SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LABOR CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

Thanks Khatija for that wonderful introduction.

It’s tremendously exciting to see such an accomplished, young, aboriginal woman put up her hand and run for Parliament and we in Labor are lucky to have you.

Thanks to Michael for the Welcome to Country and I also want to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and pay my respects to elders past and present.

It’s my great pleasure to be here in the great State of South Australia today amongst so many friends.

You have made this election about jobs.

And you have a State government that does not just talk about jobs – it delivers them.

In this State you are underpinning your plan for jobs with the most far sighted energy policy in the country – cutting prices, improving reliability, creating jobs and reducing pollution.

The eyes of the whole world are on South Australia.

The State has led on so many fronts – on votes for woman, on advanced manufacturing, on the Arts and on equal rights for LGBTI Australians.

And here you are again, gaining a first starter advantage on renewable energy and leading the nation with investment in new job-creating industries like shipbuilding, tourism and advanced manufacturing.

All this stands in contrast to the Liberals and SA-Best who have failed this State in so many ways, particularly in education.

We know what Liberals like to do.

They like to cut essential services that working class and middle class Australians rely on.

We have seen it in education where Malcolm Turnbull has cut $210 million out of South Australian schools over the next two years alone.

Jay Weatherill hasn’t copped that – he has fought against those cuts.

But what have the State Liberals done?

Sucked up to their mates in Canberra and backed them in on school cuts – even when they leave South Australian children worse off.

Your Liberal opponent has form on this front.

He did the same on energy when he said he would scrap the 50 per cent renewable energy target.

In doing so, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with interstate Liberal leaders – not to protect South Australia’s interests, but the interests of his masters in Canberra.

And he has backed Malcolm Turnbull’s deeply flawed National Energy Guarantee – backed it without doing any independent analysis of how it will affect South Australia.

Now as bad as the Liberals are, I reckon that Nick Xenophon could be even worse.

Believe me – I have seen how he operates up close in Canberra.

This bloke is a former Liberal, his candidates are Liberals, his staff are all Liberals and his donors are all Liberals.

On school cuts, he put his hand on his heart and said he would not support Liberal cuts to SA schools.

He even wrote to principals giving a solemn guarantee.

But when it came to the Parliament, Nick Xenophon and his team voted 57 times to cut funding to South Australian schools.

57 times they voted to cut $210 million out of your schools over the next two years alone.

And Sarah Hanson-Young would have voted with him if she wasn’t rolled by the NSW Greens in her Party room.

Nick Xenophon is standing for the seat of Hartley in this election.

How will he explain to parents with kids at Norwood Morialta High School in that electorate that he is responsible for a $1.4 million cut at that school over the next two years?

We know what he is like.

He’ll turn up where there is a crowd, he’ll want a speaking gig at the assembly, he’ll pose for a photo buying a cake at the school fete.

How many cakes do you need to buy to make up for a $1.4 million cut?

You could not have a greater contrast than with my good friend Jay Weatherill.

Unlike his opponents he wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

He is the son of a union official.

He worked as a cleaner to put himself through uni and then built an industrial law firm seeking justice for working class South Australians.

Jay and I were Housing Ministers at the same time and I saw his passion for making sure housing was available for low income South Australians.

When we worked together I saw in Jay that he was a dedicated Minister, an innovative thinker, a hard worker, and a great negotiator.

And I can tell you, when you negotiated with Jay you had to count your fingers after you shook his hand.

He fought that hard and he was that relentless when it came to advocating for the interests of South Australians.

And as Premier we have seen those virtues on an even greater scale.

Who could forget the sight of Jay, on national television, upbraiding Josh Frydenberg?

My favourite moment was when Josh Frydenberg was asked by a reporter whether it was awkward standing next to Jay after what he had said about him and Josh said: “No”.

Jay fixed him with a steely glare, the kind a cobra would give to a frightened mouse seconds before striking, leaned forward and said: “It’s about to be”.

And boy was he right.

That was Jay in a nutshell – intelligent, articulate, direct and not afraid to take on anyone when it is in the interests of his State.

Standing up for jobs, standing up to Canberra and standing up for South Australia.

It is my pleasure to introduce the Premier of South Australia, Jay Weatherill with Melissa, Lucy and Alice.