EO&E..............................................................................................................................................................

 

 

It’s really fantastic to be here at Control Systems Technology. I’d like to thank Ian and Sue Burrell for making me and my team so welcome. I’m going to ask Craig Kelly, the local member, and David Coleman, our candidate for Banks, to say a few words in a moment. But what I want to say is that this is typical of the innovative, high-quality Australian manufacturing businesses which are going to be put at risk by the additional cost that Labor is just loading people up with. There is the carbon tax, there’s the mining tax, there is the extra bureaucracy and red tape which this Government is addicted to. Labor can't get anything right. This Government has the Midas touch in reverse. Everything it touches, it just gets wrong, and we are seeing yet another example of this today with the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This is a reform whose time should have come, but Julia Gillard is more interested in playing politics with this reform than she is in getting it right and that's why I've repeatedly said now to the Prime Minister, let's have a bipartisan parliamentary committee that can take the politics out of this and can make sure that it happens in the methodical, careful, painstaking way which is necessary if we are to get the biggest reform in a generation right. 

 

I’m going to ask Craig Kelly to say a few words. Craig, of course, is the parent of a son with a disability. I'm then going to ask David Coleman to say a few words and then Sue Burrell is going to talk about this terrific Australian business which has done so well for nearly 30 years, which is one of the world leaders when it comes to this kind of precision technology, but which has seen a big drop-off in orders in the last few months because of the climate of uncertainty which this Government has created.

 

Craig?

 

 

Thanks, Tony. You're exactly right on the NDIS. This is such an important reform for our country and there are so many Australians out there depending on this coming through. Unfortunately, we've seen the Prime Minister simply playing politics with the issue. I think that's what's very disappointing. The Coalition has a plan. We want to follow the Productivity Commission's plan to make sure that we actually get this job done, rather than just playing politics, which is what we've seen from the Prime Minister today.

 

 

David?

 

Sue, you are the star of the show. You’re the one making it all happen for the workers and for the people. So, did you want to just say a few words?

Yes. We’re proud to be an Australian manufacturer that has been providing employment for Australian people for 28 years and exporting internationally. We're survivors and actually there is a lot in the news about mining companies and people like Gina Rinehart, but people like my husband and myself are actually the major employers of people in Australia, small to medium businesses, and we really need government support and as a manufacturer, an Australian manufacturer, we're feeling a little bit like a threatened species. So, we have some concerns there. We've had to let people go in the last couple of months, good people that we didn't want to let go, that will cost us a lot of money in training and time when business picks up again. So, we need government support, actually, just in terms of sound, sensible policies that understand where Australia's prosperity comes from and don't nobble the providers of that prosperity.

Thank you, Sue. Ok, any questions?

You’re talking about the NDIS, Mr Abbott. How would a Coalition Government fund that? Would it be as Campbell Newman suggested; a Medicare-style levy?

We think that the best way forward is to follow the Productivity Commission's blueprint and the Productivity Commission recommended that it should be funded out of general revenue. Now, if we had a prudent, frugal government that respected taxpayers' money, it ought to be possible to fund this important reform out of general revenue. The reason why the current government is struggling is because they are addicted to wasteful and unnecessary spending.

Mr Abbott, your state leaders are refusing to put up money to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Could it be said that they're also playing politics?

I think it’s very important to understand that this is a national reform; it's a national reform to try to ensure that we give people with serious disabilities, finally, the fair go that they deserve. Now, if it's a national reform, it has to be led by the national government. It has to be funded by the national government. Obviously, the states have to do their bit, but they're already doing their bit. Disability services already are overwhelmingly funded by the states and I think that should be respected by the Prime Minister.

 

 

So, there’s no way the Coalition would ever support a levy or a tax to fund the scheme?

We think that the Productivity Commission has given us a fine blueprint and the Productivity Commission blueprint says it should be funded out of general revenue.

Should your MP Ross Vasta stand down while he’s investigated by the Australian Federal Police?

Look, I’ve just got back from overseas. I haven’t been briefed on that. If there’s anything to say, I’ll say it in due course at the right time.

 

What about the preselection for Peter Slipper’s electorate with the LNP and the court revelations about the extent of communication between Mal Brough and James Ashby? Should that be considered by the people that are choosing the candidate for that electorate?

I think that he has been very upfront about his involvement. He went public with his involvement and I think that, in the end, the preselection is a matter for the preselectors, but I want to make it clear that Mal has been very upfront about his involvement in this.

Do you have any kind of strategy to get rid of possible future Labor leaders, some kind of a decapitation strategy?

My strategy is to win as many seats as we can, starting with Banks, a very important seat here in Sydney and we've got a terrific candidate in David Coleman.

Are you pouring any additional resources into those electorates where Chris Bowen and Greg Combet are?

Look, we are doing our best to win all of the seats that we don't currently hold, starting with the seats which are most vulnerable. Obviously, the most marginal seats are the seats that we focus on because that's what common sense political parties do.

In your time in the United States, what were you told about the cuts to Australian Defence spending? Stephen Smith says that he has been told they are not worried at all about that.

I think that the Defence Minister wasn't listening to the same people that I was listening to in the United States if that's what he is saying.

 

Can you expand on that? What were the concerns they raised with you about the level of Australian spending?

It’s my rule, a very firm rule, not to spill my guts on the contents of private conversations, but we know from the statements of the former Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, that the Americans are concerned about it. He has put that on the record.

A senior bishop from the Newcastle diocese has added his weight to calls for a Royal Commission into sex abuse scandals and cover ups in the Catholic Church. Do you think now is the time?

I’m not a spokesman for the Church, and...

But as a Catholic and as a potential leader of this country, do you think it’s time for a Royal Commission?

 

I think it's very important that criminal acts be reported to the right authorities and appropriate action be taken against them. So, if anyone knows of anything that has been done wrong, well then, come forward, go to the police and the full force of the law should be brought to bear against people who have done the wrong thing.

Mr Abbott, the other thing that is going on is obviously the Olympics. What's your reaction to Lauren Jackson's choice as the flag bearer, perhaps in light of Natalie Cook’s comments that she would boycott the Opening Ceremony if there wasn't a woman?

I heard Natalie Cook's subsequent comments and I think she, like all Australians, is delighted that Lauren Jackson has been given this role. The important thing that is a fine Australian athlete - someone that we admire and can identify with, someone who we respect and are proud of - does this job and that certainly is a bill that Lauren eminently fits.

Did you break convention last week by talking Australia down during your overseas visit?

The short answer is no, I didn't. What I always do is put forward what I think is a clear and strong Australian position and my fundamental position is that we are a great country, an outstanding country. Our best days are absolutely ahead of us, but we are a great country let down by a bad government, and that's what I want to do: I want to change the government as quickly as I can and the Australian public need to know what they will get from a Coalition government and that is lower taxes, better services, stronger borders and modern infrastructure. Now, we have a message of hope and optimism and confidence for the Australian people. All we need to do is change the government and then this country yet again can be its best self.

 

Thank you.

 

[ends]