In the News
Matter of Public Importance - 4 June 2013
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Thursday, 6th June 2013
Alex Hawke
MP, Federal Member for Mitchell said households and families will get another
rude shock in less than a month when the carbon tax increases by another 5 per
cent.
“The carbon
tax is a bad tax based on a lie and only the Coalition will abolish the carbon
tax. Families, pensioners, retirees and small businesses have all seen their
electricity and gas bills rise because of the carbon tax – and they will go up
again after 1 July” said Alex Hawke MP.
“Households
are trying to get ahead – yet under this government, electricity prices have
gone up nationwide by 94 per cent and gas prices have gone up by 62 per cent (since
start of 2008). Australian manufacturers, who all pay the carbon tax, have
to compete against overseas companies that don’t pay it.
“The carbon
tax is hurting family budgets, putting jobs at risk and damaging the economy.
Alex Hawke
said his unequivocal pledge was that Coalition would abolish the carbon tax.
“We will
abolish it – it’s that simple. Repealing the carbon tax will be the first
piece of legislation introduced, if the Coalition wins government.
“Julia
Gillard said there would be no carbon tax under the government she leads and
all Australians know that she broke her word.
Alex Hawke
said the coming election was a referendum on the carbon tax and a bad
government that does not keep its promises.
“The choice
in this election is clear: a Coalition government that will abolish the carbon
tax, ease cost of living pressures and create more jobs or another three years
of a chaotic Labor who have legislated for even more increases in the carbon
tax.
Across Western Sydney,
Labor members of parliament like Julie Owens in Parramatta, Michelle Rowland in
Greenway and Ed Husic in Chifley have to state for the record if they support
thislegislated rise in the carbon tax which is another broken promise.
Thursday, 6th June 2013
Alex Hawke MP, Federal Member for
Mitchell, said local residents must be fully informed about any health and
safety dangers from Labor’s NBN rollout and how these will be managed well
before work begins.
“There are
serious questions the Government needs to answer about asbestos and its
NBN. Labor’s NBN involves running fibre to 12 million homes and businesses
across Australia. In a majority of cases that requires digging up local
streets and re-using or replacing Telstra’s pits. It is estimated up to
one third of pits – those built between the 1950s and early 1980s – are
asbestos-contaminated, and this work therefore poses risks to workers and
residents alike unless safety procedures are carefully followed.
“We need a
safety first, politics last approach when it comes to asbestos. In speaking in
the Parliament on this matter earlier this week, I stated we should not
politicise this issue but;
“when I look at the map of Western Sydney and I
look at Liberal seats and marginal seats and I see the NBN rolling out in those
marginal seats, who has politicised this debate?’”
“It is very
disappointing that Labor has failed to properly manage the health and safety
hazards of its approach to the NBN. And it is unacceptable that
subcontractors working on the NBN have exposed employees and local residents to
danger by not complying with required procedures to ensure such work is safe.
“I have had
calls from members of our community concerned that if we were to see this
government even begin a rollout of the NBN in Mitchell, that members of the
community would be put at risk of the exposure to asbestos.
Alex Hawke
MP said one of the advantages of the Coalition's NBN plan is that
infrastructure between street cabinets and premises is in most cases not
disturbed.
“We won’t be
digging up streets and opening pits in front of millions of homes and
businesses. Instead our plan is to roll out fibre to nodes that each
serve several hundred premises, and use the existing network to make the final
connection. This will greatly reduce the disturbance of ducts and pits
including those made out of asbestos containing material, This contributes to making our plan less
expensive, faster to deploy, and much safer.
Alex Hawke
MP said the Gillard Government needed to come clean and detail to communities
how workers, subcontractors and residents will be protected from the risk of
exposure to asbestos in areas where Labor’s NBN is rolled out.
The text of Alex’s speech on ‘The Government’s mismanagement of the NBN
Rollout’ can be found online at http://bit.ly/11k3RpJ
Thursday, 6th June 2013
Alex Hawke MP, Federal Member for
Mitchell says the next election, due in exactly 100 days, will provide the
people of Mitchell with a clear choice.
“The election will be a choice
between the Coalition with its Real Solutions Plan to build a strong,
prosperous economy, or another three years of chaos and broken promises from
Labor”, said Alex Hawke MP.
“As I listen to residents at
shopping centres, school events and sporting grounds, they are telling me that
they want a return to good government.
“They also want a government that
has a strong plan to help families get ahead, deal with cost of living
pressures and creates more jobs.
“The carbon tax will be a big
issue, particularly as it is going to go up again by 5 per cent on 1 July. If elected, removing the carbon tax will be
the first priority of a new Coalition government.
Alex Hawke said he was talking to
people throughout Mitchell about the Coalition’s plans for a stronger economy
with more jobs, higher wages and better services for all Australians.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a
student, or parent or older person, you want to be able to plan your future
with confidence. Our Plan allows people
to do that.
“We will assist household budgets
by abolishing the carbon tax and take immediate pressure off electricity and
gas bills. We will also help families, retirees and pensioners by keeping
the tax thresholds as well as fortnightly pension and benefit increases.
This will provide tax cuts and pension increases without a carbon tax.
“If we are elected on September
14, we will do the important things that this government has neglected like
getting the Budget back under control, repaying debt, ending the waste and
stopping the boats.
Alex Hawke said the next election
was a choice between more Labor debt, deficits, division and dysfunction and
the Coalition with the Plan and experience to restore hope, reward and
opportunity and to help all Australians get ahead.
“Australia needs a Coalition
government to provide Australians with the good government that our country
deserves.”
"You certainly do not help Australian workers and
Australian jobs by passing a bill called the Australian Jobs Bill, although we
know that this government has some sort of fetish for Orwellian titles of its
bills. It thinks that by calling it the Australian Jobs Bill that, somehow, this
will create jobs in Australia. The coalition of course rejects such a proposal.
In fact, when you look through this legislation it really gives you the sense
that we are having a bill for a bill's sake—and certainly we have Bill at the
table at the moment, so maybe we are having a bill for a Bill's sake. But we
have grave concerns about this bill, which proposes meaningless changes to the
Australian Industry Participation plan." Click here to read the full speech.