E&OE...
Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.44Mb - 94secs)
Good morning,
In the next few days, we'll witness the ritualistic phoney war of a Labor Party national conference.
As in the past, the Labor leader will make a great play of staring down his critics from the left.
It would be comical if it wasn't such an insult to the intelligence of the Australian people.
The real test for Mr Rudd is to lay out in detail his agenda to keep our economy strong.
During 11 years in Opposition, the Labor Party has not developed a coherent alternative economic policy. In 11 years, it has not developed a credible tax policy.
Mr Rudd, moreover, has no way of explaining to the Australian people the economic consequences of his policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent. He admits he not carried out any analysis of the impact this policy would have on jobs or investment in our country.
In the past 11 years, Labor has failed to come to grips with the transformation of modern Australia.
Only 15 per cent of the private sector workforce belongs to a union, yet Labor wants to take Australia back to a union-dominated bargaining system in our workplaces.
Now is the time for Mr Rudd to tell Sharan Burrow and the union movement that rolling back economic reform is bad for Australia; that fairness in the workplace starts with the chance of a job; and that Australia cannot afford the first major reversal of economic reform in a generation.
[ends]
Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.44Mb - 94secs)