Kevin Rudd calls election for September 7

Date
    August 4, 2013
    The Age,

2013 election: 'It's on.'


Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called the federal election for September 7 with both major parties offering ''positive'' visions for the future.    

Mr Rudd flew from Brisbane to Canberra on Sunday to visit Governor-General Quentin Bryce, where he asked her to dissolve the parliament.

''Australians now face a choice. And the choice couldn't be starker,'' he said in an email to supporters.

In the email, Mr Rudd said he had a positive vision but that Labor, which has adopted the campaign slogan of ''a new way'', had ''one hell of a fight on our hands''.

In a press conference at Parliament House, Mr Rudd said: ''The time has come for the Australian people to decide on our nation's future.''

Mr Rudd described Australia as a ''truly great'' country that was blessed with a strong economy and hard-working and creative people.


Opposition Leader Tony Abbott responds to news the election has been called for September 7.

''Australia is too open and positive a nation to retreat into a tight little ball of negativity,'' he said.
Advertisement

Mr Rudd told reporters that the election would be about who the Australian people trusted to lead them through new economic challenges that lay ahead, brought about by the end of the China resources boom.

The Prime Minister said that the ''politics of the past'' would not work in the future, arguing that negativity did not create jobs, build schools or hospitals.
SMH

How the Fairfax reported the election date on August 3.

''Three-word slogans don't solve complex problems, they never have and they never will,'' he said.

Mr Rudd said that the Australian people knew him ''warts and all'' and had seen him at his ''highest highs and lowest lows''.

He also predicted that the coming month of the election campaign would be a ''pretty rough one'', saying that the Coalition would run negative and personal advertising.

The Prime Minister said that he had called the election on September 7, saying ''frankly, this was the best date available''.

He acknowledged that this meant the local government referendum would not go ahead with the election but said it would be something Labor looked at in the next term of government.

He again challenged Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to debate him during the campaign, as early as Monday night. He also said he would be keen to debate Mr Abbott on every Sunday of the campaign.

The Opposition Leader responds

At a press conference in Canberra, Mr Abbott said the election was about a ''clear choice'', which he described as between the ''positive'' plans of the Coalition and ''more of the same'' under Labor. 

''At last, the choice is yours,'' he told reporters in Canberra. ''It's not the choice of the caucus, it's not the choice of the faceless men.''

Mr Abbott said he was happy to place himself ''in the judgment of the Australian people''.

He said the Coalition would deliver a stronger economy, repeating his pledges to scrap the carbon tax and the mining tax.

The Opposition Leader also said the Coalition would deliver better results on border protection.

''We'll never rely on another country to do the job for us,'' he said, alluding to Labor's recently announced asylum seeker settlement deals with Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Mr Abbott said Labor had no plan to manage the economy, pointing to the government's economic statement, which was handed down last Friday.

The economic statement showed that the 2013-14 deficit had climbed from $18 billion forecast in May to $30.1 billion.

Mr Abbott asked on Sunday: ''Do you really want three more years like the last six?''

He told reporters that there was almost ''nothing wrong'' with Australia that would not be improved by a change of government.

The Opposition Leader also pledged that he would not lead a minority government.

Mr Abbott said that he would not do ''deals'' with independent MPs and minor parties - as was the case when former prime minister Julia Gillard formed government in September 2010.

He also said that the Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane had written to the Labor Party about a series of debates. The letter said the Liberal Party believed that the first debate should be held ''next Sunday afternoon or evening at the National Press Club in Canberra''.

It also said that a ''number of forums'' should be held during the campaign, proposing one at Rooty Hill in Sydney's west and a third in Brisbane on dates agreed to by both leaders.

Earlier, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey indicated he was unimpressed by Mr Rudd's election opener.

''It's not about you Kevin,'' he posted on Twitter. ''For someone who wants to be really positive he is spending a lot of time running a negative case.''

Mr Abbott said that he would not do ''deals'' with independent MPs and minor parties - as was the case when former prime minister Julia Gillard formed government in September 2010.      

Aussie wrote on Aug 4^th, 2013 at 6:53pm:


Shhhhhhhh! It's dangerous to wake people who engage in sleepwalking.