FEDERAL Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made a spirited defence of his time as Labor leader at a meeting in Grovedale on Sunday.
\nSpeaking to a crowd of about 200 people at the Burdoo Recreation Reserve clubrooms, Mr Shorten said Labor had been a strong opposition since losing the election in September 2013, and had been working on its policies since then to become a strong alternative government.
\n\u201cAustralians are hungry for a positive plan for the future.
\n\u201cAustralians want to know there\u2019ll be a government in Canberra who cares about Australian jobs. I\u2019m afraid to say that not even I could predict in September of 2013 that I\u2019d attend some of the last shift meetings at Alcoa Point Henry; men who I\u2019ve worked with and who I know.\u201d
\nThere was a groan from the audience when Mr Shorten mentioned the jobs that would be delivered by the National Broadband Network \u201cwhen it gets delivered\u201d.
\n\u201cOur current Prime Minister, his only real goal in public life has been the NBN. He\u2019s doubled the cost and slowed it down; that takes some skill.\u201d He said health and education were critical issues.
\n\u201cWhy be a politician, why form a government, if you\u2019re not willing to help sick people and kids go to school?\u201d
\nMr Shorten took questions from the audience on issues including rehab beds for ice users, waiting times for surgery, and shipping policy.
\nHis longest answer was addressed to the dozen or so people in the room holding banners calling for changes to the treatment of refugees.
\n\u201cIf you have a system or a set of policies which will incentivise people smugglers and criminal syndicates, which will put people on boats that are unsafe and people drown, I have to pay attention to that.\u201d
\nLabor candidate for Corangamite Libby Coker opened her remarks with a question:
\n\u201cWhat type of Australia do you want your children to grow up in?\u201d
\n\u201cI know for me \u2013 I am a mother who lives in Aireys Inlet \u2013 that for my girls, I want them to grow up in an Australia where everybody gets a chance at a quality education, where everybody gets a chance to have the best healthcare and a secure job with good working conditions and a reasonable wage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FEDERAL Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made a spirited defence of his time as Labor leader at a meeting in Grovedale on Sunday. Speaking to a crowd of about 200 people at the Burdoo Recreation Reserve clubrooms, Mr Shorten said Labor had been a strong opposition since losing the election in September 2013, and had been […]<\/p>\n