We’re in sunny, warm, breezy Darwin, where the Shorten campaign is definitely picking up speed. It’s looking like another three-city day, as was Thursday - which included Sydney, Adelaide and Darwin.
Bill Shorten was joined in Darwin by Warren Snowden, Labor’s MP for the huge electorate of Lingiari, and Luke Gosling, the candidate for the marginal seat of Solomon, centred around Darwin.
Solomon is held by Natasha Griggs for the Country Liberal Party by a very slim 1.4 per cent margin.
Shadow Workplace Relations Minister Brendan O’Connor started the press conference by announcing Labor’s policy to tighten conditions for employers wanting overseas workers on visas, such as 457, student and working holiday varieties.
This would prevent those jobs being advertised unless it could be proven that they had tried to hire Australians first. Not much detail given on how that would be enforced however.
Then onto the rest of the day’s news and Mr Shorten was very pleased to be questioned about former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s intervention into the debate over the coalition’s big enterprise plan to cut corporate taxes, in the hope it will drive jobs and growth, their campaign slogan.
The former Labor PM was being hailed by some on the coalition side as an example for Bill Shorten to follow, because he cut company-tax rates from 49 per cent to 33 per cent during his time in office.
But Mr Keating wrote in Friday’s Australian Financial Review, "tax reductions are desirable provided they are affordable."
"But I would never have countenanced a $50 billion impost on the budget balance with a discretionary unfunded tax cut," Mr Keating said.
Mr Shorten was thrilled by Mr Keating's entrance into the election fray: “Be careful what you wish for Malcolm because he’s been invoking the name of Paul Keating in a dishonest attempt to say somehow he is Keating-like. He is nothing like Keating."
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“Hasn’t the vintage Paul Keating emerged today strongly in the pages of the AFR. What Paul Keating has said is that everything in the way he is doing this corporate tax cut is wrong, wrong, wrong,” Mr Shorten added.
Given that the campaign has hit its final week, Mr Shorten was asked when would Labor release its costings?
“Tony Abbott released his costings I think, 8pm on the Thursday night before the Saturday," Mr Shorten said.
"I promise we’ll do that before then."
The very personable Seven Network political correspondent Tim Lester pressed the issue by asking: "That’s a bad benchmark though?”
Mr Shorten replied, “Well yes I agree, that’s why we won’t be as bad as him”.
As for his future as leader of the Labor party if it loses on July 2.
“You may think this election is over, I don’t," Mr Shorten said.
"I’m fighting this election down to the last minute. You can talk to me on 5.59pm on Saturday, I’ll still be chasing votes because we’ve got the best policies for Australia.”
Mr Shorten visited the Darwin RAAF base and that’s where we leave the NT for now.
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