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Federal election 2016: Shorten’s auto industry push; Turnbull heads to WA

Malcolm Turnbull asks Australians to “put their faith” in his government at his first politics in the pub event of the campaign.

Rachel Baxendale, Rosie Lewis and Jared Owens
Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull have each made a high-visibility pitch to workers.
Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull have each made a high-visibility pitch to workers.
31 min read
1:50PMMay 16, 2016.
Updated 9:11PMMay 16, 2016

Hello and welcome to Day Nine of the campaign: Bill Shorten has talked penalty rates and manufacturing in Geelong; Malcolm Turnbull has been to Perth where he made an announcement about Western Australia’s involvement in the government’s naval shipbuilding project.

Who won the day?Read David Crowe’s verdict here.

8.41pm:‘Shorten turning into Fawlty Towers’

It looks like there’s just time for one last quip on Day Nine, and it’s come from Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who has likened Bill Shorten to an episode of the 1970s comedy about an incompetent hotel owner, Fawlty Towers.

After the opposition leader came under fire during the first week of the election campaign amid revelations a spate of Labor candidates have spoken out against the party policy on asylum seekers, Mr Dutton told The Australian’s Chris Kenny on Sky News:

“Bill Shorten is turning into an episode of Fawlty Towers - if it weren’t so serious it would be funny”.

Basil Fawlty or Bill Shorten? Picture: BBC
Basil Fawlty or Bill Shorten? Picture: BBC

8.10pm:‘Still waiting for true Malcolm’

We’ll leave the last word to swinging voter Richard Schoonraad, who says the PM’s performance at the politics in the pub event “hasn’t bought my vote”.

“I think he gave his standard answers. Stuck to the script. I think it’s early in the campaign, he’s just trotting it out there and testing it. I still think he’s holding back and I think we’re still waiting for the true Malcolm to shine through,” Mr Schoonraad, who works in the cruise industry, told The Australian.

“I’ve met the man, I’ve shook his hand, obviously a fan but that hasn’t bought my vote. There’s still 7 weeks to go.”

Mr Schoonraad says he wants to see “more honesty” in Malcolm Turnbull’s answers and “empathy” for alternative policies.

7.20am:‘Put your faith in us’

Malcolm Turnbull kicks off his politics in the pub event with his “this is an exciting time” mantra. So far he’s stuck to script - spruiking the government’s new funding to the Australian Defence Force - he says this is critical to ensuring we’re safe - and the trade export deals. He says Darwin will see an increase in tourism thanks to the deals.

The first round of applause comes when he talks about the cancer scanner promised for the Northern Territory, which the government has committed $15 million for.

“What we’re asking Australians to do ... is to put their faith in us for three more years.”

The PM buys a beer for Natasha Griggs in the Lizards Bar, Darwin. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
The PM buys a beer for Natasha Griggs in the Lizards Bar, Darwin. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

The PM says he’s looking forward to his government’s re-election but warns it is “by no means assured”.

“What we’re looking forward to is three years of good, solid Liberal Coalition government and delivering on our economic plan.”

He wants to point out what his government is doing that Labor is not - however he says he doesn’t want to get “personal” as he claims Bill Shorten has been.

“What you’re seeing is Labor standing in the way of Labor company business taxes even though when they were last in government they were in favour of cutting company tax.”

The Coalition is about “jobs and growth”, he says, but Labor will put a break on economic growth.

The Prime Minister has been challenged about funding promised by the federal government to the Northern Territory. One gentleman the in the pub wants to know what happened to that money - he says it hasn’t flowed through to services in the community. Malcolm Turnbull hands the microphone to Natasha Griggs, who says the NT government has started a “big campaign” and is making sure people are aware of the issues. “There’s absolutely good will and we’re working in partnership with the NT government.”

Malcolm Turnbull fields a range of questions about the backpacker tax - “watch this space”, he says - the government’s youth internship program - it doesn’t guarantee employment at the end but will help young people find jobs, the PM tells the audience - and Labor’s negative gearing policy. There are no tough spots for Mr Turnbull during the 25 minute event.

The local Northern Territory netball association asks the PM how important his government thinks women’s sport is and he says he’s “absolutely committed” to the cause. Natasha Griggs reveals there’ll be “more surprises” about netball later on in the campaign.

The event closes with the South Darwin Rugby Union Club presenting the PM with a singlet.

“That’ll be a bit light for a walk around the lake in Canberra but perfect for Darwin,” Mr Turnbull jokes.

“That’s better than the girls giving you a netball skirt like they wanted to,” Ms Griggs adds.

6.20pm:Politics in the pub

Malcolm Turnbull is preparing to face questions from voters in Darwin, where he’ll participate in his first politics in the pub event of the campaign with Liberal MP Natasha Griggs. Ms Griggs holds the seat of Solomon on a small 1.4 per cent margin and was a supporter of Tony Abbott in the September leadership spill. She is also a regular in the so-called monkey pod room, named for its table fashioned from monkey pod timber.

The Northern Territory MP is also hopeful the former prime minister will join her on the hustings. She told The Daily Telegraph in March: “It’s always good to be joined on the hustings with good campaigners like Tony. I hope he will be one of the many colleagues, including Prime Minister Turnbull, to visit my electorate during the upcoming election campaign. I will be doing everything I can to ensure that Labor doesn’t win.’’

5.30pm:Quotes of the day

THE BEST LINE

“Great! Another knuckle dragger from the far right who’s going to be one of Malcolm Turnbull’s team.”

- Bill Shorten about the Liberal candidate for Fremantle.

MALCOLM TURNBULL

“I’m the prime minister and I hope he’s out there engaging with the people of Fremantle.” - On why he did not appear with the local candidate.

BILL SHORTEN

“It isn’t good enough just to lift a slogan from a George Bush campaign and say: fantastic, let’s do it.”

- About the coalition’s “jobs and growth” strategy.

BEST OF THE REST

“I’m not a commentator, I’m an activist.”

- Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne won’t be pressed on the potential “nightmare” of Nick Xenophon’s candidates taking South Australian seats.

“We are part of a great continuum of history.”

- Pyne again, this time on whether the Abbott legacy is the Turnbull legacy.

“This is not an election where it’s the top half of the cup versus the bottom half of the cup. Malcolm Turnbull has decided to back in the very top, the froth of the cappuccino.”

- Labor campaign spokesman Tony Burke fronts the media, possibly before having his own morning coffee.

WHAT HE DIDN’T SAY

Labor’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor declined to say “yes” when asked seven times by 3AW’s Neil Mitchell if he supported Bill Shorten’s past statements on backing the independence of the Fair Work Commission on penalty rates.

TWEET OF THE DAY

And in case you missed it earlier, the Labor campaign bus appeared to experience some difficulty in Port Macquarie.

Senator for NSW Sam Dastyari played down the incident, tweeting “guys — nothing happened. The bus is parked in Port Mac. It reversed out of a car park.” But it didn’t stop some witty responses.

4.10pm:Labor promises harbour plan funds

Perth Freight Link is a “dud” project and federal Labor has instead promised $2 million to take plans for a new harbour at Kwinana to Infrastructure Australia, Anthony Albanese says.

Fremantle Port will hit capacity early next decade, restricting growth and hampering trade opportunities, the opposition infrastructure spokesman said.

The coalition had allocated $1.2 billion for the Perth Freight Link — which will funnel trucks to the near-congested harbour — and despite the project being blocked by the WA Supreme Court, the state government wants to push ahead with it.

Mr Albanese claims the legal hurdle has left Malcolm Turnbull’s infrastructure record in tatters, while Labor is ready to work with the state government on planning the Kwinana outer harbour instead. “Perth Freight Link is a bad project,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Perth.

“We support good projects, whether they be road or public transport projects that boost productivity here in Western Australia.”

Mr Albanese said Labor had more than doubled the infrastructure budget in WA when they were in power, but the state had missed out under Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership.

“That’s why we’ve seen a magical infrastructure re-announcement tour where they’ve come to projects such as this (Gateway WA project) and pretended that somehow they’re new and that they had something to do with them,” he said.

“There isn’t a single project underway right now throughout Western Australia that was not funded and commenced under the former Labor government.

“That is quite extraordinary after three years.”

Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams applauded Labor for making the outer harbour an election promise.

“This isn’t a short term political football, it’s the future trade nexus of container imports and freight movements in and throughout the state for the next half century,” she said.

“It has always been supported by both major parties; the only point of contention is when it should commence.”

But federal Major Projects Minister Paul Fletcher said the opposition’s comments were misleading.

He said among the coalition government’s investments were $644.1 million for NorthLink WA, $307.8 million for part of the Great Northern Highway and $100.7 million for part of the North West Coastal Highway.

3.20pm:Shorten evasive over Rudd rift

Bill Shorten has evaded questioning about whether he wanted Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard to attend his party launch, suggesting the spectacle of Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull posing for photos will be hard to beat.

The Opposition Leader, who was instrumental in deposing both leaders in 2010 and 2013 respectively, said he was pleased with the level of support he’d so far received from the former prime ministers.

Former prime ministers are typically honoured guests at party launches. Mr Rudd’s launch as opposition leader in 2007 featured former leaders Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

The Coalition has warned a Shorten government would suffer the same infighting and paralysis that characterised the Rudd and Gillard era.

He was asked the question at a campaign stop to promise $1 million to study the duplication of a railway line from South Geelong to Waurn Ponds.

2.55pm:Pyne’s ultimate blank cheque

Christopher Pyne has the ultimate political weapon — a blank cheque.

The Liberal frontbencher tweeted a photograph of the cheque being presented to the Eastern Districts Little Athletics Club in his South Australian electorate of Sturt on Sunday.

The distinctive blue-and-white cheque has the Australian government crest and Mr Pyne’s name and seat printed on it.

But the club name, date and amount of the grant were written in black felt pen.

A quick look through the minister’s Twitter feed identified two other photos of the same cheque, with different dates, organisations and amounts written on it.

Mr Pyne told AAP he had the cheque for most of the term.

Asked why he needed an erasable “cheque” rather than individual ones, Mr Pyne replied: “I’m a very effective local MP. They are expensive. I couldn’t afford to provide one to each community group that receives a grant. I’ve never had a complaint.”

2.30pm:“Company tax cut plan gift to US”

Donald Trump will be thrilled by the Coalition’s plan to aggressively cut company tax, which will deliver a reported $11 billion windfall to US tax authorities over a decade, Bill Shorten says.

Rallying Labor campaign volunteers in Geelong, the Opposition Leader seized on claims by the Australia Institute, a progressive think-tank, that America’s Internal Revenue Service would boost its tax take by targeting profits not captured by the Australian Taxation Office.

“I couldn’t have written the script. It’s come out today that what Mr Turnbull’s business tax cuts mean for large companies is A$1 billion a year is going to be headed overseas,” Mr Shorten told volunteers at the office of Corangamite candidate Libby Coker.

“Donald Trump must be looking for Malcolm Turnbull’s phone number.”

2.12pm:Libs’ “lunar right” candidate

More on Malcolm Turnbull snubbing local candidate Sherry Sufi, after the political aspirant’s controversial views about indigenous reconciliation and gay marriage emerged.

“I hope he’s out there engaging with the people of Fremantle and doing good doorknocking,” Mr Turnbull told reporters when asked why Mr Sufi wasn’t accompanying him in Fremantle. “Very character-building. I’ve done it myself.” Bill Shorten described Mr Sufi as “another knuckle dragger from the far right” who showed the party was divided in its views.

“Malcolm Turnbull has had a lot to say but he can’t even deliver on what he says because the real people pulling the strings are people with these sort of views,” Mr Shorten said.

“You had Senator (George) Brandis saying we need to disendorse someone for trumped-up reasons, then you’ve got these sort of fringe dwellers, the lunar right, running around the Liberal Party as their mainstream candidates.”

On Sunday, Mr Brandis called on Mr Shorten to disendorse Labor’s candidate for the marginal Liberal seat of Dunkley in Victoria, Peta Murphy, because she is a member of a group that has argued for weaker national security laws.

Labor last week disendorsed its original pick for the seat of Fremantle, Maritime Union of Australia organiser Chris Brown, amid claims he did not disclose his teenage convictions.

1.15pm:Lunchtime wrap

Malcolm Turnbull is in Perth, where he has toured the Austal shipyard, which was recently contracted to build up to 21 steel-hulled pacific patrol boats and will take over construction of offshore patrol vessels in 2020. He’s talked up the government’s plans for advanced anufacturing, as well as seizing upon apparent divisions within Labor on penalty rates, and the prospect of a Labor-Greens power sharing deal.

Bill Shorten has visited Geelong to announce a $59 million plan to help advanced manufacturing businesses create jobs for sacked automotive industry workers in Victoria and South Australia. The Opposition Leader said a Labor government would accept any Fair Work Commission decision to slash weekend penalty rates, but would advocate for them to be retained. This placed him at odds with his industry spokesman, Kim Carr, and employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor, both of whom today equivocated over whether Labor would accept the independent umpire’s verdict, which is due after the election.

Meanwhile, Greens MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt has been campaigning in Anthony Albanese’s inner-west Sydney seat of Grayndler, announcing the Greens will legislate to enshrine penalty rates. Labor have refused to do likewise on the basis that it would set a precedent for the Coalition to legislate to abolish penalty rates.

1.05pm:Colin who?

Asked why West Australian premier Colin Barnett was not with him at the press conference, Malcolm Turnbull said it was a “national announcement” about the government’s economic plan. The announcement in question: that Austal has been instructed to use Australian steel in building the 19-21 Pacific Patrol Boats.

WA Treasurer Mike Nahan has endorsed Palmer United Party senator Zhenya “Dio” Wang because of his attempts to win the state a greater deal of the GST. He has voiced “disappointment” at the lack of progress made by his federal Liberal colleagues on the GST. The Barnett government also handed down a horror budget last week with a record deficit of $3.9 billion expected for next year.

WA Premier Colin Barnett.
WA Premier Colin Barnett.

Malcolm Turnbull was joined by two of his WA senators at the shipyard but not his local candidate, Sherry Sufi. Mr Sufi has reportedly voiced his opposition to the apology given to the Stolen Generation, described constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians “divisive” and argued same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy.

The PM rejected these comments outright.

Asked where his missing candidate was, Mr Turnbull said: “This is a national announcement, I’m the Prime Minister and I hope he’s engaging with the people of Fremantle and doing some good door knocking. It’s very character building, I’ve done it myself.”

On constitutional cognition he said: “This is an issue on which there is a wide range of views but my own view is we should recognise our First Australians in the constitution and that is I might say the view of the government and the commitment of the government.”

12.50pm:PM plays up Labor divisions

Malcolm Turnbull has seized on the “division” within Labor over penalty rates, declaring it was more proof the opposition was “quietly crab-walking” to a deal with the Greens.

Bill Shorten has ruled out forming a Gillard-era minority government with the Greens in an event of a hung parliament but Greens leader Richard Di Natale has dismissed the comments as pre-election rhetoric.

The Prime Minister said the Opposition Leader was a “threat to the economy” and couldn’t be trusted on national security or penalty rates.

“Our position is quite straight forward — there is an umpire, Fair Work. What we all abide by is their rulings. Mr Shorten said a while back that he took the same view but then he was disowned by Kim Carr and Brendan O’Connor because of course we can see what they’re doing.

“What Labor is doing is quietly crab-walking to a position where they can do a deal with the Greens.

Malcolm Turnbull attempts to press the flesh in Perth.
Malcolm Turnbull attempts to press the flesh in Perth.

“Labor knows they’re going to sell out to the Greens so that means a weaker approach to border protection. That’s one of the Greens’ asks, a higher carbon tax, higher tax on business and of course ignoring any ruling that comes from Fair Work unless it suits the Greens.

“This is the ... gradual process of Bill Shorten selling out to the Greens and he may say that it’s all a ‘dream’. Well, as Adam Bandt said, ‘dreams do come true’ and the Greens’ dreams have come true in Tasmania when Labor said they wouldn’t do a deal with them and they came true with Julia Gillard when she said she wouldn’t do a deal with them.”

12.40pm: Bowen defends negative gearing proposal

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen is in Adelaide with Labor’s leader in the Senate Penny Wong.

The pair earlier gave a press conference at AMWU headquarters, highlighting Labor’s $59 million package to help automotive industry workers find new jobs.

Bowen defended Labor’s negative gearing changes against a real estate industry campaign featuring Aussie Home Loans Chairman John Symond claiming the changes would see house prices fall “overnight”.

Mr Bowen said first home buyers have a very valid aspiration to house themselves in their own homes. “We’ve become a society which makes that harder and harder. We want to put first home buyers and investors on a more level playing field via sensible reforms to negative gearing,” Mr Bowen said.

He also raised Labor’s promise of a Royal Commission into the banking sector, citing a report in today’s Financial Review.

Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond has issued a warning over Labor’s real estate plans.
Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond has issued a warning over Labor’s real estate plans.

According to the report, traders at Westpac openly discussed how “f**king with the rate set” could hurt some customers and ultimately and “deservedly” harm the bank’s reputation if an inquiry into the bank bill marker was ever conducted.

Mr Bowen said the report demonstrated the need for a Royal Commission.

“Whether what has happened is illegal or not, a Royal Commission would enable the Australian people to have full transparency when it comes to these very concerning allegations,” he said.

Senator Wong defended Labor on penalty rates, amid apparent disunity between Bill Shorten and Shadow Employment Minister Brendan O’Connor over whether the Opposition would accept a Fair Work Australia recommendation to dump them if it won government.

Senator Wong denied there was any disunity and said Labor had always defended penalty rates, but she stopped short of guaranteeing Labor would overrule an adverse Fair Work finding.

“The Labor Party in opposition has made submissions to the independent umpire supporting penalty rates and we have said if we are elected we will do what we have always done which is to continue to advocate for penalty rates being maintained,” she said.

12.25pm: Questions over Labor’s penalty rates plan

A Labor government will accept any Fair Work Commission decision to slash weekend penalty rates, but would use its influence as the government to pressure the independent umpire.

Senior Labor figures — including industry spokesman Kim Carr and employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor — today equivocated over whether a Labor government would accept the commission’s decision, due after the election.

Bill Shorten, who had previously promised to accept whatever decision emerged, today pledged to “intervene” in the case if he wins government on July 2.

“If we are successful on July 2, my government will further intervene in the case before the decision to strengthen, only as a government submission can, the case to defend our penalty rates,” the Opposition Leader told reporters in Geelong.

Read the full story here

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten during his visit to Geelong. Picture: Kym Smith
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten during his visit to Geelong. Picture: Kym Smith

12.21pm: Shorten unveils manufacturing plan

Labor is promising to make the future of automotive workers less bleak with a $59 million assistance package.

But the coalition says the offer is too little, too late.

The money would be used to help workers across the country, especially in Geelong and Adelaide, as car makers pull out of Australia between now and 2017.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the federal boost to existing state government programs is “a very good use of scarce taxpayer funding”.

“This money is a very practical difference made to improve the lives of small businesses, and export and manufacturing businesses,” he told reporters in Geelong as he campaigned in the safe Labor seat of Corio.

11.50am:Treasurer continues budget sell

Scott Morrison has given a press conference in Townsville, where he is campaigning with the Member for Herbert, Ewen Jones, who holds the seat by 6.2 per cent.

The pair met local builder Martin Locke, who runs a family construction business which will benefit from the government’s 2.5 per cent tax cuts for companies with turnover of between $2 million and $10m which kick in on July 1.

The Treasurer said the cuts would benefit 100,000 businesses who employ 2.2 million Australians. He said the government had invested $500m in infrastructure projects in the Townsville area.

He also talked up the government’s three stage PATH youth employment program.

Mr Morrison said voters should not believe Labor’s claims that it has ruled out a power-sharing deal with the Greens.

“In Tasmania, we saw Labor and Greens form a government together and when they were last in government they formed an alliance,” he said.

“Anyone who thinks that Bill Shorten would not sign up with the Greens to form a government honestly should be looking for fairies in the bottom of the garden.”

Mr said the Coalition was spending hundreds of millions of dollars supporting automotive industry workers transitioning to new jobs.

Mr Jones said a new Hell’s Gate Dam, and the raising of the Burdekin Dam walls in the region were top of Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce’s list of water infrastructure projects announcements would be made in due course.

Mr Morrison also highlighted the role the government was playing in stepping in to pay the entitlements of sacked workers from Clive Palmer’s nearby Queensland Nickel refinery.

11.20am:Cormann stokes fears over Labor-Greens alliance

Coalition campaign spokesman Mathias Cormann has started the day talking up the dangers of an alliance with the Greens if Labor is elected at a doorstop in Canberra.

“Despite his denials everybody knows that if Bill Shorten had the opportunity to form a government with the Greens he would,” Senator Cormann said.

He’s also highlighted divisions in Labor over asylum seeker policy.

“Bill Shorten has already more than 20 of his own Labor Members and candidates in open defiance against strong border protection policies.

“Can you imagine if we had a return to the Labor-Green government of the past?” Senator Cormann said.

Ahead of Labor’s announcement of $59 million for automotive industry jobs, Senator Cormann said the government was providing support to the manufacturing industry.

“Our plan, our national economic plan for jobs and growth with support for start-up businesses with our innovation and science agenda, our defence industry plan, our export trade deals, our tax cuts for small and medium sized businesses initially and for hardworking families, our plan to ensure that the Budget is on a sustainable foundation for the future, cracking down on tax avoidance, ensuring that tax concessions and superannuation are more appropriately targeted, our guaranteed funding for health, education and roads,” he said.

Senator Cormann highlighted Malcolm Turnbull’s visit to his home state of Western Australia.

“You have to remember that when Labor was last in government, they used Western Australia as a cash cow for their reckless spending out of Canberra,” he said.

“They delivered the carbon tax. They delivered the mining tax. Two taxes that we have since abolished, which is good for Western Australia.”

Senator Cormann also said Western Australians had benefited from the government’s export trade deals, defence industry plan and business tax cuts.

He weighed into the penalty rates debate, saying that unlike the Greens, who want to legislate to enshrine current penalty rates, the government respects and accepts the decisions of the Fair Work Commission as the independent arbiter.

“After a lot of playing politics by Bill Shorten, Bill Shorten has actually come down in favour of that position as well,” Senator Cormann said.

“Let’s see whether now that the pressure appears to be coming on from the union movement and from his future alliance partner the Greens, let’s see whether Bill Shorten is able to stay strong on this or whether he will go weak at the knees.”

11am:Poll boost for LNP

A few more Galaxy poll results in addition to the Western Sydney ones we mentioned earlier:

A poll taken in the north Queensland seat of Leichhardt puts the sitting Liberal National Party member Warren Entsch in front of Labor’s Sharryn Howes.

Mr Entsch leads Ms Howes 52-48 per cent in two-party terms, representing a swing of more than three per cent against the LNP, but his primary vote of 45 per cent is in line with the 2013 result.

The Greens are polling 10 per cent, while “others” are attracting nine per cent of the primary vote in the survey of 522 voters published in the Cairns Post.

Another Galaxy poll in the Townsville Bulletin shows sitting LNP member Ewen Jones just ahead of his Labor rival Cathy O’Toole, but suffering a three-point swing against him on his 2013 result.

— with AAP

10.40am:O’Connor, Shorten at odds

Shadow Employment Minister Brendan O’Connor appears to be at odds with Bill Shorten on weekend penalty rates, as the Greens campaign on the issue in Anthony Albanese’s inner-west Sydney seat of Grayndler today.

Mr O’Connor repeatedly refused to guarantee Labor would accept a Fair Work Commission decision which would call for the rates to be dumped in an interview with 3AW’s Neil Mitchell this morning.

This came despite Bill Shorten last month telling Mitchell he would accept the FWA decision.

Labor’s election advertising promises to keep weekend penalty rates.

During an excruciatingly circular ten minute interview, Mr O’Connor repeatedly said Labor supported penalty rates and supported the independence of FWA, but would not directly answer Mitchell’s questions about what Labor would do if the umpire recommended scrapping the rates.

“The Fair Work Commission has not decided on this matter. Labor is the party of penalty rates. Let’s wait for the independent umpire to make the decision. I have great confidence in the ability of the Fair Work Commission to make decisions that have consequences for working people,” Mr O’Connor said.

“We believe at this point the best option is to make clear, if elected, that we would intervene to make submissions to support workers getting penalty rates.”

He did guarantee Labor would not legislate to keep penalty rates, as the Greens say the will.

“If you want to legislate the way the Greens are proposing, then you open the door for the Liberals to have the mechanism to abolish penalty rates,” Mr O’Connor said.

After his interview failed to elicit a straight answer from O’Connor on whether he agreed with Shorten on accepting FWA’s decision, a frustrated Mitchell asked listeners, “Are we that stupid? Do we look that stupid?”

Greens MP Adam Bandt is today campaigning on penalty rates in Grayndler, with the Greens candidate for the seat Jim Casey.

10.30am:Albo gets unlikely vote of support

Treasurer Scott Morrison says he’d preference Anthony Albanese over the Greens if given the chance to vote in the Labor-held seat of Grayndler.

However, Mr Morrison said he’d rather the Liberals won the inner-Sydney seat where the Daily Telegraph newspaper has launched the “Save our Albo” campaign.

“I would be going for Albo over the Greens any day of the week, but that said, if you vote for Albo you will be getting the Greens anyway because Labor and the Greens will be forming an alliance in government,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio today.

Anthony Albanese with the Daily Telegraph’s recent front page story.
Anthony Albanese with the Daily Telegraph’s recent front page story.

9.55am:Labor’s automotive pitch

Shadow Industry Minister Kim Carr spoke to ABC News Breakfast ahead of Labor’s announcement of $59 million to help automotive industry workers transition to new jobs this morning.

He said the money was not for training, but for companies which want to stay in the automotive industry and adapt to new contracts.

“We also want to provide assistance to attract new investment in advanced manufacturing,” Senator Carr said. He said the $59 million package would add to money the Victorian and South Australian governments were also chipping in.

“We will be able to build on existing programs, field tested programs, programs we know that work but we also want to work with individual companies to ensure that they are able to attract new investment, new products, new contracts and be able to develop new opportunities,” Senator Carr said.

He also responded to a statement issued by The Australian Catholic Bishops this morning, which argued the dignity and uniqueness of marriage, as a lifelong union of man and woman, would be undermined by the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Senator Carr said the Church had a longstanding position on the issue, but he personally supported legalising same-sex marriage.

Shadow Industry Minister Kim Carr
Shadow Industry Minister Kim Carr

“We have a conscience vote in the Labor Party and I have no doubt there will be changes to marriage laws as we’ve seen throughout the world,” he said.

However, Senator Carr said he agreed with the bishops and the Pope on the economy and our “throwaway society”.

“The Catholic bishops have indicated their concern that the voiceless, the weak, the vulnerable won’t get a proper hearing and I will be concerned to ensure they do and I want to be able to see that the Catholic bishops’ statements, that go to many other issues to refugees, to human rights and economic security to employment, these are the type of questions we’re entitled to discuss in our society and I trust this election will provide the opportunity to have a discussion about where is this country going, what sort of society do we want to be,” Senator Carr said.

He dismissed an ABC Vote Compass survey showing voters rate Malcolm Turnbull better than Bill Shorten on issues of trust and competence.

“Let’s think about Malcolm Turnbull. He’s a very, very wealthy man, very wealthy man that lives an entirely different world from the way in which most Australians live. Completely out of touch,” Senator Carr said.

“Bill Shorten is out there talking to people every day. I’m confident the Labor Party will be very competitive in this election and we’ll be able to provide the people of this country real choices on health, education, on the future of manufacturing, on climate change.”

9.50am:Turnbull set to face heat in WA

Malcolm Turnbull has become the first of the two leaders to head to Western Australia during this marathon election campaign — kicking off week two in Perth. The Coalition-dominated state has a couple of key marginal seats, including Cowan and Hasluck both to the city’s east. Labor has lost its incumbency factor in WA, with its three MPs retiring, but the Prime Minister can expect some tough questions about the state’s share of the GST and transitioning economy — it unveiled its worst budget in history last week and unemployment is at 6 per cent, higher than the national average. The West Australian reports the PM will use his visit to confirm the Henderson shipyards, south of Perth, as one of two pillars for the nation’s shipbuilding industry.

Henderson sits in the Fremantle electorate, held by retiring Labor MP Melissa Parke on 5.4 per cent. Labor candidate Chris Brown lost his preselection last week and was replaced by popular deputy mayor Josh Wilson.

9.25am:What you may have missed, and what you need to know

Here’s a quick list of our key political stories and opinion pieces today:

• National Affairs Editor Sid Maher reports that Bill Shorten would face demands to abandon Labor’s asylum-seeker policy, ban new coal mines and increase taxes on miners by at least $2 billion a year under Greens conditions for power-sharing negotiations in the event of a hung parliament;

• Former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop is among 30 politicians who are entitled to indexed pensions totalling more than $6.7 million in retirement, courtesy of John Howard’s loathing of retrospective changes to superannuation. As the Turnbull government presses ahead with a cap on non-concessional super contributions that has been labelled as retrospective, analysis by The Australian reveals nine cabinet ministers are among those whose lucrative pensions were grandfathered in 2004. They’ll collect an average allowance of about $211,400 each year for the rest of their lives;

• There may be implications for Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel company arising as a former manager of north east Victorian fabric manufacturer Bruck Textiles blows the whistle on claims of false invoicing and other suspected fraud at the company where nearly $30 million in assets were allegedly stripped out before it was liquidated, leaving taxpayers with a multimillion-dollar bill to cover employees’ entitlements. The company’s Wangaratta factory is in the seat of Indi, being contested by former Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella, and incumbent Independent Cathy McGowan. Read Chip Le Grand’s investigation here;

• Analysis of Bill Shorten’s 100 positive policies shows a Labor government would extend the reach of government by creating at least 10 bureaucratic bodies and officeholders and increase funding by tens of millions of dollars to key public agencies.

• As Malcolm Turnbull and Anthony Albanese separately tour Perth, WA Bureau Chief Paige Taylor writes that the withering effects of Western Australia’s economic slowdown are written on vacant shopfronts across the offices of West Perth, and business owners ­complain the up-market area is turning into a wasteland.

• Canberra Bureau Chief Phillip Hudson writes that neither major party is making the crucial issue of budget repair central to its campaign.

• Political Editor Dennis Shanahan reflects on the first week of the longest election campaign in living memory, declaring it’s less like The Longest Day and more like The Dawn Patrol.

• Associate Editor Caroline Overington writes in our media section about how her sympathetic view of Q & A battler Duncan Storrar changed when she heard from a friend of his son, Aztec Major, and why telling his story was important.

• The 24-hour news cycle and perpetually outraged special interest groups on social media have turned Australian election campaigns into protracted mitigation risk strategies, according to Jennifer Oriel, who says Friday’s Sky News People’s Forum in Western Sydney was a prime example of Australia’s descent into rhetorical subtopia.

8.30am:The state of play in campaign land

A quick roundup of where everyone is today:

• As previously mentioned, Malcolm Turnbull is in Perth, while Bill Shorten is visiting Geelong.

• Greens leader Richard Di Natale is in Michael Danby’s seat of Melbourne, while Adam Bandt is in Anthony Albanese’s inner western Sydney seat of Grayndler.

• Shadow Health Minister Catherine King is campaigning in Darwin, where she, Lingiari MP Warren Snowdon and Labor’s Solomon candidate Luke Gosling are expected to announce a commitment to local health services.

• Vocational Education Minister Scott Ryan is in the northeast Victorian seat of Indi with Liberal candidate Sophie Mirabella, who is trying to win her old seat back from Independent Cathy McGowan. They’ll be launching an Australian migrant English program at Bonegilla, near Albury Wodonga.

• Shadow Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese is in Perth and has two engagements this morning. First he’ll be holding a press conference with the Labor’s candidates for Swan and Hasluck, Tammy Solonec and Bill Leadbetter, to highlight Coalition cuts to the Gateway WA road project. He’ll then head to the Sutton Road Naval Base, where he’s expected to make an infrastructure funding announcement with WA Opposition Leader Mark McGowan, and Labor’s candidates for Fremantle and Brand, Josh Wilson and Madeleine King.

• Trade Minister Steve Ciobo is in his Gold Coast seat of Moncrieff, where he’s expected to open the Australian Tourism Exchange at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

• Labor Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek is in Brisbane, where she’ll visit a local play centre with Labor’s candidate for the northern suburbs seat of Dickson, Linda Lavarch.

• Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh is in Brisbane with Labor’s candidate for Bonner, Laura Fraser Hardy. The pair are expected to doorstop on taxing multinational companies later this morning.

• Labor’s leader in the Senate Penny Wong is in Adelaide, with Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen, Members for Wakefield and Makin, Nick Champion and Tony Zappia, and the State Secretary of the AMWU John Camillo. They’ll be talking up the same $59 million plan Bill Shorten is announcing in Geelong to support automotive workers more to jobs in the advanced manufacturing sector, with the car industry shutting down in SA as well as Victoria.

8.04am:Shorten statement

As mentioned earlier, Bill Shorten will visit Geelong today, where he will be joined by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Shadow Industry Minister Kim Carr, Corio MP Richard Marles and Labor Corangamite candidate Libby Coker to announce a $59 million package to help automotive industry workers transition to new jobs.

Here’s his daily media note:

“Labor has a positive policy to secure Australian jobs today and create jobs for tomorrow. The only jobs that Mr Turnbull’s Liberals are interested in are their own.”

“A Shorten Labor Government will work with the Victorian and South Australian Governments to deliver new jobs in the regions worst affected by motor vehicle production closures.”

7.50am:Campaigning not just for the major parties

We’re getting very used to the major parties ads, but lobby groups are also hitting the airwaves and social media.

Universities Australia has launched its “Keep it Clever” campaign, with a series of videos about Australian research discoveries used to couch their argument for more money

Chairman Barney Glover insists the ads are intended to merely educate, not sway voters.

Here’s their video about how the Great Barrier Reef will be affected by climate change in the future, according to James Cook University research:

The Australian Automobile Association wants its eight million members to chat with their local candidates about committing to road and other transport funding.

They’ve launched the website keepaustraliamoving.com, asking visitors, “Is our transport network ruining your day?”, and telling them “Without stronger investment, the wheels of our economy will continue to slow, so tell your election candidates that you’re counting on them to keep Australia moving.”

The Law Council of Australia has today launched a vocal campaign decrying funding cuts to legal aid.

They say there are 45,000 people who had to front court on their own and another 160,000 turned away from community centres because of legal aid cuts last year.

It’s Law Week this week, and legal associations will be holding rallies around the country calling for legal aid funding to be reinstated.

7.30am:Mixed news for Labor

New polling shows voters in five out of six marginal NSW seats see Bill Shorten as the leader who will do the best job for Western Sydney, in a sign Labor’s scare campaign about Malcolm Turnbull’s wealth may be beginning to bite.

But the Galaxy poll, commissioned for the Daily Telegraph, shows the voters in the six seats, in Western Sydney and on the south and central coasts, believe Turnbull is the right man to lead the country, showing Labor still has a lot of work to do to win government.

In the Western Sydney seats of Banks, Lindsay, Macarthur and Reid, and Dobell on the Central Coast, Mr Turnbull is behind Mr Shorten as the leader they believe would be best for Western Sydney. Only in Gilmore on the south coast is Mr Turnbull ahead.

The poll shows the Coalition is still ahead in Lindsay, Reid and Gilmore and is neck and neck in Dobell and Banks. In Macarthur, Labor is just in front.

7.25am:Rudd plays down rift

Kevin Rudd has responded to reports he was refusing to back Bill Shorten with a tweet declaring his support:

“Woke in US to read I’m not supporting @billshortenmp. As former Labor PM and ALP member of 35 yrs I’m proud to endorse him,” Mr Rudd tweeted last night.

7.20am:Abbott chimes in

Tony Abbott’s interview with Australian Associate Editor Chris Kenny on Sky News last night has tongues wagging this morning.

Highlights included his declaration that his former chief of staff Peta Credlin, who sparked controversy last week referring to Malcolm Turnbull as “Mr Harbourside Mansion” is “riveting viewing” in her new role as Sky election commentator.

“She’s made some pretty powerful calls this week, and I think you’ll continue to see her being a very important and interesting commentator on this election. She’s got to call it as she sees it, sometimes I’ll agree with her, sometimes I’ll disagree with her”.

You can read more about the interview here

7.15am:Labor’s car industry kickstart

Bill Shorten is expected to announce in Geelong a $59 million package to help automotive industry workers transition to new jobs in Shadow Immigration Minister Richard Marles’s seat of Corio. Part of that package will also go to workers in South Australia. Mr Shorten is also expected to visit the neighbouring seat of Corangamite, where Labor candidate Libby Coker is up against Liberal backbencher Sarah Henderson, who holds the seat by four per cent. Corangamite takes in the southern outskirts of Geelong, the surf coast towns of Torquay and Anglesea, and extends down the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay. It also takes in the rich dairy country around Colac, where farmers battling drought and dramatic reductions in milk prices are desperate for government assistance.

7.10am:PM heads west

Malcolm Turnbull’s attention switches to WA, where the government holds 12 of the 16 lower house seats. The Coalition is hopeful in the newly created seat of Burt, and even the seat of Perth, held by retiring Labor MP Alannah McTiernen, considered a chance. Cabinet ministers including Julie Bishop, Mathias Cormann, Michaelia Cash, Christian Porter, Michael Keenan and Ken Wyatt all come from WA. However, a record $3.9 billion budget deficit handed down by the Liberal state government last week will put some pressure on the government.

7.05am: Greens campaign

The Greens continue their assault on Labor, with leader Richard Di Natale campaigning in Michael Danby’s seat of Melbourne, and Adam Bandt expected to make an announcement about penalty rates in Anthony Albanese’s seat of Grayndler.

— With AAP

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/federal-election-2016/federal-election-2016-shortens-auto-industry-push-turnbull-heads-to-wa/news-story/22ecec6511e2c885d4dcc46919387efc