E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

MANDURAH

FRIDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2015

 

SUBJECT/S: Labor’s commitment to infrastructure in Canning; Dysfunction and Division in the Abbott Government; Canning by-election; Peter Dutton laughing at climate change; finals football

 

MATT KEOGH, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR CANNING: Hi everybody. We are here today at the Mandurah train station and bus interchange which is a great piece of infrastructure which was commissioned and built by Alannah MacTiernan when she was Minister for Planning and Infrastructure here in WA. It is a great Labor public transport piece of infrastructure. But what we have seen is an abandonment of this area and public transport investment by the Abbott and Barnett governments. Anyone who uses this train station knows that by 8am you cannot find a car park. And for many of our pensioners and seniors who want to able to use the trains after nine o’clock, it makes it very difficult for them to catch a train at all. People need to know that they can get access to public transport and of course, having a carpark that fills up is very difficult to do that.

 

Labor, unlike the Abbott Government, is committed to making public transport accessible to people in Canning and throughout Western Australia. Labor gets public transport. And that’s why I am really pleased today to be able to announce that a Federal Labor Government will commit and invest $10 million to add another 300 bays at this train station in Mandurah to be able to allow more people to use public transport, which is critical to reducing congestion on our roads and giving people access the jobs and training opportunities that they need.

 

I am now pleased to hand-over to Bill Shorten, who I am very pleased to have with me to make that announcement.

 

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: It’s great to be here, it’s my fourth visit to the West during the Canning by-election. It has been an invaluable opportunity, not only to talk about what Labor would do, but also hear what Western Australia wants.

 

One thing I have heard loud and clear is that with the mining boom easing off jobs are a big concern but not just for the people living in the Canning electorate, but right through Western Australia.

 

So today’s announcement that we would put forward $10 million to help build another 300 car parking spaces to help make sure that our roads line up with our rail is just part of Labor’s $180 million commitment that we have announced during this by-election to build vitally needed local infrastructure.

 

The reason why Labor has made this decision, and we will keep pushing this all the way to the general election, $180 million for the duplication of Armadale road, that’s $145million, $25 million working on Denny Road and of course, the $10 million that we are talking about here for the Mandurah train station car parking, is we want to see people in work.

 

Not only will this infrastructure help the liveability of these suburbs and communities but I just want people to be able to find a job after the mining boom. Our promises will deliver 1700 jobs according to local council research. I think, what is necessary now, as I understand that Mr. Abbott is making a lighting visit to Western Australia in the next 24 hours, I am asking Mr. Abbott and his Liberals to match Labor’s promises so that West Australians can be the winner.

 

Mr Abbott, I challenge you to fund the Armadale Road duplication, fund the necessary work on that lethal part of road on Denny Avenue and also Mandurah train station parking spaces so that people can catch the train into work, but also so that pensioners in the middle of the day can find a car space and they don’t have to be here at 8am to get a car park. This is part of Labor’s ongoing commitment to infrastructure in Western Australia, to jobs in Western Australia and to make sure the communities in Canning are even more liveable and have a better quality of life than they already do.

 

Happy to take questions.

 

JOURNALIST: Just in relation to reports today about the Prime Minister is considering a reshuffle of Cabinet including up to six ministers to be sacked. He has obviously denied that report. What are your thoughts on that?

 

SHORTEN: Well the report that appeared in the Daily Telegraph didn’t just come from nowhere. I treat that report in the Daily Telegraph almost as a Government press release. Clearly Mr. Abbott knows that he has deadwood in his Cabinet but what it has no done is sparked another bout of leadership speculation.

 

I think what we are seeing under Mr. Abbott’s Liberals, has become a Liberal version of the Hunger Games – Minister against Minister, leak against leak, MP against MP. And what is really unsettling about Mr Abbott’s Liberals Hunger Games is in the meantime, they aren’t focusing on the jobs of Australians and secure better jobs and more jobs for Western Australians.

 

JOURNALIST: How do you rate your chances? We are a week out until the poll – how do you rate Labor’s chances over the next week?

SHORTEN: I think Matt Keogh is an outstanding candidate and I think the more people who meet Matt Keogh, are more impressed Matt Keogh and Labor's case every day. He's a strong local candidate; Matt Keogh's been articulating policies which are in the best interests of the Canning electorate. He's already been a strong and determined advocate along with Alannah MacTiernan, and of course David Templeton, Mr Mandurah himself has been here advocating for the state point of view, for this car parking infrastructure. I think it will clearly be up to the voters but Labor has certainly, is certainly, and will be very determined to provide the best possible representation. Jobs in Canning, better healthcare, for better schools, to reverse the unfair cuts by the Abbott Government.

JOURNALIST: Do you think you're the underdog at this stage?

SHORTEN: Yes we would be the underdog. I think a 12 per cent swing is a big thing to achieve, but what I've discovered and I've just been talking with Alcoa workers, is that there is real concern about jobs. I'm obsessed about making sure that Australians can get jobs and keep jobs. I want to make sure that we have good liveable communities and safe communities. I think so far Labor’s run a good campaign, focused on what really matters to people who live in this electorate, as opposed to the internal infighting and leadership instability of Mr Abbott and his Liberal team in Canberra.

JOURNALIST: We're still hearing complaints from people that we talk to in the area that the Labor campaign's been to negative, it's been too focused on Tony Abbott. Do you think that could damage your chances next week?

SHORTEN: Well, first of all here we are yet again announcing positive developments for Canning. This $10 million announcement is support to be matched by the State to provide 300 extra carparks, that's just straightforward good news, as in the other measures we've announced for infrastructure and jobs in this electorate.

But it hasn’t just been that amount of positive promise we've made. We've also put forward a proper plan to tackle the scourge of ice by making sure that the services who treat the victims of ice and treat the addicts, that we can finally actually defeat the scourge of ice.

So I think Labor has been very positive but the truth of the matter is the Liberal Party is led by a man who they don't want to talk about. Mr Abbott has been a largely invisible presence physically, he doesn't even appear on their how to vote cards, yet at the same time the Liberals are desperate to talk about everything except the Prime Minister of Australia. The real problem is Mr Abbott is in charge of Australia; the real problem is Mr Abbott's Liberals who are causing such grief in terms of cuts to hospitals, cuts to schools, their $100,000 university degrees, their cuts to pensions and of course no plan for jobs.

JOURNALIST: Some vision has emerged of Minister Peter Dutton joking with Tony Abbott about rising sea levels in Pacific nations. How appropriate is that?

SHORTEN: It was a bad joke by a Minister who is a bad joke. But the fact that the Prime Minister's laughing along with it reminds me of Barack Obama, the United States President said: any leader who doesn't take climate change seriously is not fit to lead.

ALANNAH MACTIERNAN, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR PERTH: Can I just make one point, sorry one quick comment.  I think this announcement today from Bill and Matt, really highlights the difference between - a major difference between Labor and Liberal. Labor is absolutely committed to funding our rail infrastructure. We absolutely recognise that congestion is a huge issue in our city and we are prepared to come in and back state governments and fund rail infrastructure. And of course we know Tony Abbott has said he simply refuses to do it. This has been ruled out and WA is suffering as a result. We are going to reverse that.

JOURNALIST: Can we get you on one football issue Matt? Obviously there's a pretty - couple of big matches going on this weekend, who are you going to be backing the football?

KEOGH: I'm going to be backing West Coast against Hawthorn and I'm going to be backing the Fremantle Dockers. I'm really committed to making sure we have a derby grand final.

JOURNALIST: And generally speaking though are you an Eagles man?

KEOGH: I'm a very proud - I grew up, before the Dockers even existed I grew up as a West Coast fan and I'm a West Coast member and I'm very proud to support West Coast. But I’ll also be backing in the Dockers this weekend.

ENDS

 

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