Liberal Messages

Turnbull interview with Lyndal Curtis (ABC Radio) - Employment, fiscal stimulus, Government special purpose vehicle for the banks
Well the experience Lyndal from around the world is, and particularly from America, is that long term tax cuts, if you like, long term benefits are more likely to be invested, they provide incentives, they provide incentives to employ people, to build up businesses. They provide long term confidence. One-off payments tend to be saved or used to pay down debt.

Labor on job cuts: at the front of the pack
Kevin Rudd has pleaded for businesses to refrain from laying off staff during the economic downturn.Yet his Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner does not believe such restraint should apply to the public service, and is intent on wielding his ‘meat axe’, forcing more Australians onto the dole queue.

Public confidence in Labor broadband hits rock bottom
Confirmation today that Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will not be disclosing any details from his expert panel report on bids for a National Broadband Network illustrates that this process will remain veiled in secrecy.

Thousands miss out, thanks to Rudd
The evidence is in that the Rudd Government’s ideology-fuelled decision to abolish full-fee paying domestic places is hurting universities and prospective students.

Australians will not tolerate views of Muslim cleric
Sophie Mirabella MP has labelled comments from Melbourne Muslim Cleric Abu Hamza as “utterly unacceptable in the 21st Century.

Rudd Government policy leads to less university places
The Rudd Government’s illogical axing of full-fee paying domestic students from universities has resulted in fewer places for Australian students despite a rise in applications for tertiary studies.

Bligh continues to bury mining jobs
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s claims to be concerned about jobs in the resources sector have a distinctly hollow ring to them, given her Government is deliberately standing in the way of the development of uranium mining in Queensland.

Rudd's whale diplomacy a 'varied and wondrous beast'
Kevin Rudd today confirmed he’d completely changed his tune on action to prevent whaling.

Coalition welcomes Hillary Clinton as US Secretary of State
The confirmation of Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State to the United States of America is a distinguished addition to the incoming Obama Administration, and the Coalition welcomes her warmly to this role.

Turnbull Doorstop Interview - Nancy-Bird Walton, President Obama, jobs, Harry Nicolaides
Barack Obama says America is ready to lead. Well the world is ready to listen to Barack Obama, to look to him for the vision that he is offering the world. He offers real hope to the world and real energy, and certainly we in the Coalition welcome his election, his inauguration as President of the United States, and we look forward to the bonds between Australia and the United States being stronger then ever under his Presidency.

Over-time gap in National security
Australian Federal Police are being removed from investigations and sent home because of insufficient funding available to pay them over-time, as reported in The Australian today.

Villers Bretonneux interpretive centre
The Rudd Government’s decision to cancel the construction of an Interpretive Centre outside of Villers‐Bretonneux could have significant ramifications to how Australians commemorate the sacrifices made on the Western Front during he First World War.

Regional motorists deserve answers on LPG
What we need from the ACCC is either decisive action to end the price disparity on LPG and diesel or a convincing explanation why regional motorists are paying far more than motorists in the cities.

Appointment of Mark Coulton as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation
I am pleased to announce that Mr Mark Coulton, Member for Parkes, will join the Coalition’s frontbench team as the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation.

$793 million defence project goes to Public Works Committee
The Parliamentary Public Works committee will tomorrow begin consideration on $793 million worth of new facilities proposed by defence.

Turnbull Doorstop Interview - Gerry Harvey's comments, economic management, Newspoll
Every element, every aspect of government policy must be directed on preserving and promoting employment. Discipline is vital. Tax payers’ money is not infinite. The Government cannot use its desire to run into a deficit as an easy way out – that should be a last resort.

Diesel pricing must be investigated
Warren Truss, has written to the Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Graeme Samuel requesting an immediate investigation into the retail price of diesel.

Time's up Mr Garrett as 76 more jobs set to go on Australia Day
Xstrata Zinc Australia last night advised me that Mr Garrett's continued failure to make a decision on the McArthur River Mine will directly lead to the closure of the mine on Australia Day and the loss of 76 Australian jobs.

Labor should release expert panel's broadband report
The expert panel report and recommendations on proposals for Labor’s delayed National Broadband Network (NBN) project is due tomorrow (Wednesday, 21 January) and should be made public.

Turnbull interview with Sonia Kruger & Todd McKenney (Mix 106.5)- Christmas, Australian economy
Australia deserves a prime minister that’s prepared to make strong, tough decisions in Australia’s interest. The big priorities, as I said earlier, this year and every year really, but particularly this year, are jobs, jobs, jobs. That requires strong leadership. It needs a prime minister who is not going to blame everything on the rest of the world, who is not going to pretend that he inherited a terrible economic situation from the Coalition government – that’s what Kevin Rudd was saying last year. He talked up inflation, talked up interest rates, made our economy worse. What we need is real action, real ideas, imagination, vision. That’s the way forward for Australia.

Roxon responsible for higher premium increases
The Health Minister’s feigned indignation at the prospect of higher health insurance premium increases is offensive to the ten million Australians with private health insurance.

Don't look to the public sector for job security...
Kevin Rudd has today called on employers to refrain from sacking staff as a result of the economic downturn. Will the Prime Minister give the same commitment to protect the job security of public servants as he is asking of private employers?

Government fails to address licensing issues
Minister Gillard’s response has been to handball the problem by saying that licensing is a State responsibility. This is the blame game at its very worst!

Turnbull Joint Press Release with MacFarlane - Rudd's clean coal sham
The Rudd Labor Government’s promises to support clean coal technology have been exposed as a sham. Labor has refused to provide ZeroGen, Australia’s only commercial clean coal project, with a level playing field on emissions permits – driving the Central Queensland venture to the brink of collapse.

'Smirnoff Platinum' move hardly a surprise
Moves by consumers to substitute other, cheaper alcohol products, including products with higher alcohol content, were as predictable as moves by the industry to develop new products as a work-around Labor’s tax slug.

Turnbull Doorstop Interview - Economic management, ZeroGen, New South Wales government
We’ve seen some very gloomy forecasts for our economy today and it reminds us all, and should remind Mr Rudd, of the importance of sound, responsible economic management. We know from Access Economics’ report that the interest rate rises at the beginning of last year contributed to the slowing in our economy – in other words they made matters worse.

Rudd must rule out delays to small business payments as a result of ATO sackings
The Rudd Labor Government must immediately rule out payment delays to small businesses following the sacking of 133 staff from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Turnbull interview with Nicole Bond (ABC Radio) - Economy, ZeroGen
We have to remember that every single action of the Government this year must be directed at maximising jobs. The three top priorities are jobs, jobs, jobs. And you’ve seen, in Rockhampton you’ve seen the consequences of Labor’s mismanagement with the dreadful impact of their policies, or their lack of policy, on ZeroGen.

Rudd government in hiding on Alcopops tax
It is time the Rudd Government came clean about the failure of its 70 per cent increase in the tax on ‘alcopops’.

Aid for Fiji flood victims - not for Fiji Government
The Rudd Government must ensure that Australian aid to the victims of recent flooding in Fiji goes where it is needed most – not to Fiji’s ‘interim’ government or its supporters.

Labor promised fixed fibre to 98%, but now suggests wireless will do for many
Revelations that the Rudd Government does not believe taxpayers should have to foot the bill for broadband services in any part of Australia where a commercially sustainable wireless option is available, raises serious questions about its motivation to spend $4.7 billion of taxpayers' money on its trouble-plagued National Broadband Network (NBN.

Leader of the Opposition Address to presentation of the Victoria Cross to Trooper Mark Donaldson VC
Trooper Donaldson on behalf of the Opposition, I’m honoured to warmly endorse the Prime Minster’s remarks and salute you; Australia salutes you for your outstanding act of valour. You wear that medal with such pride Trooper, but Australia has so much pride in you.

Turnbull interview with Michael Peschardt (ABC 702 AM) - Childhood, establishing scholarship, Kerry Packer, sub-prime crisis, books
It is an enormous privilege and a great pleasure to be a Member of Parliament, to represent your own community as an MP, in my case the community of Wentworth in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and also of course as Leader of the Opposition, to represent, to lead our side of politics and put together the policies and the programmes that will take us back into government in 2010.

People smugglers must be stopped to prevent further loss of life
Reports yesterday of the bodies of four asylum seekers being washed ashore in West Timor are tragic. This is of course too often the fate of people who trust their lives to people smuggling.

Saluting the heroism of trooper Mark Donaldson VC
All Australians stand as one to salute and recognise the heroism and gallantry of Trooper Mark Donaldson who today was presented with the nation’s highest medal for bravery, the Victoria Cross for Australia.

Garrett's dithering risks mining jobs
The Rudd Government’s incompetence in handling the process dealing with the future of the McArthur River Mine is putting at risk more jobs in the resources sector at one of the worst times in the industry’s history.

"The best of us" - Mark Donaldson invested with The Victoria Cross for Australia
The Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Personnel and Assisting Shadow Minister for Defence, The Hon. Bob Baldwin, has today paid tribute to SAS Trooper Mark Donaldson who has been invested with the Victoria Cross for Australia.

Australian trooper first in 40 years to be awarded Victoria Cross
Trooper Mark Donaldson’s bravery, gallantry, courage and devotion to duty is an inspiration to all as he joins the ranks of Australia’s heroes.

More than half a million Australians out of work
Today’s release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey shows that the hard times are well and truly on the way, with 43,900 full time jobs being lost from the Australian economy and unemployment rising to 4.5%.

Keating government Minister makes sense of indigenous housing
Former Keating Government Minister, Gary Johns, says that there should be a “no job, no house” rule applied to future housing construction in remote Aboriginal townships.

Shadow Minister welcomes review of Gulf War syndrome
The Repatriation Medical Authority’s re‐examination of Gulf War Syndrome follows a study in the United States last year which found ‘Gulf War illness’ is a serious condition which affects at least a quarter of all United States veterans who served in the 1990‐1991 war.

Remote Indigenous housing crisis needs urgent attention
I welcome today’s release by the Menzies Research Centre of a report entitled ‘No Job No House: An Economically Strategic Approach to Remote Aboriginal Housing’ – this is a timely contribution to the debate on Indigenous housing.

Retirement of Senator Judith Troeth
During a distinguished 16-year career, Senator Troeth was an effective and energetic advocate for the people of Victoria, and made particularly notable contributions in the areas of women’s affairs, human rights and immigration policy.

Labor waste, inefficiency and mismanagement under scrutiny
The Federal Opposition is stepping up its scrutiny of the Rudd Government's waste, inefficiency and mismanagement, with Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull today formally launching the Coalition 'Labor Waste Committee’ and website.

Government negligent on ABC childcare licences
Thousands of families could lose their local Childcare Centre in a licensing bungle over closing ABC Centres which the Government should have anticipated.

Turnbull Joint Doorstop Interview with Senator Guy Barnett - Labor Waste website, Tamar River, ETS, pulp mill
In these challenging economic times it’s more important then ever to ensure that every dollar of tax payer’s money is well spent, that we get the maximum bang for every buck that comes out of Australian’s pockets and taxes into the federal Treasury in Canberra. And so we are determined to hold the Rudd Government to account for their wastefulness and for the way in which they are spending unwisely and extravagantly and imprudently your taxes.

Housing sector needs more than short term boost for long term recovery
The housing sector will need more than a short term stimulus to turn around a 21.8% decline in housing finance for the construction and purchase of new dwellings in the first twelve months of the Rudd Government.

Troeth will not renominate for Senate Preselection
Liberal Senator for Victoria Judith Troeth announced today that she will not be nominating for preselection to the Senate in the forthcoming round of preselections conducted by the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division).

Senator Judith Troeth
Senator Nick Minchin, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate today congratulated Senator Judith Troeth on her valuable contribution to the Senate as a representative for Victoria and the Liberal Party.

Turnbull interview with Marc McCreadie (7LA FM) - Visit to Tasmania, pulp mill, The Lodge
The best way to represent people is to meet them and listen to them and hear what they’ve got to say and then you’ve got a better understanding of what everyone is thinking and what they expect from their elected representatives.