Batman by-election; South Australian Election; dividend imputation.

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Hi everyone and good morning. It's great to be at Preston Markets, it's a fantastic venue and in the heart of Batman electorate. And it's even more fantastic to be at the Preston Markets because I'm here with the newest Member for Batman, Ged Kearney. 

                                                                          

I just want to thank the voters of Batman for giving Labor a chance, and for voting for Ged Kearney in quite a significant swing. It’s the first time in 112 years that this very special electorate has had a woman as their federal representative. In fact I'm rather pleased that now 48 per cent of the Federal Labor Party are women, and I think it is long overdue to see more representation of women in Parliament. Before I handed over to Ged, I just want to congratulate her again on the election. 

 

Yesterday was a day of achievement, today is a day of quiet celebration and tomorrow it is back to work. I have heard very loudly the message of the voters of Batman, and I think the voters of Batman reflect the mood of the nation. They are willing to give Labor a chance so long as we keep working on a policy agenda. So long as we talk about the people of Australia and not ourselves. They want us to keep offering up policy ideas which tackle cost of living, which look after the pensioners, which look after the mum and dad taxpayers who pay their taxes to go to work every day. The voters of Batman and indeed I think the voters of Australia, want us to focus on the everyday issues, the issues of properly funding our hospitals, making sure that our kids get the best quality education in schools. These are the issue that Australians want us to talk about, keeping the power bills down, helping families make ends meet. 

 

With Ged Kearney, we now have a great champion and I would now like to hand over to her to talk a little bit further about yesterday and the future.

GED KEARNEY, MEMBER-ELECT: Thanks very much everybody. I would like to start by thanking the people of Batman for putting their faith in me as well. It is a great boost to me to know that they cared about the things that we campaigned on. But we only campaigned on those things because we listened to them. As Bill said schools, health care, public transport. These were the things that people were really worried about. As well of course as those high end progressive values like climate change, social justice, and workers rights. 

 

All I can say is that I spent five long weeks talking over and over with so many people in Batman. We had meetings in people's homes, we had meetings in the streets, we had meetings in town halls and community centres, and we really listened and that is what we focused our campaign on, and that is what we will deliver on for the people of Batman.

Once again, I am really pleased to be here today. I am very excited, I look forward to pushing my sleeves up and getting stuck into the hard work of representing this wonderful electorate. Thank you.

SHORTEN: Thank you. Are there some questions?

 

JOURNALIST: Do you think that this is a lesson that inner city seats aren't just going to fall to the Greens, and those looking forward to maybe November for Daniel Andrews, do you think that there's a chance that he could hold on to those inner city seats? 

 

SHORTEN: Yesterday was a victory but I just want to say to voters both in Batman and beyond this electorate, that Labor gets the message; it is not about us. Political parties do best when we focus on the needs of everyday people. We have a very different agenda to that of my opponent Mr Turnbull. We want to make sure that we see tax relief for working and middle class Australians. Australians want to make sure their kids are being educated in good quality schools, that when they need to go to hospital they don't have long waiting lists. They want to make sure that pensioners are okay. 
 
It is a lesson for all political parties. When you focus on the people rather than yourselves, that is what people want to see. They don't expect us to win every argument, they don't expect us to accomplish everything, but they do expect us to spend every day trying to serve the people and that is why Ged I think, went down so well in Batman. The more that people got to meet her they could realise she was the real deal, she is authentic, she's been a nurse - probably the first nurse to be elected to Parliament in Australian history, but her heart is in the right place, she's got great values and that cut through, I think.

 

JOURNALIST: Just on the South Australian result, Labor there has been held up as an example of strength in government. What do you think went wrong for Labor in South Australia?

 

SHORTEN: Thanks for raising that. I need to put on record, my recognition and appreciation of Jay Weatherill's leadership of South Australia. It was a very big ask, after 16 years, to get re-elected for another four years, and I think Jay came very close. I think he leaves South Australia better than when he found it, and I think that South Australian Labor over the last 16 years leaves South Australia better than before they got elected. 

 

I should also just say, it's an issue which is not to do with the immediate elections, but there are reports this morning of severe bushfires in south-west Victoria. We hear reports of people being evacuated and in the case of some people, it is now too late for them to evacuate. My thoughts are with them and with the volunteer and professional firefighters and emergency services who are looking after them in south-western Victoria.

 

JOURNALIST: Just back on South Australia, who should replace Jay Weatherill as leader of the South Australian Labor Party?

SHORTEN: That will be a matter for the South Australian Labor Party.

 

JOURNALIST: Any ideas any - someone you'd like to see in there?

 

SHORTEN: They will pick someone good and beyond that, no.

 

JOURNALIST: Ged are you going to move into the electorate of Batman?

 

KEARNEY: Well you know it's interesting because it hasn't really been brought up as an issue. I live just a few minutes over the electoral boundary, but if people are insistent that I move, I've had a big discussion with my partner, who is looking at me over there, and yes, we probably - we'd be very happy to move in.

 

JOURNALIST: What do you put down your success to?

 

KEARNEY: Well, I think that I worked very hard. I had a great campaign team that ran a really great campaign. That we listened, I did a lot of listening and that really is what focused our campaign on the issues that mattered, and people really, responded to that incredibly well. I did a walk-through in Reservoir with Bill the other day and they were just thrilled to see us, you know, there and paying attention to them, and the fact that we listened to what their issues were and responded to that I think was key to this.

 

JOURNALIST: Do you think you benefited from the Greens infighting?

 

KEARNEY: Look, I think we really won this on the campaign that we ran. It was really good, it was very strong, it was responsive and I think that, that is what won us the campaign.

 

JOURNALIST: Much has been made of the north/south divide in Batman, particularly south of Bell Street. There was a swing in a lot of booths to Labor south of Bell Street, why do you think that was the case?

 

KEARNEY: Again, I think it is because we focused on the universal issues right across the electorate. The issues of schools, of health care, these are the things - jobs for our kids, these are the things that came up right across that so-called divide and I think that is why we won.

 

JOURNALIST: I've got a question for Bill. Just following the Batman result, how do you think that the party stands heading into a potential federal election year?

 

SHORTEN: Labor needs to focus on the everyday needs of middle and working class Australians. My aim is that by the time of the next federal election people will understand that if they want to tackle cost of living, they vote Labor. Because we want to keep the price of health insurance premiums down, because by backing 50 per cent renewable energy we want to keep the price of energy down in the future. We want to restore faith in the wages system. Something is dreadfully wrong in Australia when corporations are making a 20 per cent profit, but the people who work for them are getting average pay rises of two per cent. Only Labor has got a coherent plan on cost of living. 

 

Decreasing the cost to health care by unfreezing Medicare and tackling the big private health insurance companies, by having fair dinkum climate change and energy policies which lead to downward pressure on electricity prices. By tackling flat lining wages in this country and by providing income tax relief to middle and working class Australian families and the way we can do this is, we are not giving $65 billion away to the top end of town. Labor wants to see a system where ordinary people get ahead.

 

JOURNALIST: Do you think this election result justifies your dividends imputation policy?

 

SHORTEN: When people voted yesterday, they know that the Labor Party wouldn't hurt pensioners and we are not going to.

 

JOURNALIST: That plan this week though, there was some suggestion that it could be reviewed that there could be some changes to it. Would you say that those dividend imputation changes are now set in stone?

 

SHORTEN: Listen let’s get to the heart of the matter behind the question, to some of the concerns that are being raised. When it comes to pensioners, pensioners are always going to do better under Labor. That is why for instance, we voted against the changes which the Turnbull Government made, which threw 90,000 pensioners off the pension, and reduced the part pension of another 277,000 pensioners. 

 

So we've got the track record. We want to decrease the gap and out of pocket costs paid for by pensioners. We don't support the Turnbull Government creating the world's oldest pension age, the age of 70. So we're far more fair dinkum on pensioners, and we will have more to say in the future about our good deal for pensioners. Last question thank you.

 

JOURNALIST: At one stage yesterday there were reports of a campaign targeting older voters, saying that if you are over 70, you don't have to vote. Can you tell me more about that and what you've done to get to the bottom of it? 

 

SHORTEN: The Labor Party scrutineers and administrators were alarmed to be told that in the course of the afternoon unknown persons were discouraging traditional Labor voters from turning up to vote at the polling booths. The Electoral Commission said they will investigate this matter. 
 
 But let me just conclude, Ged Kearney will make a difference. She is the real deal and people responded positively to her authenticity and her capacity. And more broadly than that, what I promise the people of Batman and indeed Australians is, sure we had a win yesterday and yes we are having a quiet celebration today. But I understand that what people want us to do, north of Bell Street, south of Bell Street and everywhere else in Australia, is they are sick and tired of the politicians talking about themselves. They want to know what we are doing to do for them. And I am promising Australians, I hear you loud and clear, we are back to work tomorrow, we are going to keep working on the ideas. We're going to work on our agenda. Tackle the costs of living, make sure our young ones get a good education and a job and when you are sick you can afford to see the doctor. That's who we are and that's what we're going to be.

 

Thanks very much.