REAL LOCAL SOLUTIONS

I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement that a federal election will be held on 21 August 2010.

Since entering the ACT Legislative Assembly and throughout my Parliamentary career, I have always committed myself fully to serving our local community. This is a track record that I am proud of, and one I seek to continue.

On August 21, I will seek a mandate to continue to serve our local community and to fight for the real local solutions that we deserve after years of being taken for granted under Labor.

Over the last 3 years, Canberra has really slipped. House prices, rents as well as grocery and fuel prices are rising. Labor’s cuts to the NCA and Jon Stanhope’s incompetence have left our city looking tatty and poorly maintained.

We are seeing more crime, longer queues in hospital waiting rooms and it is taking longer and longer to get anywhere on our roads.

3 years ago, Canberra was a proud, bright and vibrant city that was the Capital by name and the national leader by nature.  Now, this is no longer the case.

Federal Labor’s significant cuts to Canberra and Canberra Labor’s doormat attitude have cost the ACT its leadership as one of Australia’s most successful communities.

I commit to continue to do what I’ve always done – to drive Canberra forward and stand up for our community by offering a suite of real local solutions.

My vision of Canberra under a Coalition Government is a return to a bright, confident and vibrant city to which other parts of the country look to see how things can best be done.

I will continue the fight against Jon Stanhope’s going to work tax on parking in the Parliamentary Triangle. It is unfair to slog people with a $50 or $60 additional weekly expense without providing a viable alternative. This is revenue-raising at its worst to cover for the poor economic management of Jon Stanhope and his Government.

As the ACT’s Police Minister, it was my priority to make Canberra a safer place to live.  I brought CCTV cameras into Civic and got on the front foot in dealing with crime. Labor has shown a lack of leadership as crime rates have risen. I will work with the community and Neighbourhood Watch groups to address crime in Canberra and ensure community concerns are heard at the highest levels of government.

Police need to be adequately resourced to deal with crime.

We need more life and vibrancy on the edge of our lake. It truly is one of our greatest and most beautiful assets as a city and I want to have a community conversation about how best to enhance it.

Since my very first speech in the ACT Assembly I have fought for our local environment, a fight that I pledge wholeheartedly to continue. I support direct action to deal with climate change and specifically the Coalition’s Real Action Plan. I hope to be able to implement that plan from government.

If re-elected, I will continue to lobby government to provide more childcare places, especially in and around the city centres. As a dad, I know how hard it can be to find childcare in the capital, especially close to work. Government can and should do more to alleviate this issue that affects hundreds of families in Canberra.

I will work with an elected Coalition Government to increase activities for young Canberrans, to promote social engagement, combat the mounting incidence of mental health issues among young people and to engage them as they prepare to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Over the coming days and weeks, I will continue to release my detailed Real Local Solutions plan for Canberra.

I am proud of my track record of delivery and service to the ACT as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, as a Minister, as Chief Minister and as a Senator for the ACT.

This election is a fork in the road for the future of Canberra.

We can choose to be safe Labor seats and continue to be treated as a stepping stone for candidates who see a quick path to the Labor frontbench.

Or we can choose to drive Canberra forward together by voting for real local solutions – solutions that only a Coalition Government can deliver.

17 July 2010