19 July 2010

Peter Garrett AM
Federal Member for Kingsford Smith
Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts

Federal Member for Kingsford Smith, Peter Garrett, welcomed Prime Minister Gillard’s announcement that the Federal Election will be held on 21 August.

Mr Garrett said the Labor Party was committed to continuing to deliver better schools and hospitals, a strong economy and a sustainable Australia.

“The choice for voters is clear at this election. Julia Gillard and the Labor Party are committed to moving Australia forward while Tony Abbott will take us back to the days of cuts in health and education that families rely on in Kingsford Smith and right around the country really rely on, and back to the worst aspects of WorkChoices,” Mr Garrett said.

“As we said at the last Budget, the Gillard Government will deliver a strong economy and bring the budget to surplus by 2013.

“In health, we will fund 3,000 new nursing training places and 1,300 GPs and GPs in training over the next three years. These are really important commitments for our local area with local hospitals set to benefit. For example, Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, recently announced the Prince of Wales Hospital would get 12 new beds.

“And Julia Gillard believes in a sustainable Australia, not a big Australia, and that's why the Government will invest record amounts in solar and other renewables, building on our strong record of delivery in these critical areas.

“The Gillard Government will also continue to install computers in schools and establish a national curriculum with a focus on the basics.”

Mr Garrett said he was not surprised that the Liberal Party couldn’t organise itself enough to have selected a candidate for Kingsford Smith at the time the election was called.

"The Liberal Party can’t even manage to do something as basic as finding a local candidate to put forward its plans for Australia – including Tony Abbott’s policies to cut health and education services for Australian families,” Mr Garrett said.