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This concludes our live coverage of the official campaign launches of the Victorian Labor and Liberal parties today.
First up, Premier Ben Carroll fronted a sea of red supporters in Moonee Ponds, announcing his $1.2 billion public hospital surgery policy.
He said the promise would slash public hospital surgery waiting lists by 50 per cent.
His overall message was that he would take Labor into a “new direction” and could make history with a fourth consecutive term.
Over at Olympic Park, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson announced that if elected, she would send young criminals to bootcamp.
Wilson said this would teach them about self-respect and discipline, ideally helping them “turn their lives around”.
She outlined the Coalition’s plan to “restore hope” to Victoria by promising to cut crime and lower costs.
The next milestone in the road to the election will be on Wednesday, when early voting opens.
People can vote at any early voting centre within Victoria until 6pm on the day before election day, except for Sunday, November 22.
One Nation’s latest candidate for NSW state election
Stepping away from the Victorian campaign launches for some interesting political news in Sydney, One Nation NSW leader Mike Newman today announced four new upper house candidates for the state’s March election, including controversial anti-transgender campaigner Katherine Deves.
Deves, who is a prominent campaigner opposing the inclusion of trans women in women’s sport, was the Liberal Party’s pick to take on Warringah MP Zali Steggall at the 2022 federal election.
Her candidacy prompted a firestorm of criticism and she issued a series of apologies on social media posts including one in which she compared her anti-trans activism to resistance against the Nazis.
Deves today criticised what she described as NSW’s “out-of-control” bureaucracy, as well as diversity and inclusion policies.
Read more here.
Analysis: ‘New direction’ falls back on past strengths
Ben Carroll’s pitch to voters is all about going in a new direction, but he used his campaign launch to talk about two topics Labor has always relied on.
Over the past 48 hours, Carroll has announced nearly $3 billion in promises for education and health, in the form of school upgrades and a pledge to halve the waitlist for planned surgery.
Labor believes these are the areas where voters still have some anxiety about what a more conservative government would do.
They have spent months sounding the alarm about a potential Liberal and One Nation government, but the latest Resolve Political Monitor shows almost half of voters don’t find that prospect particularly frightening.
In pictures: Labor, Liberal launch their election campaigns
Carroll promises 25,000 extra surgeries a year if elected
Premier Ben Carroll has held a press conference to expand on his public hospital surgery policy, which he announced at today’s campaign launch.
The policy appears to be a direct response to the Coalition’s $1.27 billion policy to deliver an extra 25,000 elective surgeries a year by sending public patients to private hospitals.
Carroll said Labor’s $1.17 billion would also deliver 25,000 extra surgeries a year, but in the public system, which would cut the waiting list in half.
Labor would also spend $195 million over four years for 500,000 extra specialist appointments.
Analysis: Liberal launch served two purposes
Jess Wilson’s speech to formally launch the Liberal Party election campaign had two purposes.
The first was to clinch the argument that, after 12 years of Labor, Victoria is in desperate need of a new government.
The second was to warn her own party, as it rides the wave of a powerful mood for change, not to get ahead of itself in the final, crucial stage of its campaign.
Early voting starts on Wednesday and it is likely that some polling places will be swamped by Victorians impatient to have their say.
Battin has final say as Liberal launch ends
The Liberals welcomed to the stage their candidate for Niddrie, Samantha Byrne, who is taking on Premier Ben Carroll.
Byrne was introduced to the stage by frontbencher and former party leader Brad Battin, who labelled her “the next member for Niddrie”.
Internally, the party believes it can unseat Carroll, in what would be a major blow to Labor.
Byrne, a former mayor, said Niddrie had been taken for granted by Labor. She said voters’ lives in Niddrie had not improved, adding that she would fight for the community.
Wilson wraps up at Olympic Park
Opposition leader Jess Wilson finished her address by saying that the Coalition is the only party with a plan to pay down the state’s ballooning debt, although she conceded that some economists “would like us to go harder, go faster”.
“I can’t remember an election where there’s been such an intense focus on the need to pay down debt,” she said.
Wilson said the opposition, which plans to produce a cash surplus by 2032, would repair the economy, whereas “Labor sees taxpayers as a credit card”.
The Liberals have announced a range of expensive policies for the next term of government, while identifying savings over a 10-year period. It has also not costed a range of policies, and will only release them the day before the election on November 28.
Bootcamps for young offenders under Liberal government
Some young criminals will be sent to bootcamps if the Liberal Party is elected, Jess Wilson promised at her campaign launch.
The policy, announced today, would create a new sentencing order enabling courts to send offenders aged 14 to 17 to bootcamps, where they would follow a daily program of physical activity, cleaning, agriculture, education, cooking and laundry.
Wilson said this would teach them about self-respect and discipline, ideally helping them “turn their lives around”.
“Make no mistake, this is about consequences for action. But it’s also about giving kids a second chance – a chance to build a good life for themselves. To contribute to society and live a meaningful life”
Labor has criticised the plan, calling it an “uncosted, half-baked thought bubble”. Labor has its own mandatory rehabilitation plan, costed at $204 million.
The opposition said their plan would cost $60 million and would be funded under their previously announced $100 million Safer Communities Plan.
Wilson says she’ll restore hope to Victorians
At Olympic Park, Jess Wilson outlined the Coalition’s plan to “restore hope” to Victoria.
She promised to cut crime by hiring 3000 new police, reopening police stations and implementing harsher penalties for criminals who offend on bail.
She also said the opposition would lower costs and not introduce any new or increased taxes. The Coalition would scrap or reduce taxes including the emergency services and volunteers levy, land tax and stamp duty.
Thirdly, Wilson promised that the Coalition would “deliver a government that works”. This includes repairing pothole-riddled roads; strengthening the terms of reference for the Big Build royal commission; increasing infrastructure funding for the regions; and slashing the surgery waitlist.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
