking a second term to ensure that we can take this to the next level, to those better days.
“Our team will continue to put it in every single day because we all love our country and we love our fellow Australians … that’s why this election is a choice about who is best placed to manage our $2.1 trillion economy into the future. A choice between a strong economy or a weaker one that only makes your life harder, not better. A choice between a stronger future or a more uncertain one in an already terrible uncertain world.
“A choice between a government and a Prime Minister that you do know and a Labor opposition that you just don’t know … together, we are building a strong economy and a strong future. Let’s not turn back now.”
‘I’m just warming up’: PM still going
It has now been 40 minutes since Scott Morrison started speaking and he’s still going.
He has been rattling off a long list of promises on jobs and health, but quickly paused to thank the audience for being patient.
“I appreciate your patience today, ladies and gentleman but as you can see, I’ve got a big plan,” he said to cheers and applause.
“I am seeking a second term because I am just warming up. Let me tell you some more plans!”
He then spoke about his plans to improve cancer care, which he said was reliant on a strong economy.
PM announces super plan
Morrison has announced first home buyers will be able to invest up to $50,000 or 40 per cent of their superannuation balance in their own home if his government is re-elected.
“It’s your home and it’s your super,” he said.
“This will make it a bit easier for Australians to buy their first home sooner, taking years of the need to pay rent and the challenges of saving, because it’s tough. And it’s going to get you closer to the life you want for you and your family.”
‘We saved the country’: PM’s big claim
The Prime Minister returned to the dark days of Covid lockdowns and shutdowns when reflecting on his tenure in his official launch speech.
“JobKeeper was born, and the many other measures that followed, constantly supporting Australians to find their way forward,’’ he said.
“We kept our head in the crisis. We made sure we got it right as best as we could, but we weren’t perfect.
“And not everything went to plan, but you know, when it didn’t, and while others were criticising, we just worked feverishly to turn it around.”
Mr Morrison said his assurances inspired others, and that the actions of his government “saved the country“.
“We gave our fellow Australians that assurance in those very difficult times that tomorrow would be OK,” he said.
“So they could say the same thing to their children, to their employees, and I’m quite sure indeed to themselves.
“As a leader, this was a time for strength, it was a time for pushing through. I had one focus, as your Prime Minister, save the country. And, we did.”
Morrison claimed Australia had “prevailed” over some of the “toughest times we’ve ever seen” as he outlined his proudest achievements.
“Despite everything thrown at us, Australia has stood tall,” he said.
“Our economic growth is higher than any other advanced economy, our AAA credit rating is in tact, one of only nine countries to do that in the world.
“The biggest budget turnaround in 70 years. More Australians in work than ever before. Unemployment at 4 per cent, the equal lowest level in 50 years and down from 5.7 per cent when we first came to government.
“Youth unemployment, youth unemployment at 8.3 per cent, down from a peak of more than 16 per cent. On almost every measure, growth, jobs, debt levels, fatality rates, vaccine rates, Australia’s recovery is leading the advanced world.”
Frydenberg’s awkward joke
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was given a rapturous reception as he stepped out to speak at Sunday’s campaign launch.
“I wish I got that reception in Kooyong,” he quipped, referring to his own seat in Victoria – which he is tipped to lose to independent candidate Dr Monique Ryan.
As the audience laughed at the Treasurer’s self-deprecation, he continued with “I really do … I really do” before tearing into Labor and boasting of the achievements of the Coalition.
He called Anthony Albanese “weak and unproven” and said the Labor leader’s only experience in running the nation was when he was acting leader “for just 48 hours”.
”Friends, fellow Australians, three years ago we said to the Australian people, on the eve of the 2019 election, that under the Coalition, the economy would be stronger. And we delivered,” Mr Frydenberg said.
”We said under the Coalition, more people would be in work … that taxes would be lower. And we delivered.
“That under the Coalition, essential services would be guaranteed. We would list more drugs on the PBS. And we delivered.
“And under the Coalition, we would invest more in national security and defence and we delivered.
“Despite the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, the first global pandemic in more than a century, we have kept our promises to the Australian people.
“And we have an economic plan that is working with a faster and stronger economic recovery than all major advanced economies around the world. Faster and stronger than the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.”
‘Out of his depth’: Frydenberg savages Albo
As he wrapped up his speech Treasurer Josh Frydenberg took an opportunity to savage Anthony Albanese over his alleged lack of experience, and his gaffes during the campaign trail.
“Over the last 35 days [Anthony Albanese] has shown himself to be completely out of his depth,” he said.
“Albanese says he’s eminently qualified because he was acting prime minister for all of 48 hours. I never thought I would ever say it: thank you Kevin Rudd for only making it 48 hours.
“In an election about jobs, Anthony Albanese does not know the unemployment rate. In an election about cost of living, he doesn’t know the cash rate.”
‘Raving banshees’: Joyce takes aim at protesters
The Deputy Prime Minister has outlined his vision for the future of Australia, championing “individual spirit” above the power of government.
He described the protesters who gathered outside the launch in Brisbane as “raving banshees” and claimed Labor wanted to take control of Australians’ lives.
“That is a calling card of the Australian Labor Party, right outside, you will see them outside,” he said referring to the protesters gathered out the front of the building.
“The other one is here in this room, the competency of government. With all that before us, self evident on the news every night, we have a choice.
“Make sure our children, our grandchildren have the freedoms and liberties that you took as a birthright.
“And we must choose a government that is strong enough to deliver them. We must choose a government to make this nation as strong as possible, as quickly as possible.”
Big cheers for former PMs
The Liberal launch in Brisbane is underway, and the loudest cheers so far have been for former Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard.
Olivia Roberts, candidate for Griffith, opened the speeches and the crowd loudly booed when she mentioned former Griffith member and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
“It was at the end of the Rudd-Gillard government that I joined the LNP, realising there was one party that truly understood and supported hardworking, enterprising everyday Australians,” she said.
“People like my parents, who owned a motel in western Queensland, taught me the value of hardworking community service.
“It took ten years of good economic management from this government to fix Labor’s mess.”
‘Grub’: Hectic scenes at Liberal launch
Before proceedings got underway on Sunday, there were confronting scenes for the Liberal faithful gathering for the event.
As attendees walked in they were greeted by more than 100 protesters – including one man donning a giant plastic Scott Morrison head who was playing a ukulele.
Speeches, in which Mr Morrison was labelled a “grub” who has “stripped away workers rights’’, were yelled into a megaphone before the crowd launched into loud chants of “Morrison! Out!”.
Amid a heavy police presence, the surrounding crowd held signs that read “LNP lies” and “don’t let him fail us again”.
Once speeches had wrapped up, a brass band played a very rusty rendition of “The Final Countdown” and the protesters disbanded.
A local told news.com.au the protest had been arranged by union members in Brisbane.
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