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Elections > Federal Election 2007 > Candidates
Belinda Neal
Australian Labor Party candidate for Robertson
Labor Candidate for Robertson
Why I am standing
The Central Coast is a great place
to live – it’s where my husband John
and I raised our two sons.
But for 11 years our region has been
ignored – John Howard has lost touch
with working families.
As part of Kevin Rudd’s team, I want
to overturn the unfair workplace laws
that are hurting local families and fight
for better infrastructure in our region.
As a parent, Belinda Neal will always put local working families first.
‘ Belinda Neal writes …
Belinda will fight for fairness and balance
in our workplace laws.
Belinda believes that after 11 years, John
Howard has lost touch with working families.
“Belinda Neal has
always fought
hard for the
Central Coast.
She will be a
strong local voice
and a vital part
of my team.”
Fresh thinking for the Central Coast
Belinda and husband John have raised
their family on the Central Coast.
Belinda is active in our local community.
Belinda is a local and
part of our community
Belinda has lived in Woy Woy Bay with husband John for
the past 20 years. Together they have raised their two sons
on the Central Coast.
Belinda has been a Councillor on Gosford City Council.
Her priorities have always been local jobs, roads, services
and infrastructure.
Belinda set up and ran a small business in Erina. Belinda
knows that viable local businesses and a strong economy
mean more jobs and a better quality of life for everyone.
A strong voice for
Central Coast residents
After 11 years in Government, John Howard has lost touch
with working families. Despite the financial pressure on local
families, John Howard recently said that “working families
have never been better off.”
That’s why Belinda is running for Robertson – to get better
services for the Central Coast and help families doing it
tough under John Howard’s extreme workplace changes.
A fresh plan to get the best
for the Central Coast
Belinda has a fresh plan to improve infrastructure
and services on the Central Coast:
• Securing Commonwealth funding for dental services
and better access to GPs.
• Increasing local opportunities for education and
training – getting our children the skills they need.
•
(Statement provided by candidate)
Important issues in my electorate
Belinda has a fresh plan to improve infrastructure
and services on the Central Coast:
• Securing Commonwealth funding for dental services
and better access to GPs.
• Increasing local opportunities for education and
training – getting our children the skills they need.
• Better funding for Central Coast roads to reduce
congestion and improve safety.
• Introducing more affordable childcare – making life
easier for young families.
• Building the $81 million missing link water connection
to secure the Central Coast’s water supply.
(Statement provided by candidate)
Important policy documents
The Economy
Key Line: Kevin Rudd has a plan to keep the economy strong and make sure it delivers for working families – to make it easier to buy a home, expand child care places and police rising grocery and petrol prices.
Labor’s Vision for the Future Economy
Labor has a comprehensive plan for Australia’s future economy and identifies two core future economic challenges.
First, how do we secure our future prosperity beyond the mining boom?
Second, how do we make sure the headline economy reflects the household economy to relieve the cost of living pressures faced by hard working Australian families?
These twin aims – securing our future prosperity and making the economy work for families – constitute Kevin Rudd’s vision for a strong economy and a fairer society.
Kevin Rudd’s vision for Australia’s future economy is one capable of lifting everybody up and sharing prosperity, easing the cost of living pressures on families, and laying the building blocks for long-term prosperity.
That is, a strong economy for the 21st century supporting a fair society for the 21st century.
The Macroeconomic Consensus
When it comes to the fundamentals of economic policy, there is a broad macroeconomic consensus between the Coalition and Federal Labor about a conservative fiscal policy and an independent monetary policy.
This means being committed to stable, prudent, conservative economic management:
 keeping the budget in surplus, on average, over the economic cycle;
 maintaining the independence of the Reserve Bank to operate monetary policy according to its inflation setting target; and
 not increasing taxes as a proportion of GDP.
This represents the macroeconomic consensus.
The Microeconomic Divergence
Where we disagree is microeconomic policy.
Labor believes in investing in the key drivers of long-term economic growth.
That is, investing in the productive capacity of the economy – through education, skills and training; through innovation, research and development; through new infrastructure; and through modern business regulation.
Because right now, with billions of dollars washing through our economy due to the mining boom, there is no better time to invest in the future.
With the global economy undergoing significant change, Labor believes in looking to the future, for a time when economic conditions may not be as favourable as they are today.
In other words, to do what John F. Kennedy once said to his nation facing similar challenges – ‘the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.’
Because how we think about the future, and how we plan for the future, will define the prosperity and progress of our nation for generations to come.
While the Australian economy has prospered from a strong global economy and our proximity to the fastest growing economic region in the world – Asia – there are some worrying economic signs.
Since the 1990s, there has been a structural decline in productivity growth – a key indicator of economic growth and higher living standards.
In the mid-1990s, productivity growth averaged 3.3 per cent a year. This fell to 2.1 per cent by the turn of the decade, and three years into the current cycle, it is now averaging only 1.2 per cent.
Similarly, our export growth has been sluggish, with our trade accounts still deep in red ink five years into the commodity trade boom.
Labor recognises the essential building blocks for long-term economic growth and securing long-term economic prosperity are:
 sound macroeconomic policy settings;
 investment in human capital – education, training and skills;
 modern infrastructure to build the platforms for growth;
 building a culture of research and innovation; and
 competitive business regulation.
Human Capital – Labor’s Education Revolution
In the decades ahead, our competitive advantage – above all else – will come from the education, learning and skills of our people.
That’s why we need to act today if we are to be a truly clever country.
We need to invest in education at all levels – from early childhood learning through to schools, trades training and universities.
The experts agree that if we are to give our kids the best start in life, and if we are to remain economically competitive, then we need to invest in the education, learning and skills of our people.
That’s why Labor’s Education Revolution will include:
 15 hours of pre-school or early learning per week, for all 4 year olds, for 40 weeks a year, delivered by a qualified teacher;
 a $2.5 billion plan to build or upgrade trades training facilities in all of Australia’s 2,650 secondary schools;
 boosting the number of maths and science teachers by halving HECS fees for new maths and science students, and halving HECS repayments again for students who go into a maths or science occupation, such as teaching;
 a new national school curriculum;
 boosting the study of Asian languages in schools; and
 a new body called Skills Australia to take responsibility for planning for future skills needs.
Investing in education, learning and skills at all levels is essential if we are to build the workforce of tomorrow and keep our economy strong.
Infrastructure, Transport and Broadband
We also need to provide the platform for the businesses of the future – by unleashing new business opportunities and helping our existing businesses to grow and to prosper.
A critical driver of business growth is investment in new infrastructure – because well planned infrastructure provides the arteries of a successful, modern economy.
Planning today for our future infrastructure needs is vital to the economy of tomorrow.
Because a failure to address infrastructure shortfalls – through blockages, bottlenecks, missing links, shortages and constraints – puts a major brake on economic growth.
This is where Australia finds itself in 2007.
Australia’s infrastructure backlog is costing us around $6.4 billion a year in lost production, according to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).
That’s why we will create Infrastructure Australia – to coordinate the planning, regulation and development of the nation’s infrastructure and identify priority areas for new investment.
We are committed to implementing a Major Cities Program, to invest in projects to improve our urban infrastructure – like investing in housing-linked infrastructure; a $220 million plan to build a series of GP Super Clinics; and investing $200 million in 260 new childcare centres.
We will also continue to support major urban road upgrades to ease congestion and bottlenecks.
Labor will establish a $1 billion fund to invest in water recycling, desalination and major storm water capture projects, and will implement a plan to start to fix leaky pipes in our cities, suburbs and towns.
And we have announced a plan to create a new world class National Broadband Network.
Labor’s broadband plan will invest up to $4.7 billion with the private sector, over five years, to connect 98 per cent of all Australians to high speed broadband – at a speed more than 40 times faster than most current speeds.
This will help boost business efficiency by allowing better management of staff, inventory, logistics, sales and internal communication.
And unlike the Government, Labor will build a comprehensive broadband network, not a two-tier system – one for the cities and one for the regions.
Research and Innovation
There is a consensus among economists that research and innovation sits alongside human capital and infrastructure as the building blocks of future economic growth and prosperity.
Improving Australia’s innovation performance is essential if we want to keep Australian industry competitive in a fast-paced, rapidly changing world.
That’s why a Rudd Labor Government will:
 invest $200 million dollars to establish Enterprise Connect innovation centres to connect business people with new ideas and new technology;
 restore the Chief Scientist to a full-time position;
 establish Industry Innovation Councils to build partnerships across the supply chain and develop long-term strategic approaches to improving productivity;
 invest $500 million in a $2 billion Green Car Partnership to develop and build green cars in Australia – securing jobs while tackling climate change; and
 bring responsibility for innovation, industry, science and research within one department to maximise Australia’s capacity for innovation.
Competitive Business Environments
To enable our businesses to continue to expand and excel, we can’t afford unnecessary constraints on our competitiveness.
It is why Kevin Rudd has made the competitiveness of our business tax system a priority – and is committed to halving the withholding tax for managed funds under management in Australia.
This will help us to attract more international funds to manage, grow our jobs, and protect our funds management industry.
And it is why Kevin Rudd will cut red tape and streamline business regulation to make it easier to do business – beginning with a principle that no new regulation can be imposed on business unless an existing one is removed.
Labor will also:
 provide incentives for State Governments to cut red-tape;
 ease the GST red-tape burden by introducing a new BAS Easy process;
 establish a voluntary Superannuation Clearing House for those businesses operating under the choice of super scheme;
 introduce a simple, standard disclosure form for financial services products; and
 give small business the right to charge Commonwealth departments and agencies interest on bills not paid within thirty days.
Labor will continue to advocate practical measures to reduce the regulation burden on business – essential for growing our economy and creating new jobs.
2. An Economy that Delivers for Working Families
Key Line: Kevin Rudd has a plan to keep the economy strong and make sure it delivers for working families – to make it easier to buy a home, expand child care places, pay for their kid’s education, and police rising grocery and petrol prices.
An Economy that Delivers for Working Families
One of the vital signs of the strength of the national economy is the security and prosperity of working families.
Mr Howard believes that ‘working families in Australia have never been better off’.
But if you talk to hard working families around Australia, for many, it is becoming harder to make ends meet with the rising cost of mortgages and rents, education, groceries, petrol and childcare.
It is why many families are today justifiably asking themselves – if the economy is going so well, then why aren’t we?
The reality is that while Mr Howard and Mr Costello trumpet selected economic figures and boast of general prosperity, many working families are finding it harder and harder to meet the rising cost of living.
Mr Howard and Mr Costello fail to understand that good economic policy is also measured by its impact on the lives of individual families.
This is a challenge we can’t afford to ignore.
The Howard-Costello Record
Today, many hard working families are just trying to keep their heads above water.
Is it any wonder when you consider that over the past five years:
 a family’s food bill has gone up 21.4 per cent;
 a family’s health costs have risen by 30 per cent;
 a family’s cost of educating their kids has increased by up to 40 per cent.
In all but one of the past five years, child care costs have increased by more than 12 per cent each year.
Petrol prices have spiralled – up by 41.8 per cent in five years.
We have seen the cost of filling up your trolley at the local supermarket also skyrocket over the past five years:
 bread has gone up by 20.5 per cent;
 eggs have gone up by 22.5 per cent; and
 fruit and vegetables have gone up by 48.1 per cent.
These are the essentials of everyday living – and provide a window into the lives of Australian families under the Howard Government.
These kitchen table concerns have been made worse by the recent interest rate rise – the fifth since the last election when Mr Howard promised to keep interest rates at record lows.
Families now, on average, have to fork out an extra $430 a month to keep up their mortgage repayments.
This is why, to keep interest rates low, Labor’s plan is to invest in the productive capacity of the economy – in education, skills and training, innovation and new infrastructure.
We couple these policies to fight inflation and keep downward pressure on interest rates with conservative economic management and by maintaining the independence of the Reserve Bank to manage monetary policy.
This is the basis for keeping the cost of living pressure off everyday families.
In addition, despite Mr Howard’s arrogant claim that ‘working families in Australia have never been better off’, there is more that government can do.
That’s why Kevin Rudd has outlined a number of positive, proactive steps that Labor will take to address the kitchen table concerns of everyday families and ease the pressures they face.
Labor’s Tax Plan for Australia’s Future
First, Labor has launched a new tax plan for Australia’s long-term future.
Labor will provide tax cuts of equal value to those announced by the Coalition for people earning up to $180,000. Under Labor’s plan, for taxpayers earning over $180,000, the reduction in the top tax rate from 45 to 40 per cent will be deferred for two years.
The centrepiece of Labor’s plan is providing $2.3 billion in financial assistance to working families with a 50 per cent Education Tax Refund for children’s education expenses like text books, home computers and internet access.
Labor will direct a further $400 million in savings to reduce elective surgery waiting times in Australia’s public hospitals.
Labor has also set a six year goal to reform Australia’s tax system to reward hard work by reducing the number of tax rates from four to three, making the system simpler, more transparent and easier to understand.
Housing Affordability
Australia is currently facing a housing affordability crisis.
Today, the average home now costs seven times the average annual wage; whereas ten years ago, it only cost four times the average annual wage.
Remember when Mr Howard promised to keep interest rates at record lows? Well, the impact of five interest rate rises since the last election – and nine in a row since 2002 – has added over $430 a month to payments on a typical mortgage.
A new survey by the Commonwealth Bank/Housing Industry Association shows that the latest interest rate rise has led to housing affordability falling to its lowest level on record.
Today, there are over one million Australian households in mortgage or rental stress.
That’s why Kevin Rudd hosted a National Housing Affordability Summit to reach a consensus on what is needed to improve affordability and it is why Labor has announced several policies to improve housing affordability.
First, we will appoint a Cabinet level Minister responsible for federal policy on housing.
Second, we will negotiate a National Affordable Housing Agreement with State and Territory Governments and the Australian Local Government Association to work together to help resolve this crisis.
Third, we will establish a National Housing Supply Research Council which will publish an annual State of Supply Report to analyse the adequacy of future housing and land supply.
Fourth, we will set up a Housing Affordability Fund to invest $500 million in housing linked infrastructure which could reduce the cost of a new home by up to $20,000, assisting up to 50,000 new home buyers across Australia over the next five years.
Fifth, Labor will establish a National Rental Affordability Scheme to attract new investment to help create 50,000 new affordable rental properties across Australia.
And sixth, Labor will expedite the release of surplus Commonwealth owned land and require all government departments to demonstrate why surplus land should not be released for the benefit of local communities.
Grocery Prices
Working families are also facing great pressures when it comes to skyrocketing grocery prices – and Labor wants to make sure that families are not getting a raw deal at the checkout.
It is why, in government, Labor will:
 direct the ACCC to monitor grocery prices and publish a periodic survey of price movements to help families get a the best deal they can; and
 instigate a public inquiry into grocery prices to get a better understanding of what is driving up prices.
As a sign of good faith, we are expanding Labor’s Price Watch to survey supermarket prices and publish them on our website.
Petrol
Many working families are also facing rising petrol prices.
While Australian families have been funnelling more and more hard-earned dollars into their petrol tanks, the Howard Government has sat on its hands.
Recent quarterly inflation data revealed that petrol prices had leapt by 9.1 per cent since the last quarter.
That’s why Labor will appoint a Petrol Commissioner to monitor and investigate price gouging and collusion, so that families are paying no more than they should to fill up the family car.
Childcare
Working families often raise with me the rising cost of childcare.
This is because in all but one of the last five years, the out of pocket costs of childcare have increased by more than 12 per cent.
And as costs go up, many parents are working more and more to make ends meet, while others are delaying their return to work, or are reducing work hours.
None of this is good for families or good for kids.
That’s why Labor’s plan for childcare includes:
 increasing the Child Care Tax Rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent, covering up to $7,500 a year for out-of-pocket costs per child, and paying it every three months rather than once a year;
 building 260 new child care centres;
 funding 15 hours of pre-school for all four-year-olds, for 40 weeks a year, delivered by a qualified teacher;
 providing 1,500 additional child care teacher training places at university and reducing their fees;
 introducing tough new National Child Care Quality Standards to accredit childcare services and assess their quality levels to give parents peace of mind; and
 establishing an Office of Work and Family in the Prime Minister’s Department to drive a comprehensive response to Australia’s child care crisis.
Making sure the headline economy reflects the household economy is essential if we are to help working families meet the rising cost of living – especially in areas like rents and mortgages, groceries, petrol and child care.
3. Industrial Relations
Key Line: Kevin Rudd has a plan to bring balance and fairness to our workplaces by protecting the wages and entitlements of hard working families and getting rid of Mr Howard’s extreme and unfair workplace laws.
Labor’s Plan for Fair and Balanced Workplaces
When it comes to workplace relations, Labor supports laws that grow our economy and boost our productivity.
We want to provide simplicity, flexibility and certainty for business.
We want to keep our workplaces competitive – which is why Labor introduced enterprise bargaining in the early 1990s.
And we want to provide greater fairness for hard working families.
Because right now working families are facing a set of workplace laws that are extreme, unfair and ideologically driven:
 workplace laws that have cut away the safety-net, slashed wages, and trashed vital conditions and protections;
 workplace laws that have removed job security for working families, and made it harder for them to spend time together;
 workplace laws that have shredded the notion of fairness in the workplace; and
 workplace laws that, quite frankly, are an affront to the Australian value of a fair go for all.
That’s why Kevin Rudd has said quite clearly that Labor will get rid of these laws, and bring greater balance and fairness to our workplaces.
Mr Howard’s Workplace Laws
From the first days of Mr Howard’s unfair workplace laws coming into existence, we began to hear stories about people:
 getting sacked with no good reason;
 being forced on to individual contracts which cut their pay and erased their entitlements; and
 being forced to work weekends and public holidays.
Australians know this is the wrong direction – throwing fairness out the back door.
Australians know that these laws will do nothing to grow our economy, boost our productivity or preserve our prosperity into the future.
Even the Government’s own figures on AWAs – the centrepiece of their workplace laws – show that:
 100 per cent of all agreements took away at least one protected award condition;
 63 per cent of all agreements removed penalty rates;
 52 per cent removed shift work loading; and
 46 per cent cut public holiday payments.
Overall, leaked data shows that 44 per cent of AWAs lodged with the Workplace Authority and its predecessor stripped away all conditions that Mr Howard once said were ‘protected by law’.
This is not the Australian way – it is not what made us a great country in the past, and it won’t make us a great country in the future.
Mr Howard’s Fairness Test
And don’t believe the sham of Mr Howard’s so-called fairness test – nothing could be further from the truth.
The gap between what Mr Howard thinks is fair and what the Australian people know to be fair is so wide you could drive a Mack truck through it.
These are changes not to make our workplaces fairer – they are changes to help Mr Howard win the next election.
We know that this so-called fairness test will be gone after the next election – because Mr Costello has said that he wants to see another wave of workplace reform.
The Australian people know when the wool is being pulled over their eyes.
Political Advertising
As if this wasn’t bad enough, Mr Howard put his hands in the pockets of Australian workers to run a multi-million dollar taxpayer funded political advertising campaign.
After 11 years, we calculate that Mr Howard will have spent $2 billion of taxpayer’s money on political advertising to save their hide.
Labor’s Forward with Fairness
Labor’s Forward with Fairness workplace relations policy is based on what we know families value most – fairness, balance and reward for hard work.
And it is what we believe businesses want – simplicity, certainty and flexibility.
These are the values which underpin Labor’s Forward with Fairness – which:
 provides for a new single uniform national system for the private sector;
 provides for a new independent umpire in Fair Work Australia;
 provides for collective bargaining in those workplaces where it is supported by a majority of employees;
 provides a balanced system where industrial action can only be protected if it takes place during a bargaining period for a collective agreement and is authorised by a secret ballot;
 abolishes AWAs and creates a strong and simple safety net – with ten legislated minimum standards, including rights to reasonable work hours, flexible work for parents, public holidays and redundancy entitlements;
 provides for modern, simple awards – with decent minimum wages, overtime and penalty rates;
 provides for individual flexibility by allowing common law agreements, in addition to new flexibility clauses in awards and collective enterprise agreements;
 gives support to families by providing parents with up to 24 months of unpaid leave when a child is born; and
 protects workers from being unfairly sacked while providing businesses with the confidence that unfair dismissal claims will be resolved quickly, including special arrangements for small businesses.
Labor’s new workplace relations system does not go back to the laws of the past.
Labor’s approach provides for a new system which gets the balance right, so we can go Forward with Fairness.
4. Climate Change
Key Line: Kevin Rudd has a plan to act urgently and decisively on climate change by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and investing in renewable energy like wind, solar, geothermal and clean coal – to protect our future economy and our kids’ future.
The Climate Change Challenge
Only Labor has a plan to deal with the great challenges presented by climate change.
Climate change is not just an environmental challenge – it is an economic challenge, a moral challenge, a challenge to our long-term national security.
And while Mr Howard has been a climate change denier and is now a climate change sceptic, the broad scientific consensus has been established.
The planet is heating up. The Arctic ice cap is melting. Mountain glaciers are disappearing. Sea levels are rising. The oceans’ waters are warming. Corals are bleaching. There are more extreme weather events, changing rainfall patterns, and threatened species.
Climate change is not just an inconvenient truth – it is an indisputable fact.
It affects our homes, our businesses, our natural environment, and our lifestyles.
We cannot afford to ignore the scientists, the environmentalists, the economists and the business people who say that we have to act now.
The last eleven years of the Howard Government will always be known as the lost decade – a decade of delay, denial and inaction.
Today what is needed is a new national consensus on climate change.
Because the great truth is that sensible, practical, national and international action on climate change now will reduce the need for job-destroying surgery later.
This is why Kevin Rudd convened the first National Climate Change Summit and has outlined a ten point plan for dealing with climate change, starting today.
Labor’s 10 Point Plan for Climate Change
First, restore Australia’s international leadership on climate change by:
 ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to show Australia is serious about helping to forge a global solution; and
 establishing a diplomatic initiative with China and working with major emitters on a ‘Kyoto Plus’ agreement.
Second, develop a carbon market and reform our institutions by:
 establishing an Office of Climate Change within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;
 introducing emissions trading to provide financial incentives to reduce emissions;
 establishing a national standard for carbon offsets to ensure consumer confidence in this rapidly growing market; and
 setting a target to reduce Australia’s emissions by 60 per cent below 2000 levels by 2050 to deliver the emission reductions that are needed to avoid dangerous climate change.
Third, government leading by example and:
 using government purchasing power to develop markets for efficient technologies, including setting a target of 4,000 Australian-made green cars in the Commonwealth fleet – half of the current fleet – by 2020; and
 setting goals for Commonwealth agencies to reduce emissions from their operations.
Fourth, drive a renewable energy revolution by:
 setting a 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target for Australia to reach by 2020, and significantly expanding the use of solar, wind and geothermal energy;
 establishing a $50 million Australian Solar Institute and investing $50 million in geothermal drilling; and
 establishing a $15 million Clean Energy Export Strategy and a $20 million Clean Energy Innovation Centre.
Fifth, greening our homes and schools by:
 offering rebates on home rooftop solar power panels;
 making every school a ‘Solar School’ by investing $50,000 in solar panels and energy efficiency improvements in every school across Australia;
 offering rebates of up to $500 on home rain water tanks and piping for grey water recycling;
 offering rebates of up to $500 to help landlords install energy efficient insulation in rental properties; and
 providing $10,000 low interest loans to help families implement practical action at home through solar power, solar hot water, rainwater tanks and insulation.
Sixth, invest in cleaner business and create new jobs by:
 working in partnership with business to drive efficiency improvements that deliver smarter and more productive industries; and
 establishing a $500 million National Clean Coal Fund to invest in advanced coal technologies to cut greenhouse emissions and secure jobs in the coal industry..
Seventh, invest in sustainable agriculture and protect our biodiversity and tourism by:
 working with the farming community to encourage sustainable farming practices which reduce emissions, develop carbon sinks and protect our plants and animals;
 fast-tracking the National Agriculture and Climate Change Adaptation Plan; and
 implementing a $200 million Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan to help protect the Reef from climate change and declining water quality.
Eighth, investing in cleaner transport by:
 investing $500 million as part of a $2 billion Green Car Partnership with industry to drive the development and manufacture of greener and more efficient cars in Australia.
Ninth, understanding and preparing for the impacts of climate change by:
 establishing the true costs of inaction on climate change through the Garnaut review and developing a national impact response plan.
And finally, securing our future water supplies by:
 implementing a $1 billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan to fund a 10 per cent Water Tax Credit and grants for approved desalination, water recycling and major storm water capture projects;
 investing in specific regional and urban water projects to secure water supply;
 ensuring 30 per cent of wastewater is being recycled nationally by 2015; and
 a plan to start to fix leaky pipes in urban areas to stop water waste.
Conclusion
Only Labor has a comprehensive plan to deal with climate change.
Only Labor will immediately ratify the Kyoto Protocol and restore Australia’s international leadership on climate change.
Only Labor will work with industry to develop an emissions trading scheme and invest in innovation and research to drive new market opportunities and improve energy efficiency across the economy.
Only Labor will work with farmers to adapt to Australia’s changing climate and fast-track the National Agriculture and Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
And only Labor will help families to deal with climate change at home by offering solar panel rebates and up to $10,000 low interest loans for practical action to improve household water and energy efficiency.
5. Education
Key Line: Kevin Rudd has a plan for an Education Revolution – to invest in pre-school, schools, trades and universities – so that we can give all our kids the best start in life, boost our productivity and grow our economy.
Labor’s Education Vision
Labor believes that education is about opportunity.
A good education provides all of our kids, no matter where they are from, with the opportunity to make the most of their talents, to expand their horizons, and to build the foundation for a safe and secure life.
While education is the enabler of opportunity, it is also what drives a productive economy.
Research and experience tell us that education, training and skills – what we call human capital – are fundamental building blocks for creating long-term economic prosperity.
And when it comes to building the workforce of the future, and maintaining our competitiveness, we are falling well behind many other nations who are investing heavily in education at all levels.
Several respected international reports, from the OECD and elsewhere, show a prolonged disinvestment in education in Australia when ranked against other nations.
The effect of this disinvestment is evident in Australia’s skills crisis.
We simply have not produced the workers that the Australian economy demands now, and needs in the future, if it is to grow and prosper.
According to the Government’s own estimates, Australia will need 240,000 more skilled workers by 2016.
Dealing with Australia’s critical skills shortage is at the top of Kevin Rudd’s agenda – and it is why Labor will create Skills Australia, to take responsibility for Australia’s future skills needs.
And the skills crisis is linked with the productivity crisis – both are labour market challenges.
In the mid-1990s productivity growth averaged 3.3 per cent a year. This fell to 2.1 per cent by the turn of the decade and three years into the current cycle, it is now averaging only 1.2 per cent.
That’s why Labor believes a core question for Australia’s long-term economic prosperity is how we re-build our flagging productivity growth.
Productivity is important because it drives economic growth and increases individual living standards.
As productivity has been on a long-term slowdown, it is not a problem that we can solve overnight – but we must start to address it now.
So our task is to invest in the critical drivers of long-term productivity growth – starting with an Education Revolution to build the workforce of the future by investing in our people and their potential.
Labor’s Education Revolution
Kevin Rudd has set out a vision for Australia to become the best educated country, the most skilled economy and the best trained workforce in the world.
And to do this, we need to turbo-charge the education, training and skills of the next great generation of Australians.
This is why Labor’s Education Revolution is so important:
 a 50% Education Tax Refund to help working families with their children’s education expenses;
 investing $450 million in early childhood learning for all four-year-olds for 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, with a fully trained teacher;
 boosting the number of our kids studying maths and science;
 establishing a new National Curriculum Board and developing a national curriculum;
 ensuring that all children starting school receive a health and early skills assessment;
 introducing a National Action Plan on Literacy and Numeracy; and
 revolutionising trades training in Australia by investing $2.5 billion in new state-of-the-art Trades Training Centres in all of Australia’s high schools.
These are the foundation chapters in Federal Labor’s Education Revolution.
Labor’s plan is for a revolution in the quantum of our investment in education; and a revolution in the quality of our education outcomes.
And we will invest at all levels – early childhood, schools, trades, universities and our research institutions.
Labor’s Education Tax Refund
To help working families meet the cost of their children’s education expenses, and make a long-term investment in our future economy, Labor will reform Australia’s tax system and introduce a 50% Education Tax Refund.
This $2.3 billion Education Tax Refund is a core part of Labor’s Education Revolution.
Parents will be able to claim a refund for items such as school text books, laptop computers, desktop computers, printers, home internet connections, education software and trades equipment.
All families who receive Family Tax Benefit (Part A) will be able to claim:
 a 50 per cent refund every year for up to $750 of education expenses for each child attending primary school, delivering a refund of up to $375 per child, per year; and
 a 50 per cent refund every year for up to $1,500 of education expenses for each child attending secondary school, delivering a refund of up to $750 per child, per year.
Therefore a typical family with a primary school child and a secondary school child would receive a tax refund of up to $1,125 per year.
Labor’s Education Tax Refund will assist 2.3 million school-age children and their families, and is a long-term investment in our future economy.
Labor’s Trades Training Centres in Schools Plan
One of Labor’s flagship initiatives is our Trades Training Centres in Schools Plan.
This is a $2.5 billion dollar program to build new, or upgrade existing, trades facilities in all secondary schools – like metal or wood workshops, kitchens, computer labs, ovens, lathes, and tools.
Labor wants to give all of our kids the best future possible, whether it is via a university degree or a trade qualification.
And we make no apology for valuing a trade qualification as much as a university degree – both are critical to our country’s economic future and to our kids’ future.
Let me explain why revolutionising trades training is critical for our economy and our kids.
First, it is a national tragedy that so many of our kids today are simply falling through the cracks because they don’t have the opportunities for learning or earning available to them.
According to the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 540,000 Australians aged 16-24 were not engaged in either full time learning or work in 2006. As a result, they are not being given the best opportunities to make the most of their talents and find a secure and stable career pathway.
The research and the evidence is clear that the number of young people undertaking post school training and education is closely linked to how many complete senior schooling.
Access Economics has estimated that if we increased our Year 12 completion rates to 90 per cent – from the 75 per cent it is today – then we would add around $9 billion to our economy by 2040.
It is why Federal Labor has set a new national objective to lift year 12 retention rates from 75 per cent to 85 per cent by 2015, and to 90 per cent by 2020.
This is good for our kids and good for our economy.
The second reason why trades training is important is because the skills crisis is a core economic challenge for the nation.
Right now there are critical skills shortages in key sectors like building and construction, the transport and hospitality industries, as well as the mining and resources sectors.
And the really sad thing is that there are so many young people of school age – or immediate post school age – who would be ideally suited to a career in the trades, but who have simply dropped out all together.
This is why Federal Labor is committed to revolutionising trades training.
We will ensure that Trades Training Centres can be established in all of Australia’s 2,650 secondary schools – both government and non-government – enabling students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 to benefit from these centres.
Each school will have access to grants of between $500,000 and $1.5 million to build new, or upgrade existing, trades workshops.
Schools will be able to pool capital grants to form Schools Trade Precincts to provide specialist state-of-the-art facilities to teach kids in the widest variety of trades possible.
Further, we will provide $84 million, over four years, for all trades students to get practical on-the-job training for 20 weeks per year.
So employers can easily ascertain a student’s job readiness, students undertaking these work experience placements will obtain a Job Ready Certificate.
Labor’s Trades Training Centres in Schools Plan is one of the biggest reforms ever proposed for vocational education and training in Australian schools – and it will help bring trades training into the 21st century.
Rather than establish technical colleges off school grounds, Labor will turn every secondary school that chooses into a first-class provider of technical education.
Conclusion
Labor’s Education Revolution is essential if we are to give our kids the opportunities they deserve to get ahead.
This is essential if we are to build a dynamic, diverse and innovative workforce to boost our productivity and secure our future prosperity.
Because the more we invest in education, the more we are investing in Australia’s future economic prosperity.
6. Health
Key Line: Kevin Rudd has a plan to end the blame game between Federal and State governments with a $2 billion Health and Hospitals Reform Plan to take the pressure off our emergency departments and support our doctors, nurses and health care professionals.
Labor’s Vision for Health and Hospital Care
Over the past year, Kevin Rudd has outlined a detailed plan to reform Australia’s health and hospitals system.
Rather than playing the blame game, Kevin Rudd will work cooperatively with the States and Territories and our local communities to improve health and hospital care for all Australians – and he has said that the buck will stop with him.
Mr Howard has had eleven years to fix the health workforce crisis, but many working families still can’t get the health care they need when they need it due to shortages of GPs, nurses and health professionals.
As health costs have spiralled – GP costs, health insurance premiums and the price of medicines – many working families are feeling greater pressure on their household budgets.
Indeed, the out-of-pocket cost of visiting a GP has more than doubled under the Howard Government.
Since the Howard Government scrapped the Commonwealth dental program in 1996, dental waiting lists have ballooned, leaving 650,000 people waiting to get their teeth fixed.
And in the last health funding agreement with the States, the Commonwealth ripped $1 billion out of public hospital funding.
Labor’s Health and Hospitals Reform Plan
Families should be able to expect that if they turn up at a hospital emergency department with a sick child, they are going to get the help they need, and get it quickly.
That’s why Labor has a $2 billion Health and Hospitals Reform Plan to take the pressure off emergency departments, free up hospital beds, and reduce waiting lists.
Labor is committed to working in partnership with State and Territory Governments to provide assistance for immediate reforms, to end the blame game and improve health services for all Australians.
Labor’s reform funding program has a number of elements.
First, we will provide funds to State and Territory Governments to achieve improved health outcomes.
Second, we will establish a National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission to develop a long-term health reform plan with performance benchmarks which the States and Territories will be required to meet.
Third, if the States and Territories have not started implementing reforms by the middle of 2009, Labor will seek a mandate from the Australian people for the Commonwealth to assume full funding responsibility for the nation’s public hospitals.
Labor’s Plan for Extra Nurses
As Australia suffers from a chronic skills shortage, Australia’s public and private hospitals desperately need more nurses.
That’s why Labor has announced a new $81 million plan to train and attract back into the workforce 9,250 nurses.
This is a significant first step in Labor’s long-term term plan to meet the nursing shortfall that currently exists under the Howard Government.
Within five years, Labor’s plan will provide:
 around 1,500 new graduate nurses by expanding nursing places at universities; and
 cash bonuses of $6,000 for 7,750 trained nurses who have been out of the health workforce for more than a year to return to our hospitals.
Federal Labor’s nursing plan will complement existing nursing re-entry and refresher programs offered by many State and Territory Governments.
GP Super Clinics
To take the pressure off hospital emergency departments and to improve the access and delivery of frontline health care for Australian families, Labor will invest $220 million to establish GP Super Clinics in local communities.
Labor’s investment will ensure that more families have access to doctors, nurses, specialists and allied health professionals (such as physiotherapists, podiatrists, dieticians and psychologists) all in one centre, in their local community where they need them.
Federal Labor's GP Super Clinics will establish a greater range of convenient and quality services in local communities – particularly in rural and regional areas and where Medicare has not been utilised to its fullest because of workforce shortages.
Elective Surgery Waiting List Reduction Plan
A key component of Labor’s national plan to fix our hospitals is a $600 million investment in cutting elective surgery waiting lists.
There are currently around 25,000 patients who have waited for longer than the clinically recommended time for their elective surgery.
In 2008, Labor will immediately invest $100 million to conduct a national blitz on elective surgery waiting lists to help clear the backlog of people who have been waiting longer than the clinically recommended time for elective surgery, such as hip replacements.
Labor will also invest $200 million to make systemic improvements to our hospitals, including the construction of additional day surgery units, and provide up to $300 million in dividend payments to the States for meeting waiting list reduction targets.
Commonwealth Dental Health Program
To end the blame game in dental health and to help those waiting to get their teeth fixed, Labor will invest $290 million in a new Commonwealth Dental Health Program.
This initiative will fund up to one million additional dental consultations.
The first instalment of Labor’s Dental Health Program will make funding available to the States and Territories to help clear the dental waiting list backlog.
Under the plan, State and Territory Governments will be required to meet new standards of dental care, including:
 providing priority services to individuals with chronic diseases affected by poor oral health;
 providing timely preventative and emergency services; and
 at least maintaining their current funding levels.
Aged Care
An important element of Labor's health and hospitals reform plan is boosting the provision of aged care services and improving the interface of aged care with the hospital system.
Federal Labor will invest $158 million over the next five years to create up to 2,000 transition care beds for older Australians who are currently waiting in hospital for an aged care bed and allow others to return to their home.
Federal Labor will also provide $300 million of loans at zero real interest rates to aged care providers to make up to 2,500 permanent residential aged care beds available to older Australians sooner.
Labor will also broaden the new Australian Health Care Agreement with the States and Territories to include aged care.
Labor’s National Cancer Plan
Every year, around 100,000 Australians are diagnosed with cancer, and almost 40,000 lose their life because of it.
While the battle against cancer is one with many stories of hope and survival, great fighting spirit, and stunning progress in medical science and research, we are a long way from defeating this insidious enemy.
That’s why Labor has announced a range of initiatives under Labor’s National Cancer Plan, focusing on treatment and support, prevention and investment in science and research.
To help prevent cancer and improve early detection, Labor will invest $25 million over three years to fund bowel cancer screening for Australian 50 year olds.
To improve cancer treatment and support services, Labor will invest $80 million in new cancer treatment facilities around the country, including:
 $15 million to establish a new Children's Cancer Centre in Adelaide;
 $15 million towards the establishment of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne; and
 $50 million towards the establishment of a Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Sydney.
To boost cancer research, Labor will also invest $15 million in cancer clinical trials, and a further $15 million in the establishment of two dedicated prostate cancer research centres – the first in Australia.
Preventative Health
More than 50 per cent of Australians have a chronic disease or long-term condition of some kind. Yet, only 1.7 per cent of recurrent national health budget outlays are spent on health promotion and preventative health care.
This places greater pressure on our hospitals, it adds to long-term health costs – which impact on the nation’s finances – and it disadvantages our economy and productivity if too many Australians are not in work.
That’s why Labor will develop a National Preventative Health Strategy.
This includes introducing a Healthy Habits for Life Guide and providing Healthy Kids Checks for primary school children to make sure all our kids are happy, healthy and ready to learn.
Labor will also elevate obesity as a major health challenge and will:
 invest $3.5 million in developing and distributing guidelines on healthy eating and physical activity in early childhood; and
 provide $12.8 million over four years to fund a Kitchen Garden Pilot Program in 190 primary schools to introduce children to the pleasures of growing and preparing fresh food.
7. Iraq
Key Line: Labor will work with our allies and our neighbours to strengthen Australia’s national security. Kevin Rudd is committed to a withdrawal of our combat troops from Iraq in consultation with our allies.
Failure in Iraq
Kevin Rudd has stated clearly that Australia’s participation in the war in Iraq represents the single greatest failure of national security policy since the Vietnam War.
Iraq has diverted Australia’s limited military resources from the military action against Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Labor did not support Australia’s involvement in the war in Iraq because military action was not authorised by the United Nations Security Council.
Labor’s position has subsequently been vindicated.
The war in Iraq was intended to eliminate Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – but none were found.
The war in Iraq was intended to reduce the terrorist threat – but it has only increased it.
The war in Iraq was supposed to herald Middle Eastern democracy – but it has not.
The war in Iraq was supposed to liberate an oppressed people – instead, according to conservative estimates, 81,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. According the British medical journal Lancet, up to 600,000 people have been killed altogether.
The UNHCR estimates that more than 2 million Iraqis have fled to neighbouring countries – and another 1 million have been internally displaced through sectarian violence and civil war.
The impact on the Australian Defence Forces and Defence budget has been significant – with the total cost of Australian operations in and around Iraq now standing at around $2 billion.
Labor has always supported our troops who, as always, have professionally executed the policy decisions of the government of the day.
The ADF has rightly earned a reputation for being one of the best military forces in the world.
But despite the professionalism of the ADF, the prosecution of the Iraq war has failed all of the key objectives set for it by the Howard Government.
As a result of our involvement in Iraq, Australia is now a greater terrorist target than would have otherwise been the case.
Labor’s Position on Withdrawal from Iraq
Labor’s position on the war in Iraq is clear.
We have indicated our intention to negotiate a withdrawal of our combat forces from southern Iraq in consultation with our allies, the United States and the United Kingdom, and with the Iraqi Government.
As Kevin Rudd has argued, we would allow our combat forces to remain in Iraq for the completion of what would then be their current rotation.
We would then provide one further six month rotation in consultation with our allies and the Iraqis so that there can be appropriate time for any necessary adjustments on the ground.
Labor has indicated that we will keep a number of other military assets – such as security for our diplomats, logistics transport aircraft, a navy frigate and surveillance aircraft – in and around Iraq. We will continue to examine an appropriate timetable for their eventual withdrawal.
A Rudd Labor Government will provide other forms of security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Iraq and support a broader diplomatic effort to encourage Iraqis to make progress on political reconciliation and power sharing.
Success in Iraq ultimately requires a political and economic solution, not just a military solution, and this must be reached by the different ethnic and sectarian factions in Iraq to end the civil war.
These policies are in line with the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton report to the United States Government, which we have long argued represents a credible way forward.
Further, Labor is committed to the deployment of Australian forces in Afghanistan fighting against those who perpetrated the September 11 terrorist attacks – Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
(Statement provided by candidate)
Contact Details
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PO Box 826
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Other CandidatesGRANT, George - CDP
LE, Daniel - FFP
* LLOYD, Jim - LP
RYAN, Helen - ON
TOMLIN, Nicholas - CEC
WROBLEWSKI, Mira - GRN
* incumbent
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