Morrison warns Victorians Labor will seek to control them

In a last-ditch election pitch, Scott Morrison has said Anthony Albanese will seek to rule Victorians’ lives like Daniel Andrews, warning Labor leaders find control “very intoxicating”.

Scott Morrison has claimed Anthony Albanese will seek to control the lives of Victorians like Daniel Andrews, in a bold last-ditch pitch to the state that could decide the election.

As the nation heads to the polls on Saturday, the Prime Minister reignited tensions with the Premier by reminding Victorians of the lengthy Covid lockdowns he ordered, and warning Labor leaders found government control to be “very intoxicating”.

“I’ve seen it first-hand. They find it very hard to kick the habit,” Mr Morrison said.

“It’s something that I’m sure Anthony Albanese would develop a very fast taste for, and I think that is very troubling for Victorians, who I think have had a gutful of governments that love getting in their lives and telling them what to do.”

“They’ve had enough at a state level – could you imagine if you had it doubled down at a federal level?”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison claims Anthony Albanese will be a ‘complete pushover’.

He claimed Mr Albanese would be a “complete pushover” and a “cash machine” for state Labor premiers, saying: “When Dan tells him to jump, he says ‘how high?’”

Mr Morrison also accused the Andrews government of putting Victoria’s access to cheap and reliable power at risk, and blamed them for the Coalition’s inability to progress billions of dollars in road and rail commitments he made at the last election.

Throughout the campaign, Mr Morrison has steered clear of picking fights with the states, but his change of tone comes as the Liberal Party tries to seize on anti-Labor sentiment fuelled by the pandemic in outer suburban seats, such as McEwen and Corangamite.

The Prime Minister said he had a “pretty constructive working relationship” with Mr Andrews, but it was “not really an issue for me” if the Premier did not want to work together on his priorities.

Scott Morrison has warned that Anthony Albanese will try to control Victorians’ lives in the same way as Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

“I think it’s disappointing that Anthony just lines up with Dan Andrews rather than lining up with the people of McEwen,” Mr Morrison said, referencing state and federal Labor’s opposition to his promised $1.6bn freight terminal in Beveridge.

He said he was focused on “putting the pandemic behind us” and the government stepping back.

“Labor like the control, they bathe in it, they like to be enveloped in it. For us, this was not an instinctive place to be, which is why Australians could always trust us to get in and to get out,” Mr Morrison said.

“No one understands that better than Victorians, who suffered the biggest intrusion into their lives of any government in the country.”

As senior Victorian Liberals Tim Wilson and Josh Frydenberg fight to hold their seats, Scott Morrison flagged the risks of the teal independents. Picture: Kym Smith

The Victorian battleground

With senior Victorian Liberals Josh Frydenberg and Tim Wilson fighting to hold their seats, Mr Morrison ramped up his attack on the risks of so-called teal independent candidates.

“By putting in a group of people who have very little experience in dealing with the serious issues the country faces, I mean, it’ll be government by Twitter,” he said.

“There’s a lack of transparency about these independents … what are they actually about?”

The Prime Minister said he was “really positive” about the government’s strategy in the Labor-held seats of McEwen and Corangamite.

“These are new communities, they’re aspirational, they’re not looking for government to get involved in their lives,” he said.

Mr Morrison says the ‘biggest challenge’ facing the government is skills shortages. Picture: AFP

First 100 days of the next term

Mr Morrison wants to legislate his plan to allow first-home buyers to tap into their superannuation savings within months, if not weeks.

While the scheme is due to begin by the middle of next year, the Prime Minister said he planned to have it in place “as quickly as possible”.

“As soon as that’s in, you can go for it,” Mr Morrison said.

Asked about his priorities for the first 100 days after the election, he said the “biggest challenge” facing the government was skills shortages impacting sectors including aged care, manufacturing, agriculture, freight and transport.

“The labour force needs in the economy is the most pressing and most serious issue we need to face to realise our opportunities,” Mr Morrison said.

The election winner is also expected to travel to Tokyo next week for the Quad summit with the leaders of the US, India and Japan.

Mr Morrison says Victorians have given him the ‘consistent view’ the East West Link is needed. Picture: Artist’s impression

Victorian infrastructure agenda

The Herald Sun revealed earlier this year that at least $13bn worth of road and rail projects promised by the Coalition had stalled due to feuds over funding, incomplete planning and cost blowouts.

Mr Morrison blamed the state government for refusing to work together on his commitments, including the East West Link, Monash rail, Baxter rail and the Shepparton bypass.

Asked why Victorians should believe construction would begin in the next three years, Mr Morrison said he would “keep working on it and try to get done what you can get done”.

He said the Victorian community had given him the “consistent view” that the East West Link was needed, saying the fate of the project would be decided at the November state election.

Mr Morrison also turned up the heat on the Andrews government’s energy policies, as he spruiked the Marinus Link to Tasmania and Snowy 2.0 to help shore up Victoria’s power grid.

“They’re basically shutting down their reliable energy in Victoria and they’re turning off the gas. They’re basically just taking away options from themselves every day which will only put upward pressure on electricity and gas prices,” he said.

Scott Morrison, pictured with his wife, Jenny, says there are things he wish he’d said differently over the past three years. Picture: Jason Edwards

Morrison’s lessons learnt

Reflecting on the past three years, the Prime Minister said there were “things I wish I’d said differently at different times”.

“Many of those have been used and taken out of context and weaponised,” Mr Morrison said.

“That’s politics. Of course, one could have been more careful about some of these remarks … It means that I’ll just be more cautious.”

Asked why his approval ratings were lower among women, he side-stepped the question, saying it had been a “tough few years”.

“I understand that, I don’t take it personally,” he said.

Having recently described himself as a “bulldozer”, Mr Morrison said he and the government would move into “a completely different gear”.

“But you still want the strength … I wasn’t saying I was leaving that behind,” he said.

He did not reveal any advice his wife Jenny had shared during the campaign, only saying that they were a strong team and he appreciated her support on the road in the final week.

Originally published as Morrison warns Victorians Labor will seek to control them