People's forum kicks off with Abbott

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has told 200 undecided voters he's in the "race of my
life" at a people's forum in Brisbane.
Mr Abbott shook hands with members of the public as he walked into the Broncos
Leagues Club to face questions from the audience.
He stood on the floor and not on the stage, in a repeat of his successful
performance at a similar forum in western Sydney last week.
"We've been let down by our government and I am now running the race of my life to
try to give this great country the better government that it deserves," Mr Abbott
told the audience in his speech before questions started.
He said a coalition government would be better than Labor, although not perfect,
because "nothing is ever perfect in this vale of tears".
Prime Minister Julia Gillard will appear after Mr Abbott.
She invited him to a separate debate on the economy on Wednesday evening, but it
appears that debate may not be going ahead.
A student then suggested Mr Abbott might consider banning abortions, so that those
children could populate Australia and eventually prop up the economy instead of
immigrants.
The opposition leader initially dodged the question, saying only that he was in
favour of bigger Australian families, and supported cuts to immigration rates.
But when pressed on the issue of outlawing abortion, Mr Abbott said it wasn't his
policy.
"I wouldn't do it, I just wouldn't," he said.
Mr Abbott said current immigration rates were unsustainable.
"The problem is we had 301,000 immigrants in 2008, we had 277,000 immigrants in
2009," he said.
"So we'll be cutting by at least 100,000 on the immigration figure from 2009. It
will be maximum of 170,000 under the coalition."
A young woman called Sarah asked Mr Abbott about legalising gay marriage, comparing
the current ban on gay marriage to a previous ban on inter-racial marriages.
Mr Abbott said there was no parallel, but said he hoped to reduce discrimination
against gay people.
"I can fully understand why gay people feel that they've been ripped off over the
years ... I am as strong as anyone to want to see everyone given the rights and the
dignity that every single human being ... should be accorded," he said.
But Mr Abbott said marriage should be between a man and a woman.
"That's not to say that men and women who are married love each other more than
other people in other sorts of relationships."
Mr Abbott, who was watched by his wife and eldest daughter sitting in the crowd,
then talked of his plans to "slim down" the public service.
He also warned that Greens leader Bob Brown would be an "unofficial cabinet
minister" if Labor won the election, in reference to a preferences deal which is
likely to help the Greens into the balance of the power in the Senate.
Mr Abbott defended his decision not to appear beside shadow treasurer Joe Hockey and
opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb at the earlier release of the coalition's
policy costings.
He said he debated the economy "every day" and trusted his colleagues to handle
their portfolio areas without him.
Talk then turned to education, with another student asking how the opposition leader
would help her to repay her university HECS debt.
Mr Abbott unveiled a "pilot policy" that would see students who spent a considerable
amount of time volunteering receive credit towards their tertiary bills.
"It's not going to be for everyone and it's going to start off small, but that is an
idea that came out of the 20/20 Summit," he said.
"It's not one that has been progressed at all by the current government but it is
one that I would like to see at least tried, and we will try it if I get elected on
Saturday."
On the question of peak oil, Mr Abbott said he wasn't the "world's greatest expert"
on the matter.
"I am sceptical as to its value as a tool for policymakers because at the right
price, we've got a lot more reserves than we currently think," he said.
"With better technology we've got a lot more reserves than we currently think."
Mr Abbott said oil was not a limitless resource, but it wasn't as finite as might be
thought.
Mr Abbott told the audience, which included some pensioners who voiced concerns
about making ends meet, that an income of $100,000 did not necessarily make one
rich.
"You can have an income over $100,000 but if you've got three or four kids and
you've got a big mortgage, $100,000 ain't rich," Mr Abbott said in response to
questions about restricting middle-class welfare.
"Almost no-one will admit to being rich."
A student named Billie, with a pierced lip, accused Mr Abbott of being transparent
and asked if he was worried that "your paternalistic use of Aussie slang words like
fair dinkum could be insulting the intelligence of the public".
Mr Abbott said it was hard to keep everyone happy all the time.
One forum participant reminded Mr Abbott of some disparaging comments his former
boss John Hewson had made about his political abilities, particularly on economic
issues.
It obviously hit a sore spot with the opposition leader.
"You know John Hewson is even more critical of Julia Gillard?" he said, without
addressing her question.
"So if you are going to set him up as an expert on me, set him up as an expert more
generally."
The touchy issue of Work Choices was also raised.
"As far as I am concerned, the lesson is absolutely, totally learned," he said.
"It is gone forever, under any name, just gone."
While "not perfect", Mr Abbott boasted his $6 billion broadband plan was "very
expensive" and not a "cheapskate" policy next to Labor's faster $43 billion
proposal.
"What about all those people who use their computers away from their home - why
should they be chained to a fibre cable?" he said.
"How old fashioned is that, to say that you've got to be plugged into a wall
somewhere if you want to get access to fast broadband services."
But the opposition leader praised Labor for the way it had cracked down on the
international education sector, saying it would make the industry more sustainable
in the long run.
After the questions finished, Mr Abbott gave closing remarks in which he said the
forum was "much better than question time in parliament", and criticised former
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for being too verbose in parliament.
Mr Abbott said some of the forum's participants "obviously don't think that much of
me, that's your right".
He vowed to campaign continuously in the two remaining days to convince the public
to elect him prime minister.
"I know that the Australian public do not lightly change the government ... you need
to know that I want it, and I do".
"I want the Australian people to know that I am ready to govern."



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