O’Brien on lessons learned from election

GETTING the Liberal Party message out, and not the message itself, was part of the reason for the Coalition’s lack of success in the region at last November’s state election.

That’s according to state Opposition Leader, Michael O’Brien, who was in Ballarat last week.

“We had some really good policies… for Ballarat, I just don’t know that we did a great job of explaining to people what they were,” he said.

“That’s not on the people of Ballarat, that’s on the Liberal Party. We have an obligation to tell people what we’d do and how we’d be different from Labor, and how we’d be better than Labor, and I don’t think we did that job that way we needed to.”

Now the key question is, how’s the Coalition going to find its way back over the next three-and-a-half years?

Mr O’Brien said it would come through a combination of things.

“My political style is light and shade,” he said.

“Part of my job as Opposition Leader is to hold Premier Andrews accountable and where he’s making mistakes, or where he’s taking us down the wrong path, it’s my job to call him out. I can’t step back from that responsibility.

“But it’s also my job to propose a better way forward. I would like to think we will be laying down clear policy markers over the course of the next couple of years so that people would understand the direction we would take the state. You can’t layout your full program for government years out from the election because things change, finances change.”

Even though Mr O’Brien was unwilling to commit to any substantial policy, he was keen to hear from community members on what plans they’d like to see.

“We actually need to do a bit more listening and part of why I’m here is just to have a chat to people and find out what’s on the mind of people of Ballarat and how they want to see their city go forward and is there a better way than what’s happening at the moment?” he said.

“I’d like the next election to be a contest of ideas… I’d like the people of Ballarat to have a really clear contest… between who will take this city forward and who’ll do it better.”

Yet with few local elected representatives around to hear about those ideas, Mr O’Brien said he and other shadow cabinet members were willing and able to take on the role of local sounding board.

“It’s not that far for me to travel up and this is only the first of very many visits I’ll be making to Ballarat as party leader,” he said.

“We’ve got a very strong front bench and I expect all of my shadow ministers to be in Ballarat regularly, having conversations, not just with local civic leaders and local business leaders but with people. We have to get out and about. We were clearly sent a message at the last election and I’m here to say we’ve heard that message and we’re going to do a lot of listing about how we can have a more positive policy agenda to help the people of Ballarat live in a better city.”

Though it’s not like Mr O’Brien was looking to completely clear the Collation’s policy decks. Some issues he raised while visiting the city had a familiar ring to them.

“I see at the moment that Victoria is the highest taxed state in the country and that’s not something that makes me proud as a Victorian,” he said.

“I think that people who work hard should be able to keep a bit more of what they earn, because I think people can spend money better than government can.

“I’ve been in opposition and I’ve been in government and I can tell you governments aren’t as careful with money as families are.”