Tag Archives: anthony albanese

Regional Understanding, From The MP For Marrickville

25 Mar

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 25 March 2013:

Labor ignores regional Australia again

Ms Gillard has decided that the best place to understand regional Australia is from Marrickville.

Anthony Albanese hasn’t got the conviction to stand by his ally Rudd but seemingly will have the conviction to look after the interests of regional Australia. He has gained a very good grasp of it apparently from his electorate office located at 334A Marrickville Road, Marrickville.

Obviously the Member for Page, Capricornia or Lingiari are not competent enough in the Ministry. It is saying something when you get a Minister for Regional Australia from Marrickville.

When you look at it from our point of view in regional Australia, imagine if we had the Minister for Urban Issues with his electorate office in Quilpie. It is a slap in the face of what the term regional means and nobody in regional areas can take this portfolio under Gillard seriously any more.

Five Coalition Shadow Cabinet Ministers are based in regional Australia as opposed to none from Labor. How can this government possibly represent regional Australia when they do not have a single minister based in a regional area?

Mr Albanese held the Regional Development and Local Government ministries from 2007 to 2010 and did nothing to improve the lives of rural and regional Australians.

He managed to strip $1 billion out of regional programmes in the first budget alone and $500 million from the Regional Partnerships and Growing Regions programmes.

Area Consultative Committees were abolished and along with it 500 voluntary committee positions and 150 jobs. After breaking his promise of retaining these programs Mr Albanese even refused to fund projects already approved for funding by the former Government.

Based on Mr Albanese’s track record in Regional Development, why did Prime Minister Gillard reward him with these portfolios? It just proves that Regional Australia is nothing but an afterthought for Ms Gillard and the Labor Party.

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Now THAT’S What I’m Talkin’ About, Australia!!

2 Sep

UPDATE:

Here they are … the last remaining embodiments of the true Aussie spirit –

Regular readers may recall my post following the Convoy Of No Confidence rally in Canberra, entitled “The Day We Proved That Australia Has Lost Its Soul”.

Well looky here, ladies and gentlemen.

Here is a fantastic example of the traditional Great Australian soul that I thought had vanished, making another small yet glorious reappearance:

Anthony Albanese abused amid anger over his dismissal of anti-carbon tax convoy

Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has been grabbed and abused by anti-carbon tax protesters who marched to his Sydney electorate office, calling him a “loser” and a “maggot”.

Hundreds marched through Marrickville, in Mr Albanese’s inner-west electorate, riled by his jibe in August that the Convoy of No Confidence, the anti-carbon tax protest by truck drivers outside Parliament House in Canberra, was really a “convoy of no consequence”.

Protest organiser Jacques Laxale said about 500 people had gathered to demand to know why they were “of no consequence”.

Federal opposition frontbencher Sophie Mirabella marched alongside protesters carrying placards that read “Tolerance is our demise”, “WTF has happened to free speech” and “Carbon dioxide is not pollution”.

She told the crowd: “Please maintain your right to a democratic say. Please do not ever be intimidated, no matter how smarmy, how sarcastic any member of parliament (is), no matter how exalted their position. Never be intimidated.”

Verdun Walsh said he joined the protest because he was deeply offended by Mr Albanese’s comments and wanted his voice to be heard.

He carried a placard saying: “I am 94 years of age, an ex POW, I am not incontinent, I am not of no consequence, I vote, save the Labor Party name, resign now Mr Albanese.”

During the noisy protest, a female protester grabbed Mr Albanese by the tie and called him “gutless” and a “maggot”.

Mr Albanese, after being surrounded by angry protesters who hurled abuse at him, went back inside his office, only to return five minutes later.

“Yelling me down does not do anything for your cause,” Mr Albanese told the crowd, amid boos and jeers.

“For a group of people saying they’re here to campaign for democracy and the right to be heard, you have a funny way of showing it.”

He pointed to a placard that read “Convoy of Courage”, saying: “It doesn’t take a great deal of courage for 150 people to abuse one.”

Protesters also claimed that the government was illegitimate and called for an election.

Now THAT’s more bloody like it Australia!

Bravo! Mr Verdun Walsh.

You are my new hero!

Is it any wonder just why I love old people?

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Barnaby: “Labor And Mr Windsor Take Us All As Mugs”

26 May

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 26 May 2011:

Albo takes Independents for a ride

Mr John Fullerton, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Rail Track Corporation, has unfortunately delivered the clear position of the Labor Government with their perennial announcement and sugar cube to Mr Windsor on the Inland Rail.

Mr Albanese stated in his media release of 10 May 2011 that the Inland Rail was “finally out of the station.” Mr Windsor was part of the game as an able Labor Lieutenant stating in his media release of the same date that the “Inland Rail builds up head of steam”.

Contradicting this rhetoric, Mr Fullerton stated to me in Estimates today that the inland rail was not their priority.

Senator Joyce: I notice you’ve got $300 million put aside [for the Inland Rail], but that’s not actually building anything is it? That’s just design work. When are we actually going to start building something there?

Mr Fullerton: On the inland route?

Senator Joyce: Yes

Mr Fullerton: Well we conducted a study last year that determined that that wasn’t yet economic. Our priority at the moment is to build a coastal route …

It is not only that they are taking Australia for a ride on this crucial piece of infrastructure between Melbourne and Brisbane, and ultimately Gladstone, but it shows how Labor and Mr Windsor take us all as mugs.

Just like the announcement for the NBN in Armidale where they pushed the button with an explosion of light and wonder when in fact there were only seven (7) customers, and even some of them had been connected for weeks. It was fake Julia with fake friends at the very expensive deceptive ceremony to push the nonsensical fake button.

Whether it is railway lines or telephone lines or lines of credit or their lines at the doors in the morning just remember they think you’re a mug and they are taking you for a ride.

More Information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433

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Barnaby: Labor’s “Free Beer Tomorrow” Budget

11 May

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce and The Hon. Bob Baldwin, 11 May 2011:

A letdown for regional Australia

For regional Australia this budget amounts to beautiful promises but a meagre reality.

“This Budget is a cunning and shrewd way to promise lots, do less now and saying trust me I’ll do the rest of what I was going to do later. In other words “I really, really love you but I just don’t want to get married yet, but by gosh it will be a big engagement ring when I say I do” said Senator Barnaby Joyce today.

“As long as you say the numbers but don’t tell the time, this trick always works. It is the typical “free beer tomorrow” promise,” Senator Joyce said.

“The only thing this Budget delivers for regional Australia is a serving of mirage economics,” Mr Baldwin said.

“This Budget proves the Gillard Government’s commitments to regional Australia are nothing but unfunded spin.

“The Coalition was investing more in regional Australia than the Gillard Government is, and we didn’t need a massive mining tax to pay for it.

“Labor are so caught up in spin they think that just by whacking the word ‘regional’ into a program name they’ve done their bit for regional Australia.

“Not a single one of Labor’s regional funds actually quarantines funding for regional Australia – the terms of the Regional Development Australia Fund permit the entire fund to be spent in capital cities.

“Just two months ago Simon Crean promised $1 billion for the Regional Development Australia Fund but the Government’s own Budget shows Labor will deliver just $150 million of this funding before the next election,” Mr Baldwin said.

This Budget shows that $500 million has been cut from regional programs.

1. $350 million from the Priority Regional Infrastructure Program. 1

2. $100 million from the Building Better Regional Cities program. 2

3. $50 million redirected from the Regional Development Australia fund for projects in Lyne. 3

Senator Joyce added that “On top of that it is the triumph of rhetoric over substance when you can announce a $1 billion road without one inch of asphalt. 4

“The Magnus opus of Simon Crean’s regional policy has to be seen to be disbelieved. I can not wait to tell the people of Tenterfield that part of their regional policy goes to assist the Australian Antarctic division. I know it is getting cold there but I didn’t know it was that freezing.

“More substantially, the people of Southern Cross will be ecstatic about the regional development appropriation for Perth Airport roads amounting to $480 million. That folks is the biggest allocation from “regional” infrastructure spending,” Senator Joyce said.

1. Budget paper no. 2, p. 293

2. Budget paper no. 2, p. 290

3. Budget paper no. 2, p. 290

4. From Minister Albanese’s media release ‘More Funding for the Pacific Highway’, “The extra funding will complete all the necessary detailed planning along those remaining sections of highway where this has not already occurred. If matched by the NSW Government, further construction could also begin in the short term including on the Frederickton to Eungai section.” (emphasis added), http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases/2011/May/budget-infra_05-2011.htm

More Information – Matthew Canavan 0458 709433 Senator Joyce’s office
Alistair Mitchell – 0411 157707 Mr Baldwin’s office

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Another Dodgy Deal Done Dearly

27 Jul

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 27 July 2010:

In possibly what might be the dying days of a dilapidated and dodgy government, the Auditor General has slammed the process the Labor Party used to allocate taxpayer funds into what apparently has become a cash kick along for Labor mates in trouble.

The Auditor General’s performance audit on the “establishment, implementation and administration of the strategic projects component of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program” found that due process on occasion was abandoned when it came to Labor mates in Labor seats. In many instances the assessment criterion was abandoned in applications, in many cases documentation for assessment was not apparent and for the project in general the Government has not followed its own Cabinet authorised guidelines.

In summary it is like this for the Labor party. When in trouble, cheat.

The approval rate for projects located in a Labor held seat was 42.1%, compared to 18.4% for projects located in Coalition held seats. The awarding of funding disproportionably favoured ALP seats. Even worse was the fact that the Government discriminated further against rural Australians by only approving 12.1% in Labor seats with Coalition held seats on a mere 5.3% approval. 71% (143) of the 202 projects short listed for risk assessment by the department, based on the short listing criteria agreed by cabinet on the 19th March 2009, were ineligible or non compliant in terms of the published program guidelines.

The Coalition will get a fair deal for rural and regional Australia where so much of our national wealth is produced.

It seems that the Labor Party is using the same process in delivering funds as they used in removing a duly elected Prime Minister of the Australian people. It is a mates’ job at mates’ rates. Bad luck if you are not a mate.

This is the second damming indictment by the Auditor General on Mr Albanese, the Minister for Infrastructure in the past week. However what else should the Australian people expect from this dodgy crowd?

More Information – Jenny Swan 0746 251500

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Joyce: Same Old Labor

16 Jul

Media Release – Senator Barnaby Joyce, 16 July 2010:

Same old Labor: double the announcement, half the value

Anthony Albanese was quoted in the Brisbane Times this morning as saying that Labor “supports” the $8.2 billion Brisbane cross-river rail project.

“I am interested to know exactly what this support means”, Senator Barnaby Joyce, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, said today.

“Labor certainly has no money left in the nation’s cookie jar. They have only $705 million left unallocated in the Building Australia Fund.”

“Instead Labor has wasted most of their $90 billion stimulus, investing it in insulation and over priced school halls. They only spent 14% of this amount on economic infrastructure.”

In 2008, Labor promised to establish a $20 billion infrastructure fund. It only received $10.9 billion due to Labor’s wasteful and reckless spending and the money the fund did receive came from the Coalition’s last budget surplus ($7.5 billion), money ripped out from funds to deliver broadband in the bush ($2.5 billion) and the sale of Telstra ($1 billion).

“So we are left with half the infrastructure promised but with $150 billion gross debt. Same old Labor: double the announcement with half the value.”

“This is just more evidence that Labor can’t manage the nation’s finances. Australia can’t risk another 3 years of Labor”.

More Information – Jenny Swan 0746 251500, 0438 578 402

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