It has been a busy week with our campaign launch in Brisbane, the establishment of a new Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, a debate at the National Press Club with Peter Garrett and important local announcements including $110,000 for a notorious road blackspot in Paddington.
On Monday I travelled to Brisbane to attend the Liberal Party launch where the Prime Minister announced the Coalition Government’s plans for the future.
Among the key policies from the Coalition is its pledge to help families with initiatives in child care and education, provide more support for carers, and help young Australians to buy their own home.
With only two weeks until the election, Australians will be thinking carefully about the value of their vote. This election is about Australia’s future and the future of our beautiful area here in the eastern suburbs.
It’s about the leadership Australia needs right now to stay strong, prosperous and secure. It’s about knowing which team has the experience to further expand Australia’s prosperity and to weather the economic storm clouds on the horizon. And it’s about governing in the national interest, rewarding hard work and ensuring that everyone gets a fair share.
For the past three years I have been privileged to represent the people of Wentworth. With your support on 24 November I hope to be able to continue working hard to be a voice in federal parliament for our Wentworth community.
Support for families
I am proud to be a member of the Coalition Government which has pledged to provide more support for families. Unveiling the Coalition’s plans for the future at Monday’s campaign launch, the Prime Minister outlined several key policy initiatives. If re-elected, the Coalition will make more child care places available and pay the child care rebate up-front, provide more support for carers, offer school fees rebates, and give tax breaks on savings accounts for first-time home buyers.
Better child care for families
The Coalition recognises that families are seeking to take advantage of the employment opportunities provided by our strong and growing national economy. The Coalition also recognises families need support to balance their family and work commitments.
From April 2008, a re-elected Coalition Government will pay the 30 per cent Child Care Tax Rebate directly to child care services so that they can pass on this benefit to parents immediately, when they need it most. This will have the effect of cutting by 30 per cent the amount parents have to pay upfront to their child care service each week. The Coalition will also make more places available and invest up to $1 million to help build child care facilities in areas of greatest need.
School fees rebate
The Coalition believes that Australian children deserve the best possible start in life. We believe that the values and habits children learn early are the ones they take with them throughout their life. Parents have the greatest responsibility for choosing how children start and proceed through their early years and schooling.
A re-elected Coalition Government will introduce a new tax rebate for education expenses, including school fees. The rebate will apply to every student, beginning from pre-school until the end of secondary school. Parents will be refunded $400 annually for each child at primary or pre-school and they'll be refunded up to $800 annually for each secondary school student. The rebate will apply to a wide range of education expenses including laptops and broadband connections, school fees, text books, uniforms, and school camps and excursions.
Home ownership pledge
Home ownership is part of the great Australian dream. The Coalition is committed to giving young Australians the opportunity to fulfill this dream. A re-elected Coalition Government will introduce from 2008/09 home savings accounts for all Australians who have yet to own their first home.
All interest and earnings from these accounts will be tax-free. Contributions of up to $1000 will be tax deductible. The $1000 tax deduction (in aggregate) is available to the account holder where he or she is over 18 and to parents and grandparents where the account holder is under 18 years of age.
Up to $1000 a year can be contributed to a savings account held for a person under 18, and over that age up to $10,000 a year can be contributed.
This is a comprehensive plan to make home ownership affordable for young Australians by boosting their capacity to save for a home.
More support for carers
Carers are critical to enabling older Australians and people with disabilities to remain living independently at home and in their communities. The Coalition recognises that carers of older Australians and people with disabilities shoulder a heavy burden, both financially and emotionally. We also recognise that carers need a break from their caring role.
A re-elected Coalition Government will provide an additional 120,000 individual days of respite and an additional 10,000 weeks of round the clock respite per year at a cost of $223.5 million over five years. The plan also includes extending the $500 per year Utilities Allowance to all those who receive a Carer Payment, and providing 800,000 home visits by practice nurses for those in care.
New facility to research climate change adaptation
On Tuesday I announced that the as part of our Climate Change Adaptation Centre, we would establish, under the leadership of Griffith University in SE Queensland, a Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. A consortium of universities and other climate research agencies will be responsible for assisting us co-ordinate and direct research into the management of and adaptation to climate change.
While the research will be nationwide, and part of the funding will be focussed on strengthening research networks around Australia, SE Queensland is a particular hot spot for climate change impacts given its real problems with water scarcity and with long, sandy coastlines, there are real management issues associated with rising sea levels.
Governments at all levels need to ensure that they have the best science in an actionable form on which to base decisions and the new research facility should ensure this occurs.
While we work locally and internationally to mitigate climate change - by reducing greenhouse gas emissions - we need strategies to adapt to those symptoms of global warming which cannot be avoided. Our National Plan for Water Security is a good example of practical adaptation as indeed are our programmes for ensuring the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.
Australia’s
Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility will be established at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, to provide national leadership on climate change analysis and strategies. I was delighted to announce this funding when I visited the Gold Coast campus on Tuesday.
This world-class research facility will lead new research into climate change that affects our economy, environment and way of life to determine practical solutions to climate change in Australia. It will have a lead role in helping government, industry and community decision makers manage the risks of climate change.
The Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility is part of the Coalition Government’s $170 million commitment for climate change, including $44 million to the CSIRO for improved climate analysis to help with future planning.
The Coalition Government is committed to a Climate Clever Australia and this $126 million centre is just another step towards determining practical ways to tackle climate change head-on.
Community Water Grants in south east Qld
While I was in south east Queensland early this week, I visited several new water wise projects funded under the Coalition’s successful Community Water Grants programme. A bowling club on the Gold Coast, a school in Brisbane and a showground near Ipswich are among the latest projects I inspected where local communities are working together to protect our precious water resources.
Each project aims to save water, recycle water and/or improve water quality to better manage community water supply which will have many benefits, not only for the grant recipients but for the local environment also.
I am very pleased to support these practical, community based projects that will save a lot of water, particularly given south east Queensland is on Level 5 water restrictions and the country is in the grip of one of the worst droughts in history.
The Community Water Grants programme is part of the $2 billion Australian Government Water Fund – established by the Coalition in 2004. In the last Budget the Coalition committed an additional $200 million to the Community Water Grants programme.
Without a strong economy and an experienced and solid Coalition leadership team in Government, these projects would not be funded or possible.
Remembrance Day
Wentworth residents young and old stood side by side at Remembrance Day services across the eastern suburbs as they fell silent to honour those who served.
Last Sunday I enjoyed the privilege of catching up with local diggers at Remembrance Day services and activities in our area. I said a few words at the Rose Bay RSL service and had lunch with many of our veterans at the Paddington RSL.
It was a good day to reflect on our wartime heritage and pay respects to our local ex-servicemen and women. It was also a day to remember those who continue to serve Australia in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We especially honour Trooper David Pearce and Sergeant Matthew Locke whose recent deaths in Afghanistan are a reminder of the great risks our servicemen and women take to defend our freedoms.
Read more about Remembrance Day here
90th anniversary for Waverley/Bondi Junction RSL
And thank you to the veterans at the Waverley/Bondi Junction RSL who last week invited me to join them to help celebrate the 90th anniversary of the NSW Branch of the RSL.
Hearty congratulations to all veterans in Wentworth and across NSW!
The RSL of Australia celebrated its 90th anniversary last year, but the NSW branch didn’t join the national league until 1917, hence the anniversary in 2007 as they enter their ninth decade.
We are fortunate to have so many fine veterans in our local, and to have such a historic military presence in Wentworth.
Interest rates
Last week’s announcement about interest rates was widely anticipated. None of us likes interest rate rises. But managing the economy is never easy.
Our economy is experiencing increasing external pressures, particularly drought, oil prices and inflation from the general strength of the economy. The Coalition’s commitment is to protect Australia and our way of life against these pressures.
While last week’s adjustment to the interest rate is not welcome, it is a far cry from the notorious peak of 17% under Labor. It is still lower than any time under Labor and is close to 2 percent lower than the rate the Coalition inherited from the Hawke-Keating Government in 1996.
With some possible storm clouds ahead for the international economy, now is not the time to replace an experienced Government with an inexperienced one.
Only the Coalition Government can be trusted to keep working hard to ensure interest rates will remain lower than under Labor.
Maintaining a strong economy
Despite last week’s interest rate rise, inflation has halved and interest rates have been consistently lower since the Coalition Government was elected in 1996.
The Coalition has a proven track record of delivering security for Australia and opportunity and prosperity for Australians.
Between 1996 and 2006, Australia’s economic growth (that is, the increase in goods and services we produce each year, or GDP) has increased on average by 3.6% per year, compared to 3.2% for the USA, 2.8% for the UK, 2.2% for Europe and 1.2% for Japan.
With the level of industrial disputes at the lowest level on record, unemployment is at the lowest level for 33 years. Since 1996, average wages have increased 21.5% over and above inflation (cost of living).
Having repaid Labor’s $96 billion debt, we are now saving $8.8 billion in debt interest a year. This allows much greater investment in important priorities like defence, health, education, roads and the environment.
There’s a lot more to do and the Coalition Government is embarking on a number of bold new initiatives to help secure our future and make the best country in the world even better.
But with challenges from an ageing population, global competition, potential economic shocks, instability in the region, the threat from terrorism and the need to ensure a sustainable environment, Australia cannot take our economic strength for granted. Achieving our potential as a nation, solving problems that arise and ensuring the next generation have the opportunities they deserve all depends on a strong economy.
This is not something that happens by chance.
Managing Australia’s $1.1 trillion economy requires discipline, focus, experience and a willingness to take tough decisions.
A Labor-Union government would put at risk all that has been achieved in recent years.
Environment debate: Labor soft on climate change
Last Thursday I had an opportunity to outline my future vision for a sustainable Australia through measures such as clean energy, emissions trading and through revolutionising the use of water in rural areas.
I debated these important issues at the National Press Club with Labor’s environment spokesman Peter Garrett.
Over the past decade, the Coalition has invested in a comprehensive plan to secure sustainable energy and protect our water resources and address climate change. This is being achieved nationally and internationally by investing in our future.
During the debate I had an opportunity to outline some of the Coalition’s key environmental achievements:
- Australia will meet its 108% Kyoto emissions target
- Establish the world’s most comprehensive emissions trading scheme
- Establish a Climate Change Fund
- Over $1 billion to support clean energy
- Working with other countries to reduce global emissions
- Helping industry and communities reduce emissions
- Helping Australia adjust to the impact of climate change
- $10 billion National Plan for Water Security
The debate exposed many of Labor's weaknesses in the environment and revealed Labor as soft on climate change. It also exposed Peter Garrett's lack of personal commitment to the environmental policies his party is promoting. Mr Garrett has had to recant several statements in recent weeks and he has shown that Labor cannot be trusted by admitting that “once we get in we’ll just change it all."
As Australia moves towards a greener future, it is vital that economic responsibilities are taken into account.
The upcoming meetings of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali are of vital importance to the world. It is there we hope to build a new global agreement on climate change, including all the major emitters for the first time, which will be able to achieve a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by mid century.
However, as I pointed out in the debate, each country will be seeking its own advantage and it is vital that Australia be represented by tough and skilful negotiators.
"The next stage of the climate change negotiations are not going to be easy…And if Peter Garrett is representing Australia in Bali…each one of those countries will know that Peter in his heart does not believe that China, that India, that the developing economies with which so many of our industries compete, should be obliged to cut their emissions.
They will see a Labor Government as a soft touch, somebody to take advantage of, to our great disadvantage.
This negotiation is not for the soft, it's not for the fainthearted. It has to be conducted realistically. It has to be conducted in a tough fashion, defending Australia, ensuring that we get the result we need for the world and protecting the industries and the economy upon which we depend. And we will deliver that. With our experience, with our commitment, we will deliver the right outcome for the world; environmentally effective and economically safe for Australia."
The Coalition has a $10 billion National Plan for Water Security but Australia’s sustainable water supply will be jeopardised by a lack of reinvestment by state governments into the necessary infrastructure. Our big cities can have all the water they need, but they need to invest.
“…And when I heard Peter today, I failed to hear anything about water. I failed to hear any plan for securing the water supplies of Australia's cities; any contemplation of securing the water efficiency, the viability of Australian agriculture.
Water also needs leadership, sound management, tough decisions taken pragmatically and with a vision and a commitment for a sustainable future. We've demonstrated we can do that and, with the support of the Australian people at the election, we will do it in the years ahead.”
Labor has a target of a 60 per cent cut in emissions by 2050 but it is not costed. This is another example of Labor’s unrealistic, impractical and economically irresponsible policy making.
Locally, I have secured $2.2 million in Coalition funding for environmental projects across Wentworth, such as Community Water Grants for schools and community groups, Envirofund grants for local surf clubs and Coastcare groups, Photovoltaic Rebate Programme, Green School Vouchers, and Local Greenhouse Action.
For clips of the debate click
here
Securing water supplies in regional NSW
Last week I travelled to Bathurst to announce the Coalition’s plans to secure water supplies in the Central West of New South Wales. If re-elected, the Coalition will invest $7.3 million to deliver significant wastewater recycling initiatives for Lithgow and Oberon.
Local MP Kerry Bartlett took me to inspect Oberon Dam, which is below 20 per cent capacity. A re-elected Coalition Government will commit to projects that will recycle and reuse treated waste water. This will help relieve pressure on the drought-stressed Fish River and will improve supply security for all water users and the environment.
Important Reforms for gay and lesbian community
Another debate in which I participated last week was hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Business Association in Double Bay. I was invited along with Labor MP Tanya Plibersek and Greens Senator Kerry Nettle to discuss issues affecting the gay and lesbian community, and general economic issues affecting business. After dinner we were quizzed by the audience on a range of matters.
This dinner was a great opportunity to hear the views of the gay community and to become better informed about issues facing the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) community.
I have always believed that every person is entitled to equal treatment and respect under the law and so have opposed all forms of discrimination – including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
While some important reforms to superannuation have been made, there remain a number of legal and financial rights available to heterosexual couples which are not available to same-sex couples. That is not fair and since my election I have sought to address and overcome this discrimination.
That’s why I was pleased to announce that a re-elected Coalition Government
will extend eligibility to interdependent couples, including same-sex couples, to ensure they are eligible for death benefits under the Australian Government’s defined benefit superannuation schemes.
These changes will bring the Government’s defined benefit schemes in line with reforms initiated by the Government to other superannuation schemes in 2004.
The commitment covers military, parliamentary, judicial and federal public servants on defined benefit schemes, extending the death benefits to nominated interdependent partners.
Driving safer roads for Paddington
A dangerous intersection in Paddington will become safer for local motorists, thanks to a $110,000 funding commitment from the Coalition Government.
Local residents and motorists have raised concerns with me about traffic hazards at the intersection of Glenmore Road, Cascade and Hapden Streets. I caught up with a group of concerned citizens last week to inspect this dangerous intersection.
A roundabout at this intersection was removed following the opening of the Cross City Tunnel but it has now become a dangerous traffic blackspot. It is an accident waiting to happen.
I share the concerns of local motorists so that’s why I have committed $110,000 from the Coalition’s Strategic Roads funding to fix this dangerous intersection.
Read more about this announcement
here
Marina development proposal, Rose Bay
Rose Bay is the largest bay on the most beautiful harbour in the world. It has a special character and we want to preserve it.
The NSW State Labor Government, as the landowner, has given consent to a marina redevelopment which would change the character of Rose Bay, introducing huge mega-yachts to replace the smaller boats on swing moorings.
Understandably, there has been growing community concern over past months about this proposed redevelopment.
I made my opposition to the development known publicly in August. In fact I was the first local politician, State or Federal, to do so. The attempt by the Labor candidate in Wentworth to portray himself as opposed to the marina flies in the face of the fact that it is his Labor mates and mentors in Macquarie Street - Roozendaal, Tripodi, Sartor - who have given the greenlight to the development and who have the power to withdraw their consent and stop it.
I share the concerns of local residents and will continue to stand up to State Labor and fight to stop the mega marina development before Woollahra Council.
Our Big Kitchen
I enjoyed my recent visit to the Yeshiva Centre in Bondi to announce a $100,000 funding commitment from the Coalition to help Our Big Kitchen in Flood Street to continue its important work preparing meals for needy families in our area.
Our Big Kitchen at the Yeshiva Centre in Bondi is a fully functioning commercial kitchen where local charities and volunteers can store, prepare and serve meals to help feed hungry people in the community.
Rabbi Dovid Slavin and his team of volunteers and local charitable organisations should be congratulated for opening the door of hope for people in need by welcoming them to eat at Our Big Kitchen or delivering a meal to their homes.
Sacred Heart nuns honoured at Kincoppal Rose Bay
On Saturday I was invited to a special dinner to celebrate 125 years of Sacred Heart education in Australia and Kincoppal Rose Bay School.
Current and past families, alumnae and friends of the school, including teachers and members of the Society, enjoyed a delightful dinner at the Sydney Hilton.
The 125th anniversary event honoured two members of the Sacred Heart Society, Sister Anne McGrath rscj, and Sister Margaret McKay rscj.
I was delighted to pay tribute to them and propose a toast.
Yours sincerely,
Malcolm Turnbull