Finally the air has cleared and I've kick-started Conference this morning.
“My name is Kevin, I'm from Queensland and I'm here to help"
One thing we know for certain is that the history of nations is made up of those who understand, anticipate and act on the challenges of the future. And those who do not. Those who instead bury their heads in the sand. Those who hope it will all just go away.
This election in just a few months time will be about the future versus the past.
And we friends are the party of the future.
And our opponents, friends, have become the party of the past.
When I look to the next decade, the future I see for Australia is one fundamentally shaped by the rise of China and the rise of India
The future I see for Australia is one in which our current mining boom does not last forever, and rather that simply being the lucky country , we will have to make our own luck.
The future I see for our country is also one challenged by long term energy security, climate change and its impact on water security, food security and national security.
I am an unabashed optimist when it comes to our country's long term future.
Australian people want prosperity but they want prosperity with a heart.
Mr Howard doesn't really believe in a single idea which didn't appear on black and white television.
No one is a bigger fan of Ward Cleaver than me, but I've got news for Mr Howard, the world has changed since Leave It To Beaver.
And to conceal his absence of ideas he's now increasingly driven by short-term politics in order to cling onto long-term political office.
As I've said to my colleagues on many occasions: we will not win this election on the basis of a protest vote against Mr Howard alone.
We can only win it on the basis of a positive vote for us - and our alternative plans for Australia's future.
We can build productivity growth through an education revolution, the application of new technologies, by freeing up our businesses from unnecessary regulation and by encouraging a new age of innovation - including our critical manufacturing industries.
I don't want to be a prime minister of a country that doesn't make things any more.
And we are capable of building this prosperity on the back of these reforms - without throwing the fair go out the back door.
1 comment:
Very intersting indeed. I will recommend your blog to some people in London. By the way, you might be interested to read my e-book "An Ordinary Black Cat" (!) Look at www.catyourway.com when you have time. All comments are welcome. Cheers and good luck!
Post a Comment