Parties hit impasse over economic debate

Labor and the coalition continue to talk up their economic credentials but neither
side can agree on whether the leaders will take part in a showdown over how they
will manage Australia's purse strings.
As Tuesday drew to a close, the issue remained at an impasse as both Labor and the
coalition refused to give ground.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wants a 30-minute debate on Tuesday night hosted by
the ABC - though the leaders will be in different locations.
He is on the south central coast of NSW and Prime Minister Julia Gillard - who wants
an hour debate on Wednesday ahead of a town hall-style forum in Queensland - is en
route to Perth.
"I will back my economic credentials against the credentials of ... (Ms Gillard) any
day," Mr Abbott told reporters late on Tuesday.
He didn't say if he would take part in a debate on Wednesday if it didn't occur on
Tuesday.
"There's no reason why we can't debate the economy tonight," Mr Abbott said.
Letters flew between ALP national secretary Karl Bitar and Liberal federal campaign
director Brian Loughnane over the course of the day, with both sides refusing to
shift their position.
"The prime minister will be in Brisbane tomorrow night for an economic debate and a
town hall meeting. Mr Abbott's reluctance to participate speaks volumes about his
lack of a plan for our $1.3 trillion economy," Mr Bitar said in a letter issued
around lunchtime.
Away from the debate kerfuffle, Mr Abbott announced a major welfare initiative,
linking it to the coalition's economic agenda.
The plan to tackle long-term unemployment and increase workforce participation is
part of his reform vision to move Australia from "welfare state to opportunity
society".
"My ambition is for us to make the journey from welfare state to opportunity society
... which preserves the comprehensive safety net but which eliminates the cancer of
passive welfare," Mr Abbott told the National Press Club in what is likely to be his
last major pitch to voters before the election.
As part of its economic plan, the coalition signalled it would look at a program for
issuing infrastructure bonds that could raise up to $20 billion to fund private
sector investment in major road, rail and port projects.
But the coalition's attempt to sell its economic message took a bit of a bruising
when senior frontbencher George Brandis went off message.
The coalition is promising to bring the budget back to surplus by 2012/13 but
Senator Brandis forgot the coalition line during an interview on Sky News.
"We can't say for certain when the budget will be back in surplus," he said.
The coalition infrastructure proposal is in response to what it sees as a
significant waste in Labor's economic stimulus spending.
But Ms Gillard still believes the stimulus is a vote-winner for the government,
urging workers in far north Queensland to consider how Labor had helped protect jobs
by pumping money into the economy.
"That election on Saturday is really about some very important things. Mostly, more
than anything else, it's about the strength of our national economy," she told
workers at a mining equipment company in Mackay.
"What we did is we invested in jobs. It was the right thing to do because I've met
Australians who have literally had their lives shattered, their families' lives
shattered, because they'd lost their jobs."
While the economy was her key focus, Mr Abbott was forced to canvass a range of
issues when he responded to questions at the NPC.
He defended his plan to have the final say - on the advice of naval commanders - on
whether to turn asylum seeker boats back at sea.
He refused to countenance problems for a coalition government if he turned back a
boat, which subsequently sank and resulted in deaths or injury.
"The legal position today would be the same as the legal position was back in 2001
and 2002 when boats were successfully turned around and lives weren't lost," Mr
Abbott said.
"No great fuss was made."
However, a 2002 Senate report into the children overboard affair and other matters
found that in at least one instance, people died after interception by Australian
authorities.
According to the report, 12 suspected asylum seeker boats, known as suspected
illegal entry vessels (SIEV), were intercepted under Operation Relex, a Howard
government program to stop the boats heading to Australia.
Under the program, four boats were escorted back to Indonesia and three sank "at
some point during the interception or tow-back process".
"Their passengers were rescued, with the loss of two lives on SIEV 10," the report
said.



Delete & Prev | Delete & Next