Nationals ready for government: Truss

(AAP) - Nationals leader Warren Truss has declared the party ready for government, saying the more time given to Labor, the more opportunity they have to stuff up the nation.

Addressing the Nationals annual conference in Canberra, Mr Truss said many well
remembered the damage wrought on the nation by Gough Whitlam over 1104 days - and
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had now racked up 938 days.
"The nation is bleeding cash and confidence and hope like a ruptured artery," he
told assembled Nationals MPs and delegates.
"It will be a long, hard haul to turn around the runaway debt train, when Rudd
government borrowing is increasing by an astonishing $100 million every single day.
The more time Labor has, the more they stuff it up."
Mr Truss said the Nationals were united.
"Never have we been more focused on repairing the damage caused by Labor. We have a
sound working relationship with our Liberal colleagues. The Nationals are ready for
government," he said.
But it hasn't been a smooth ride, with the merged Queensland Liberal National Party
(LNP) embroiled in scandal, with MP Michael Johnson expelled, and high profile
candidate Hajnal Ban disendorsed after questions were raised about the handling of
an impaired man's money.
Mr Truss said the Queensland party had done well to get itself up and running, and
problems with candidates happened in all parties.
"Sometimes circumstances change with candidates and, therefore, we have to move on.
That has happened in Queensland. It obviously would be better if it hadn't
happened," he told reporters.
Mr Truss said the polls showed Labor was particularly unacceptable in Queensland.
Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce agreed.
"Not only will we provide a united front, we are going to win seats," he told
reporters.
In his speech, Mr Truss praised Senator Joyce for his and fellow Nationals senators'
role in torpedoing Labor's carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS).
"The public opinion changed from overwhelming support for tax to outright rejection.
Now it has no credence even amongst the Labor Party," he said.
"The Nationals have a proud record of achievement over 90 years, and this was one of
our finest hours," he said.
Mr Truss said a coalition government would launch a series of measures to help rural
and regional Australia, including a $1 billion regional education fund, a $600
million program to repair rundown rural bridges and a new generous six-month
allowance to replace the baby bonus.
Labor's Better Regions program would be retained and given an injection of funds.
But, he said, not all of this would be achievable immediately.
"Our first task will be to restore the budget to surplus and start to pay back the
Rudd debt. We cannot keep borrowing. But there are some things we can do now," he
said.
Mr Truss said that like the CPRS, the Nationals remained implacably opposed to the
government's proposed resources super-profits tax which Labor claimed would actually
make the industry stronger.
"The CPRS tax was to reduce carbon emissions, the increased tax on cigarettes was to
make people give up smoking and the tax on alcopops was to reduce drinking," he
said.
"But the great big new tax on mining was supposed to deliver more mining. Who was
the genius who dreamed this one up?"