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| Kevin Rudd rallies Labor for election fight at campaign launch | |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Kevin Rudd has tried to revive his faltering election campaign with tax breaks for small business, an effective takeover of funding for technical colleges and an appeal to Australians not to vote for Tony Abbott if they still have doubts about making the Coalition leader prime minister. | Kevin Rudd has tried to revive his faltering election campaign with tax breaks for small business, an effective takeover of funding for technical colleges and an appeal to Australians not to vote for Tony Abbott if they still have doubts about making the Coalition leader prime minister. |
| In a campaign launch aimed at steeling Labor to fight out the final campaign week despite all opinion polls pointing to a resounding defeat on 7 September, Rudd insisted to the party faithful at the Brisbane convention centre that all was not lost. | In a campaign launch aimed at steeling Labor to fight out the final campaign week despite all opinion polls pointing to a resounding defeat on 7 September, Rudd insisted to the party faithful at the Brisbane convention centre that all was not lost. |
| “To those who say that Mr Abbott has already won this election, I say this: never ever, ever underestimate the fighting spirit of the Australian Labor party. Never, ever, ever underestimate my fighting spirit as your prime minister,” Rudd said at the event attended by former prime ministers Hawke and Keating but not the woman he ousted as prime minister in June, Julia Gillard. | “To those who say that Mr Abbott has already won this election, I say this: never ever, ever underestimate the fighting spirit of the Australian Labor party. Never, ever, ever underestimate my fighting spirit as your prime minister,” Rudd said at the event attended by former prime ministers Hawke and Keating but not the woman he ousted as prime minister in June, Julia Gillard. |
| Rudd continued to insist the Coalition was hiding $70bn in spending cuts, despite the Coalition’s repeated denials. He presented the prospect of a Coalition government as a threat to jobs and school and hospital funding. | Rudd continued to insist the Coalition was hiding $70bn in spending cuts, despite the Coalition’s repeated denials. He presented the prospect of a Coalition government as a threat to jobs and school and hospital funding. |
| But in both Rudd’s launch speech and a rousing warm up by his deputy, Anthony Albanese, Labor broadened its attack from the allegation of hidden costings to Abbott’s character and the possibility that voters still harbour misapprehensions about the Coalition leader. | But in both Rudd’s launch speech and a rousing warm up by his deputy, Anthony Albanese, Labor broadened its attack from the allegation of hidden costings to Abbott’s character and the possibility that voters still harbour misapprehensions about the Coalition leader. |
| “If you are still feeling uneasy about voting for Mr Abbott, there is a good reason for that, because he’s asking for you to buy something sight unseen. You, the Australian people, have had a long time to get to know Mr Abbott after his 20 years in parliament – but if you still have doubts, don’t vote for him,” Rudd said. | “If you are still feeling uneasy about voting for Mr Abbott, there is a good reason for that, because he’s asking for you to buy something sight unseen. You, the Australian people, have had a long time to get to know Mr Abbott after his 20 years in parliament – but if you still have doubts, don’t vote for him,” Rudd said. |
| Albanese was more blunt. | Albanese was more blunt. |
| “If you want a bloke who can jump tyres vote for Tony Abbott, but if you want a bloke who can guide you through the next global financial crisis, vote for Kevin Rudd,” Albanese said, referring to Abbott’s campaign trail training routine with troops in Darwin. | “If you want a bloke who can jump tyres vote for Tony Abbott, but if you want a bloke who can guide you through the next global financial crisis, vote for Kevin Rudd,” Albanese said, referring to Abbott’s campaign trail training routine with troops in Darwin. |
| “No issue is too big for Tony Abbott to show exactly how small he is. He’s got something to offer if you want someone to join you on your morning run. But running the country? He’s just not up to it.” | “No issue is too big for Tony Abbott to show exactly how small he is. He’s got something to offer if you want someone to join you on your morning run. But running the country? He’s just not up to it.” |
| Rudd is under pressure to appeal to Labor’s blue-collar working-class base, which has drifted to Abbott. A Lonergan Guardian poll showed younger men were overrepresented in the almost 1m voters saying they had voted Labor in 2010 but would vote for the Coalition in 2013, but that those switching were not doing so with enthusiasm or conviction. | Rudd is under pressure to appeal to Labor’s blue-collar working-class base, which has drifted to Abbott. A Lonergan Guardian poll showed younger men were overrepresented in the almost 1m voters saying they had voted Labor in 2010 but would vote for the Coalition in 2013, but that those switching were not doing so with enthusiasm or conviction. |
| Policies announced in Rudd’s launch speech targeted this base and small business owners and included: | Policies announced in Rudd’s launch speech targeted this base and small business owners and included: |
| • A boost to the instant asset write-off for small business from the already increased $6,500 to $10,000 for two years from next Sunday. The measure would cost $200m, and accentuates the difference with the Coalition, which has promised to cut the existing $6,500 write-off back to $1,000 to save $2.9bn. Labor has made an appeal to the traditional Coalition-supporting small business constituency a feature of its campaign, and Labor candidates said they thought the measure – which allows businesses to write off the cost of equipment against their tax liability – was a vote winner. | • A boost to the instant asset write-off for small business from the already increased $6,500 to $10,000 for two years from next Sunday. The measure would cost $200m, and accentuates the difference with the Coalition, which has promised to cut the existing $6,500 write-off back to $1,000 to save $2.9bn. Labor has made an appeal to the traditional Coalition-supporting small business constituency a feature of its campaign, and Labor candidates said they thought the measure – which allows businesses to write off the cost of equipment against their tax liability – was a vote winner. |
| • Legislation to require all projects worth $300m or more to develop plans to buy goods and equipment from Australian companies, which Rudd claimed would result in “up to” $624m in extra work for Australian industry each year. | • Legislation to require all projects worth $300m or more to develop plans to buy goods and equipment from Australian companies, which Rudd claimed would result in “up to” $624m in extra work for Australian industry each year. |
| • An extra $34.1m to increase payments for apprentices who complete their training to buy tools – with payments for each apprentice rising from $1,500 to $2,000. | • An extra $34.1m to increase payments for apprentices who complete their training to buy tools – with payments for each apprentice rising from $1,500 to $2,000. |
| • A new body to join the employment services system and training system, called Jobs and Training Australia. | • A new body to join the employment services system and training system, called Jobs and Training Australia. |
| He also promised a re-elected federal Labor government would “take on” state governments – including Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland – that have been cutting funding to Tafe colleges while commonwealth funds have been increasing. | He also promised a re-elected federal Labor government would “take on” state governments – including Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland – that have been cutting funding to Tafe colleges while commonwealth funds have been increasing. |
| Rudd said Labor would require state governments to provide steady funding – indexed for inflation – as part of a federal/state agreement on Tafe colleges. | Rudd said Labor would require state governments to provide steady funding – indexed for inflation – as part of a federal/state agreement on Tafe colleges. |
| If they did not, of if they cut state contributions, the commonwealth would bypass them and provide money directly to colleges, and from 2015 would move to take over Tafe funding altogether. | If they did not, of if they cut state contributions, the commonwealth would bypass them and provide money directly to colleges, and from 2015 would move to take over Tafe funding altogether. |
| “I will simply not stand idly by and continue to hand over commonwealth funds to state governments to run Tafe colleges while those state governments cut their own Tafe funding,” Rudd said. | “I will simply not stand idly by and continue to hand over commonwealth funds to state governments to run Tafe colleges while those state governments cut their own Tafe funding,” Rudd said. |
| The Coalition education spokesman, Christopher Pyne, said the move was a threat of “command and control” from federal Labor. | The Coalition education spokesman, Christopher Pyne, said the move was a threat of “command and control” from federal Labor. |
| Rudd was introduced by his wife, Therese Rein, who reminded voters of his personal story: that he had grown up on a dairy farm and “carries his country boy smile everywhere with him”, that he would never forget sleeping in a car when his mother struggled to find a job after the death of his father and that he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. (Rudd was joined on stage at the conclusion of his speech by Rein, his three children, his son-in-law and his granddaughter, Josephine.) | Rudd was introduced by his wife, Therese Rein, who reminded voters of his personal story: that he had grown up on a dairy farm and “carries his country boy smile everywhere with him”, that he would never forget sleeping in a car when his mother struggled to find a job after the death of his father and that he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. (Rudd was joined on stage at the conclusion of his speech by Rein, his three children, his son-in-law and his granddaughter, Josephine.) |
| The Coalition attacked the launch announcements by pointing out promises made at previous launches that had not been delivered. | The Coalition attacked the launch announcements by pointing out promises made at previous launches that had not been delivered. |
| Pyne pointed out Labor had promised 2,650 trades training schools in 2007, but had delivered only 252. | Pyne pointed out Labor had promised 2,650 trades training schools in 2007, but had delivered only 252. |
| Rudd mentioned Gillard’s achievement in getting agreement on DisabilityCare, in a list of great social reforms achieved by previous Labor leaders, to cheers from the crowd. Former treasurer Wayne Swan attended the launch. While Rudd lauded Labor’s economic management during the financial crisis, Swan, who was his treasurer at the time, was not mentioned. | Rudd mentioned Gillard’s achievement in getting agreement on DisabilityCare, in a list of great social reforms achieved by previous Labor leaders, to cheers from the crowd. Former treasurer Wayne Swan attended the launch. While Rudd lauded Labor’s economic management during the financial crisis, Swan, who was his treasurer at the time, was not mentioned. |
| Rudd sought to paint modern Labor as part of a great tradition of social reform, but he also referred, without detail, to Labor’s “mistakes” and the fact that it had not always “got it right”. | Rudd sought to paint modern Labor as part of a great tradition of social reform, but he also referred, without detail, to Labor’s “mistakes” and the fact that it had not always “got it right”. |
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