ONCE THE sound and fury of the election campaign dies out, how much attention should we pay to ensuring that elected politicians fulfil their promises? Should we have ‘promise watching’ at elections and then throughout a period of government, in the same way that we have seen independent ‘fact checking’ emerge during this election campaign?
If we want to do ‘promise checking’, we need to look back at previous elections to see what politicians promised. But there’s very little of that type of historical analysis in media coverage of elections. Watching the campaign launches for this election, the overwhelming focus was on the present and the future rather than the past and what was said at the campaign launches in 2010.
That makes it very difficult to answer one of the key questions that informed voters in any democracy need to be able to answer - did the government fulfil promises it made at the last election?
But there are also other important questions that go to the heart of how policy is developed and communicated to an electorate. Are the parties promising the same things they were promising last election? Or have they changed their priorities over time? What do any changes suggest about a change in party ideology or in national or global circumstances? Which policy areas do the parties focus on (health? education? tax?) and is that the same or different between the two major parties? That is, do they have different policy emphases?
If we want some answers to these questions then the best place to start is with the parties’ campaign launch speeches.
The campaign launch policy speech is certainly not what it once was, now that they are held very close to the end of the campaign (rather than at the beginning as they were traditionally). But the speech is still a very important primary document, because it is the most important occasion when the major parties outline their policy visions and put them forward as a single narrative and, ideally, as a coherent platform.
So looking back at the campaign launch speeches of the past five elections can give us some good indications about the policies the major parties have wanted to highlight and how those policies have changed.
The table of policy promises below includes the key, specific promises made at the Labor and Coalition campaign launches of 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013. It shows some very interesting trends in terms of topics, money promises and overall party priorities. We present it below as a primary document in the spirit of encouraging more promise watching in the future!
QUICKLINKS: 2013 | 2010 | 2007 | 2004 | 2001
2013 — Kevin Rudd (ALP) v Tony Abbott (Lib)
SPEECH |
LOCATION |
DATE |
POLICY AREA |
PROMISE |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Tax | We’ll abolish the carbon tax so power prices and gas prices will go down. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Tax | We’ll abolish the mining tax so investment and employment will go up |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Tax | We’ll cut the company tax rate |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Finance | We’ll cut red tape by $1 billion a year every year |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Seniors | An incoming Coalition government will finally index eligibility thresholds for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card so more self-funded retirees will have access to cheaper medicines. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Aged care | An incoming Coalition government will commit an additional $200 million to dementia research |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Skills Training | An incoming Coalition government will help more young Australians to start a trade, stay in a trade and finish a trade by giving apprentices access to a $20,000 loan |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Infrastucture | The infrastructure gap will be filled – with the Pacific Highway duplicated, the Midland Highway upgraded and the Bruce Highway flood-proofed. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Infrastucture | The WestConnex in Sydney, the East West Link in Melbourne, the Gateway Upgrade in Brisbane, the North South Road in Adelaide, and the Swan Bypass in Perth will be well and truly underway |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Environment | A standing Green Army, rising to be 15,000 strong, will be working with councils, farmers and volunteers to clean up our polluted waterways and restore our degraded bush. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Budget | Within a decade, the budget surplus will be 1% of GDP, defence spending will be 2% of GDP, the private health insurance rebate will be fully restored, and each year, government will be a smaller percentage of our economy |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 25/08/13 | Indigenous affairs | Starting next year, I will work to recognise Indigenous people in the Constitution |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Tax | If the government is re-elected, from next Sunday our small business tax boost will provide an upfront tax deduction for small businesses when they buy new equipment worth up to $10,000 to help small businesses with cash flow. The combined tax benefit of this and other existing measures for small business adds up to more than $5.4bn. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Industry | A re-elected Labor government will legislate to require all projects worth $300m or more to adopt Australian industry participation plans. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Skills Training | If re-elected I will increase the Tools for Your Trade payment to apprentices to $6,000 to help buy their first set of tools. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Skills Training | A re-elected Labor government will require that state governments maintain and grow their funding of TAFE. If those conditions are not met by 1 July 2014, we will move to provide Commonwealth funding directly to individual TAFE colleges. If state governments frustrate this ambition, then from 2015 the Australian government will begin directing its own TAFE funding into a new TAFE Australia Network directly funded by the Commonwealth. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Employment | Today I announce a major reform to the system through a new jobs, training and apprenticeships guarantee and a new institution – Jobs and Training Australia – that will bring together the employment services and training systems of Australia. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Employment | Number one: if you lose your job, then within two days of registering with an employment services provider the provider you will get a return to work plan relevant to the jobs in your local area |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 1/10/13 | Employment | Number two: job seekers will then be guaranteed access to either a publicly funded apprenticeship or traineeship at certificate three level, and relevant to local employer demand; or if they already have a qualification, they can access a VET loan of over $90,000 to acquire other qualifications; or they can access a university place. |
2010 — Julia Gillard (ALP) v Tony Abbott (Lib)
SPEECH |
LOCATION |
DATE |
POLICY AREA |
PROMISE |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Budget | I’ll bring the Budget to surplus in 2013 |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Education | If re-elected we will build those Trades Training Centres, we will deliver that National Cadetship Program and it will transform lives |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Education | We will of course create a prestige qualification – the Australian baccalaureate – so students in our country can get a qualification that can hold its own on the world stage while studying our curriculum, studying about this country, studying about Australia |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Tax | If re-elected, I will increase the family benefit for teenagers by more than $4,000 |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Health | We will train 1,300 new GPs to overcome the legacy of Mr Abbott’s cuts |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Health | We will train 3,000 more new nurses. |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Health | Today I announce that from the first of July next year, for Australians who live in rural and regional areas, and outer suburban communities where specialists are short, we will have a Medicare rebate which enables them to Medicare rebate their consultation using the internet now, and broadband tomorrow. |
| Julia Gillard | Brisbane | 16/08/10 | Health | From the 1st July 2012, we will be offering new benefits to all Australians. In this campaign, you’ve heard me talk about the GP After-hours Helpline. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Budget | A Debt Reduction Taskforce will be established, co-chaired by Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb, to get to the bottom of Labor’s waste and mismanagement |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Budget | An economic statement will be issued outlining Australia’s financial risks and opportunities and the new government’s response to them |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Insulation | The Coalition will reassure people frightened that Labor’s insulation batts might burn down their homes. In addition to the existing inspection programme, we will reimburse householders who organize their own inspections by qualified tradesmen and further reimburse householders whose insulation has to be removed |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Asylum seeker | I’d pick up the phone to the President of Nauru to reopen the Australian-built and Australian-funded offshore processing centre |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Asylum seeker | Under the Coalition, every convicted people smuggler will spend at least a year in prison and the worst offenders and repeat offenders will face a minimum of ten years behind bars |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Asylum seeker | Temporary Protection Visas will be reinstated |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Environment | First recruiting for the Green Army will be about to start |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Law and order | A new national violent gangs squad will have been established |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Environment | Fully and finally implement the Howard/Turnbull/Anderson plan for the Murray Darling basin |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Environment | Establish a Green Army, 15,000 strong, to complement the landcare efforts of farmers, volunteers and national park rangers |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Climate change | Coalition will definitely meet our 2020 emission reduction targets. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Climate change | Coalition will buy abatements, particularly through soil improvements and tree planting |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Health | There’ll be 3,000 more high-care nursing home beds and 2,800 more public hospital beds including 800 for mental health. |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Paid parental leave | Introduction of a"fair dinkum" paid parental leave scheme |
| Tony Abbott | Brisbane | 8/08/10 | Tax |
An incoming Coalition government will publish all the modeling associated with all the Henry recommendations to foster the tax debate that Australia needs and now must have |
2007 — John Howard (Lib) v Kevin Rudd (ALP)
SPEECH |
LOCATION |
DATE |
POLICY AREA |
PROMISE |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Industrial Relations | If elected, we will abolish WorkChoices |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Industrial Relations | If elected, we will abolish Australian Workplace Agreements |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Childcare | We will increase the Childcare Tax Rebate to 50% |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | We will introduce a 50% Education Tax Refund |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Health | We will extend dental care to teenagers through the Medicare system |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Cost of living | We will establish a Petrol Price Commissioner |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Cost of living | We will establish ... a national inquiry into grocery prices |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Health | We will deliver 2,000 extra aged care beds to take the pressure off acute hospital beds |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Health | GP SuperClinics around Australia to take the pressure of accident and emergency departments |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Health | A national fund to eliminate elective surgery waiting lists beyond clinically acceptable times |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Health | A massive national investment in the war against cancer |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Health | We will re-establish a Commonwealth Public Dental Program |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Climate change | If we are elected, I will immediately ratify Kyoto |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Climate change | I will implement a 60% carbon target and establish Australia’s first national emissions trading scheme |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Climate change | I will implement a renewable energy target of 20% by 2020 |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Climate change | I establish clean coal innovation fund |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Climate change | I will set up a major new renewable energy fund to develop, commercialise and deploy renewable energy technologies across Australia |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Climate change | We will establish a National Desalination and Urban Water Recycling Fund |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Infrastucture | I will establish Infrastructure Australia – to tackle the nation’s infrastructure bottlenecks |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Infrastucture | I will establish a Building Australia Fund |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Infrastucture | In partnership with the private sector, we will build a state of the art, fibre optic to the node, National Broadband Network. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | We will provide 15 hours a week for 40 weeks a year in pre-literacy and pre-numeracy play-based learning for every four year old in the country. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | We will tackle the chronic shortage of maths and science teachers by halving HECS for those disciplines at university, and we’ll halve it again for those graduates who go on to teach maths and science in our schools |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | We will introduce comprehensive Asian language education across the school system |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | We will build state of the art Trades Training Centres for each of Australia’s 2,650 secondary schools |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | Over the next four years, a Federal Labor government will fund an additional 450,000 training places across Australia. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Skills Training | We will support up to 65,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | If elected we will connect Australia’s more than 9,000 primary and secondary schools to our National Broadband Network – at speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | If elected, Federal Labor will undertake a ground-breaking reform by providing for every Australian secondary school student in years nine to 12 with access to their own computer at school |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | An incoming Labor Government will double the number of national undergraduate scholarships to a total of 88,000 by 2012 |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Education | An incoming Labor Government will double the number of post graduate scholarships to nearly 10,000 students across Australia by 2012 |
| Kevin Rudd | Brisbane | 14/11/07 | Skills Training | We will create for the first time in Australia 1000 high-value mid-career research fellowships, valued at $140,000 each, to help reverse the brain drain |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Childcare | A re-elected Coalition Government will pay families childcare tax rebate in advance to the childcare provider ensuring fees are reduced before parents pay. This should cut the upfront cost for families by 30% |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Childcare | We will provide capital funding to local governments of up to $1 million to build or extend childcare centres in the areas where there are no vacancies |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Tax | From 2008-09, a re-elected Coalition government will introduce tax-free home savings accounts for all Australians who have yet to own their first home. Contributions of up to $1,000 a year will be tax deductible, all interest and earnings from the accounts will completely free of tax |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Tax | Capital gains tax will be removed for Australians who share equity in a family member’s first home |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Housing | A re-elected Coalition Government will expedite the disposal of Commonwealth land, totalling 961 hectares in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, following the recent Commonwealth audit of land holdings |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Housing | A re-elected Coalition government will commit $500 million over three years to fund on a 50/50 cost share basis with State and local governments common-use community infrastructure associated with new developments and urban consolidation |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 12/11/07 | Education | A re-elected Coalition Government will introduce a new tax rebate for education expenses including, crucially, school fees. This will apply for every student, beginning with preschool –- that’s kindergarten in some States -– until the end of secondary school. |
2004 — John Howard (Lib) v Mark Latham (ALP)
SPEECH |
LOCATION |
DATE |
POLICY AREA |
PROMISE |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Defence | Australian forces will stay in Iraq until they finish their job. We will not cut and run before Christmas or any other arbitrary date |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Skills Training | We have already announced a number of measures in this area, including the funding of tool kits for 34,000 new apprentices and the establishment of an Institute of Trade Skill Excellence. |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Skills Training | A re-elected Coalition Government will establish 24 Australian Technical Colleges to accelerate national skills development in traditional trades. These select high achievement colleges will provide tuition in a given year for up to 7,200 students in years 11 and 12 and will offer both academic and vocational education to students |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Skills Training | We will also introduce Commonwealth Scholarships for New Apprentices in priority trades after their first and second year of apprenticeship |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Skills Training | We will extend the Youth Allowance to apprentices thus putting them on the same footing as university students |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Skills Training | A re-elected Coalition Government will invest more than $100 million to build an Australian Network of Industry Careers Advisers |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Small Business | We will extend the Simplified Tax System to include businesses accounting on an accruals basis |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Small Business | We’re going to provide extra incentive and encouragement to small business growth through the introduction, from the 1st of July next year, of a new 25% Entrepreneurs Tax Discount |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Small Business | Stemming from the recent review of the income tax self-assessment system, if re-elected, we will reduce, from the current four years to two years, the amendment period in which the Australian Taxation Office can audit and adjust the tax assessment of businesses within the Simplified Taxation System |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Small Business | Coalition will introduce a Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund and it will be established with an initial amount from the Commonwealth of $50 million and local governments will compete for payments from the fund based on their proposals to reduce red tape and regulatory complexity and compliance requirements for the home-based business sector |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Industrial Relations | As a result of the ever- increasing contribution that independent contractors make to our economy, a re-elected Coalition Government will establish separate legislation to enshrine and protect the status of independent contractors |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Industrial Relations | A re-elected Coalition Government will legislate to protect the rights of independent contractors and stop unions looking to restrict their freedom to choose how they want to work |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Childcare | I will never lead a Government that punishes and penalises stay-at-home mothers |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Childcare | We will introduce a new taxation rebate of 30% on parents-out-of-pocket childcare expenses. |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Childcare | To ensure complete fairness of treatment for families where one parent makes the choice to stay at home full time, we will provide an appropriate increase in the rate of Family Tax Benefit B |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Childcare | And to give grandparents caring for their grandchildren greater support, a re-elected Coalition government will improve access to child care through a relaxation of the eligibility requirements and greater access to higher benefits |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Childcare | We’ll waive the work/study training test for access to child care benefits and that will enable grandparents to access full time childcare at 50 hours a week if required |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Childcare | We’ll also make child care more affordable for grandparents in receipt of income support, by enabling them to have access to special rate child care benefit |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Education | Earlier this year, with Brendan Nelson, I announced that the Coalition would invest a record $31.3 billion in Australia’s schools over the next four years |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Education | A re-elected Coalition government will invest over a period of four years, an additional $1 billion over its existing funding, to upgrade classrooms, libraries, basic amenities and grounds of government and poorly resourced non-government schools |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | Earlier in the campaign I announced 100% Medicare, which from the 1st of January next year will increase GP Medicare rebates to 100% of the Medicare fee. Today I am delighted to announce Round the Clock Medicare, the Coalition's plan to increase Australians' access to after hours General Practitioner services |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | And secondly, investing in much needed after hours GP infrastructure by providing recurrent operating subsidies to up to 30 after hours GP services in areas of high demand |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | Providing start up funding to up to 30 new after hours GP services |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | Providing recurrent supplementary assistance to up to 100 after hours services in outer suburban and regional areas to ensure their viability |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | We will invest $52 million over the next four years to assist people with dementia by making dementia a National Health Priority |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | We'll provide $127 million for an extra 2,000 extended Aged Care In the Home packages, specifically targeted to people with dementia |
| John Howard | Brisbane | 26/09/04 | Health | We'll provide $20 million to expand the Carer Education and Workforce Training project. This will provide dementia specific training for up to 8,000 community care staff and residential care workers, and up to 6,000 extra carers and community workers such as police and transport staff |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | That’s why a Labor Government will immediately increase the patient rebate by $5 for every bulk- billed consultation |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | Provide incentive payments of up to $22,500 for doctors who reach bulk-billing targets; |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | Introduce Medicare After-Hours – GP clinics and services that stretch well into the night; |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | We’ll invest an extra $350 million in capital improvements for emergency departments – clearing the backlog, getting the patients off trolleys and into hospital beds |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | We’ll also provide an extra 2.4 million specialist treatments for outpatients in public hospitals, free-of-charge |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | A Federal Labor Government will take full responsibility for the hospital costs of Australians aged 75 and over |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | Public hospitals will receive additional funding to improve the services they provide for Australians aged over 75 |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | Labor will also pay for private hospital beds, under agreements finalised with the private hospital system |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Health | Labor Government will create a national dental program: a $300 million investment with an extra 1.3 million dental treatments for aged pensioners and health card holders |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Pension | A Labor Government will increase the pension four times a year. We’ll introduce quarterly indexation – increases in June and December, in addition to March and September |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Childcare | Labor will introduce a new Grandparenting Allowance, worth $20 per week for each child. This will benefit over 27,000 grandparents around Australia who have primary care of their grandchildren |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Tax | Under Labor all those Australian taxpayers earning under $52,000 a year (including self-funded retirees) will get a tax cut of up to $8 a week – $416 a year |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Tax | Labor will lift the threshold for the top marginal tax rate |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Tax | Plus we’ll help families with a better family payments system. Combining payments into one, simpler scheme and raising the point at which the means test starts from $33,000 to $50,000 |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Tax | Labor Government will introduce income splitting for the benefit of single income couples – two tax free thresholds to help families where one partner stays at home |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Education | Under Labor’s new system, all schools will be funded on the basis of need. We will bring every Australian school up to a high national standard of resources and achievement |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Education | Labor will also provide an extra $1.9 billion for government schools – lifting them up to our national standard of resources and results |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Education | Labor will create 20,000 new university places and 20,000 new TAFE places, without the need for higher fees and student debt |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Education | We’ll stop the Howard Government’s 25% increase in HECS and abolish its full-fee system |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | ABC | That’s why Labor will restore the independence of the ABC, and restore its funding – an extra $105 million |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Telstra | That means keeping Telstra in majority public ownership. There’ll be no Telstra privatisation on my watch |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Environment | Labor will ratify the Kyoto Protocol and establish a carbon trading regime |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Environment | Increasing the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target from two to 5% – giving clean industries like solar and wind power a future in this country |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Environment | Investing $1 billion to save the grand old river system, the Murray/Darling, with improved water efficiency and water flows |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Environment | And our commitment to halt land clearing, to protect our beaches and coastline and to lock away forever our greatest rainforest, the Daintree |
| Mark Latham | Brisbane | 29/09/04 | Defence | This is where Labor will dedicate our resources in the war against terror – to our region, to our part of the world, to the real security of the Australian people |
2001 — John Howard (Lib) v Kim Beazley (ALP)
SPEECH |
LOCATION |
DATE |
POLICY
|
PROMISE |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Defence | Over the next ten years we will invest an additional $32 billion in the defence of Australia |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Science | Our $3 billion science and innovation plan will double research grants, add thousands of more places to Australian universities, provide centres of excellence and Federation Fellowships |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Social security | Over the next term we’ll invest $1.7 billion to reform Australia’s welfare system |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Health | We’ve announced a $306 million programme for outer-metropolitan doctors, for more after hours clinics, for new funds for the fight against cancer and arthritis and for palliative care |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Childcare | The Coalition will introduce the First Child Tax Refund. This proposal will repay to parents who act as a prime carer after the birth of the first of their babies, born after the first of July 2001, the tax they paid on their personal exertion income in the year or the year prior to the birth of the child |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Aged care | We are announcing a $416 million package of additional funding to provide more places, more capital funds and better care |
| John Howard | Sydney | 28/10/01 | Drugs | I am announcing a $109 million package to expand the Tough on Drugs strategy further with particular emphasis on more funds for community treatment and prevention |
| John Howard |
Sydney | 28/10/01 | Defence | I intend to call a special summit of state and territory leaders to develop a new national framework to focus on international crime and terrorism |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Health | We'll increase funds for our public hospitals through a Medicare Alliance, to cut waiting times, and employ more nurses and doctors. We'll introduce Medicare After Hours so families can get 24 hour a day expert medical advice. We'll restore the dental health scheme for low-income earners |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Education | We'll establish Education Priority Zones so we can fund schools and students on the basis of need not privilege. We'll invest in more Early Learning Centres for 3 and 4 year-olds, and will help new parents with our Headstart for Families plan |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Finance | Labor will also introduce a Social Charter for banks, so that they start working for their customers, instead of the other way round |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Education | Labor will spend an extra $1 billion on our Plan for Quality Universities. The centrepiece is a new fund of nearly $500 million. Universities, drawing on this fund, will be able to improve the quality of teaching and research by employing more lecturers and tutors, and reducing class sizes. It will also be used to increase salaries for our best academic teachers and researchers to help end the brain drain, and to equip university libraries with new resources |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Education | To make university education more affordable we will make HECS charges easier to repay. Labor intends progressively to raise the threshold of earnings at which HECS must be repaid. We will lift the threshold of earnings by $10,000 over four years, bringing it close to average weekly earnings. |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Education | I am announcing a $176 million plan for higher standards in schools. We will employ an extra 680 teachers nationwide 400 to help raise standards of literacy and numeracy, and 280 to help improve behaviour in our schools |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Education | We have announced we will create 100,000 on-line university places through the University of Australia Online |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Research and development | I announce today my Plan for Research and Development Leadership. Labor will introduce a new 200%t tax concession for businesses investing in research and development at our universities, the CSIRO, and other public research institutions |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Research and development | Over the next five years we will invest $160 million extra in the CSIRO |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Telecomm-unications | Labor will establish a $140 million National Connectivity Scheme to ensure more equitable delivery of telecommunications services, including voice, mobile phone, dial-up Internet and broadband services, and increased television and radio coverage to local communities, particularly in outer metropolitan, rural and regional Australia |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Telecommu-nications | We will provide $140 million over five years to create a new nationwide program called IT Kickstart to train Australians how to use the Internet and understand modern information and communications technology |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Education | Labor will also provide $77 million over five years to boost the number of postgraduate nurses available to work in our public hospitals |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Skills Training | I pledge $105 million over five years for 35,000 Knowledge Nation apprenticeships, to give young people a start in a professional career, particularly in industries that are experiencing a grave shortage of skilled workers |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Skills Training | We will make a $75 million investment over five years to help young Australians move from school to work offering them help through the most crucial transition of their working lives. |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Skills Training | We are investing $41 million over five years in putting real training into Work for the Dole, giving its participants a chance to graduate with an apprenticeship |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Skills Training | We will invest $8 million in establishing a new level of assistance to mature-age jobseekers under the Job Network |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Skills Training | We will invest $60 million over five years in allowing long-term unemployed people to use their unemployment benefits as a wage subsidy to find a job |
| Kim Beazley | Sydney | 1/10/01 | Environment | We will protect our environment, signing up to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change |
With thanks to Maria Rae and Ciannon Cazaly