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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2016/jun/13/qa-live-blog-bill-shorten-takes-questions-from-the-audience-solo
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Q&A live blog: Bill Shorten takes questions from the audience, solo | Q&A live blog: Bill Shorten takes questions from the audience, solo |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.51pm BST | |
| 12:51 | |
| Oh dear, David is worried about vociferous minorities and fallacious, unfounded and false justifications from the Gillard period. | |
| Bill Shorten doesn’t agree with David’s characterisations. He gets a clap from the audience for the mild smack down. | |
| The Labor leader would like to run through Labor’s spending proposals. It looks like a long list to Tony Jones, he’d like him to keep it brief. Shorten says slightly crisply that he’ll be factual. | |
| The questioner thinks that Bill Shorten’s words are hollow. | |
| The Labor leader says this: | |
| That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. What I’ll say to you back is this: money spent on making sure children have got the best resources in schools is an investment for the future. Money spent on the National Disability Insurance Scheme is more efficient than that broken system where crisis is the only way resources get allocated. | |
| This debate about spending has to be seen in the context of what this election is about. It’s about choices. | |
| 12.47pm BST | |
| 12:47 | |
| Bill Shorten opens with the mass shooting in Orlando. He wants to acknowledge the particular pain and upset which members of the Australian LGBTI community might be feeling. Then, some generalities about equality. | |
| Then what host Tony Jones describes as a serious political question. | |
| Q: I want to know how a Shorten government would spend more yet save more at the same time? | |
| Shorten says Labor will return to budget balance at the same time as the Coalition. | |
| Jones intervenes. He wants a straight answer about Labor’s position over the forward estimates. | |
| Bill Shorten: | |
| We will not reduce the deficit as fast as the government in the first three years because they’re relying on cuts which are fake and bogus. That’s a straight answer. | |
| The questioner wants to know what the savings are. | |
| Shorten goes through the various savings proposals. Multinational tax, super concessions. | |
| We have a very clear plan and we will stick to it. | |
| Jones intervenes again. When do we see your costings? | |
| Bill Shorten says well before the advertising moratorium, after Labor has finished outlining its policies, which he signals is the end of this week. | |
| 12.40pm BST | |
| 12:40 | |
| Bill Shorten takes questions from the audience in Penrith | |
| Labor will launch its campaign in Penrith this coming weekend and the broadcast tonight is from that western Sydney suburb. The crowd looks friendly. Appearances of course can be deceptive. Bill Shorten is smiling. | |
| The first question is about scripting in campaigns. Could the Labor leader try being less scripted? | |
| Bill Shorten: | |
| Let me try going off script. | |
| 12.35pm BST | |
| 12:35 | |
| Last beverage check, Q&A will be underway very shortly. | |
| 12.30pm BST | |
| 12:30 | |
| I hope folks are watching tonight’s Media Watch. It’s a realistic diagnosis of my industry’s problems. A perfect storm is one way to describe it. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.45pm BST | |
| 12.27pm BST | |
| 12:27 | |
| #qanda Penrith style! pic.twitter.com/mxHg9HPDER | |
| 12.13pm BST | 12.13pm BST |
| 12:13 | 12:13 |
| A reminder to book your tickets! | A reminder to book your tickets! |
| Just while we’ve got time, a reminder about our live election panel discussions over the next fortnight. My colleague Lenore Taylor and I will be hosting a panel discussion in Sydney this Wednesday evening, 15 June, on the theme of fairness. | Just while we’ve got time, a reminder about our live election panel discussions over the next fortnight. My colleague Lenore Taylor and I will be hosting a panel discussion in Sydney this Wednesday evening, 15 June, on the theme of fairness. |
| We’ll be joined by Tanya Plibersek, deputy leader of the opposition and shadow minister for foreign affairs and international development, Trent Zimmerman, the Liberal MP for North Sydney (Joe Hockey’s successor) and Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of Australian Council of Social Service. What does “fair” policy look like? Is fairness more important than ever in the Australian political debate? | We’ll be joined by Tanya Plibersek, deputy leader of the opposition and shadow minister for foreign affairs and international development, Trent Zimmerman, the Liberal MP for North Sydney (Joe Hockey’s successor) and Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of Australian Council of Social Service. What does “fair” policy look like? Is fairness more important than ever in the Australian political debate? |
| Our Melbourne discussion on Tuesday June 21, presented with the Coopers Malthouse Theatre, will focus on the economy. We will be joined by author and journalist George Megalogenis, Christian Porter, the social services minister and former WA treasurer, and Jenny Macklin, shadow minister for families. We’ll be considering an economy in transition and the two economic alternatives being presented by the Coalition and Labor in this campaign. | Our Melbourne discussion on Tuesday June 21, presented with the Coopers Malthouse Theatre, will focus on the economy. We will be joined by author and journalist George Megalogenis, Christian Porter, the social services minister and former WA treasurer, and Jenny Macklin, shadow minister for families. We’ll be considering an economy in transition and the two economic alternatives being presented by the Coalition and Labor in this campaign. |
| This link has all the information you need to reserve your place for either event. | This link has all the information you need to reserve your place for either event. |
| We look forward to seeing you there. | We look forward to seeing you there. |
| 11.57am BST | 11.57am BST |
| 11:57 | 11:57 |
| Fancy meeting you here | Fancy meeting you here |
| Hello good people and welcome to Monday night on Politics Live. Thanks very much for joining me. I thought it would be fun to come together for a live call of the Labor leader Bill Shorten’s solo appearance on Q&A this evening, which kicks off at 9.30pm on the ABC. | Hello good people and welcome to Monday night on Politics Live. Thanks very much for joining me. I thought it would be fun to come together for a live call of the Labor leader Bill Shorten’s solo appearance on Q&A this evening, which kicks off at 9.30pm on the ABC. |
| Why? Well, two reasons. | Why? Well, two reasons. |
| I know there are a bunch of political tragics who count down the hours until they can shout in unison at the television during Q&A on Monday nights. You know who you are. I tip my hat to that level of dedication, which leads me to the second imperative. There are another bunch of political tragics who would rather punch themselves in the head than waste an hour of their lives watching the ego-saturated talking points sass fest that is Q&A. You know who you are. I might even count myself among your number. | I know there are a bunch of political tragics who count down the hours until they can shout in unison at the television during Q&A on Monday nights. You know who you are. I tip my hat to that level of dedication, which leads me to the second imperative. There are another bunch of political tragics who would rather punch themselves in the head than waste an hour of their lives watching the ego-saturated talking points sass fest that is Q&A. You know who you are. I might even count myself among your number. |
| So you can consider tonight’s live call a public service to both camps. If you are in tribe A then the beauty of tonight is we can all come together and bellow in unison. We may even succeed in raising the #ausvotes roof if we try hard enough, which is an aspiration worth shooting for. But if you are firmly in tribe B then I can take the hit of watching Q&A and keep you updated on your smart phone or your tablet or your laptop, and you can maintain your Q&A ban. Call it passive consumption. Win-win people. Who says there are no win-wins in Australian politics? A pessimist, that’s who, and that’s a self indulgence no-one can afford in an eight week campaign. | So you can consider tonight’s live call a public service to both camps. If you are in tribe A then the beauty of tonight is we can all come together and bellow in unison. We may even succeed in raising the #ausvotes roof if we try hard enough, which is an aspiration worth shooting for. But if you are firmly in tribe B then I can take the hit of watching Q&A and keep you updated on your smart phone or your tablet or your laptop, and you can maintain your Q&A ban. Call it passive consumption. Win-win people. Who says there are no win-wins in Australian politics? A pessimist, that’s who, and that’s a self indulgence no-one can afford in an eight week campaign. |
| Anyway that’s the why of tonight. In the event you declined to consume the campaign today, opting instead to make a short investment in winter sunshine, loved ones, or, if you were in a state without a public holiday today, work, here’s the fastest means of catch up. My colleague Calla Wahlquist has documented the day on the hustings here. To summarise, the campaign day was Great Barrier Reef for the Coalition and the NBN for Labor. | Anyway that’s the why of tonight. In the event you declined to consume the campaign today, opting instead to make a short investment in winter sunshine, loved ones, or, if you were in a state without a public holiday today, work, here’s the fastest means of catch up. My colleague Calla Wahlquist has documented the day on the hustings here. To summarise, the campaign day was Great Barrier Reef for the Coalition and the NBN for Labor. |
| Let’s crack on with tonight’s coverage. The comments thread is open for your business. If the thread’s too bracing for you, feel free to give me a shout on Twitter: I’m @murpharoo. If you only speak Facebook you can join my daily politics forum here. It’s very polite over there. And if you want a behind-the-scenes look at the day and the campaign as a whole, give Mike Bowers a follow on Instagram. You can find him here. Here’s a sample from today. | |
| Now, lubricate the vocal cords. Here comes Monday night. | Now, lubricate the vocal cords. Here comes Monday night. |
| Updated | |
| at 12.36pm BST |