12Q3
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING, MP
NO ISSUES PLEASE WE'RE PROFESSIONALS
The Coalition's " strategy" of keeping the Australian people in the dark about
policy matters for the election has today reached new heights of absurdity.
The Liberals have refused to answer a straightforward question put to them
by the ABC on what they see as the main issues at the next election because
this " is of a strategic political nature and cannot be disclosed before the
election campaign".
Andrew Robb, the Liberal Party's Federal Director, has justified this insult to
the Australian electorate on the grounds that the parties are playing for big
stakes and it is professional and disciplined not to comment on these matters.
This is despite an Adelaide newspaper report today which suggests the
Liberal Party's policies for the election were " finalised and packaged at the
weekend." If they're ready, why not let the public see them and make an
informed assessment.
John Howard and his colleagues are quite happy to engage in daily exercises
in muckraking and personal abuse but do not have the honesty and
intellectual depth to engage the Australian people in a debate on the kind of
Australia they envisage for the future and on the policies which could achieve
this. And yet, when the Government points to the ideological attitudes and the
previous policies they have taken to the people as a guide to their real
intentions, the Liberals simply accuse us of lying and of manufacturing a
scare campaign.
Mr Robb's latest excursion into the absurd only serves to increase the
suspicion and scepticism with which Australians will view the Coalition's
political tactics.
CANBERRA 1 NOVEMBER 1995
N. oa mJ QJ .1 ' VJrck t% AovC Aov,, W( 2
ROB Well as we've predicted for months now, we've observed that their
members, especially in tie regional seats, whoiu t1my'ie vulnetable, have been running away from
Paul Koating, running a hundred miles from Paul Keating, trying to distance themselves from the
Labor Party, but the irony is that everyone of those people have voted for every pioco of legislation
that's gone thmgigh with the Keating Government over the last three years. They haven't opposed
anything In the House. all the tax Increases. the petrol tax increase, the Medicare levy Increases.
all of the biukvi piumiea, they'vu bUeri a party to It, and they're now trying to quite cynically
present themselves as Independents In the electorate. Now I think that is taking the electorate for
granted. EWART; That's the way politics works though, doe. n't It Are you ready to combat
that? ROBB: Well, all we can do is shine a light on it. We can try and expose that. We
have been saying that this is what they'll do. this Is what they're doing, we've ben saying that for
months. EWART: An ABC survey of both Liberal and Labor candidates that's just Wen dull,
the results of that are coming in now and the consistent answer from Liberal candidates, when
they're questioned on what they see as being the issues at the next election, their answer is that
question is of a strategic political nature and cannot be dis. lorsed hAfore the election campaign.
Now isn't that getting a bit paranoid?
ROBB: No. no, no. This is a campaign, we're playing for big stakes in this election,
this is all about the future of Australia. We have to play a very professional part In the campaign
that we run and the period betore the campaign, so I think R's quJite critical that we have a
disciplined effort by all of our candidates across the country.
EWART: But, if, as you scem to suggest, the electon campaign could be off and
running any day now. Don't you need to have a bit more detail than that?
ROBB: The work Is lone, and we will, as we've promised, we will release further
detail and all the detail that the electuiulu iftwd tu make a Judgement between now and election
day. ENDS