I welcome the Prime Minister’s calling of an election for September the 14^th.

 

This election will be about trust. Who do you trust to reduce cost of living pressures? Who do you trust to boost small business and to boost job security and who do you trust to secure our borders? That’s what this election will be all about.

 

The Coalition is ready. We are so ready that we have already launched our Real Solutions plan and we are already campaigning on it.

 

The choice before the Australian people could not be clearer. It’s more tax or less. It’s more regulation or less. It’s less competence or more. It’s less freedom or more. That’s the clear choice facing the Australian people on September the 14^th.

 

It’s notable that apart from actually naming the election date, the only real statement in the Prime Minister’s Press Club speech was the statement that the Australian people needed to pay more tax, that you the people are not taxed enough.

 

By contrast, the Coalition has Real Solutions. Real Solutions that we are already campaigning on. We’ve been saying for a long time now that we have positive plans for a strong and prosperous economy, for a safe and secure Australia. This is what we are offering the Australian people – positive plans for a stronger economy with the carbon tax abolished, with the mining tax abolished, with the Australian Building and Construction Commission restored, with wasteful government spending eliminated, with productivity up, positive plans for stronger communities with more opportunities for work and better public schools and better public hospitals. Positive plans for a cleaner environment with incentives to do the right thing, not penalties and the 15,000 strong green army marching to the help of our Landcare groups. Positive plans for stronger borders, by restoring the policies that we know will work, because they’ve been proven to work already and positive plans for the infrastructure of the 21^st century in every state, because I know and the Australian people know, you know, that we need more cranes over our cities and we need to have bulldozers on the ground.

 

As I’ve often said, we are a great country and a great people let down by a poor government.

 

We now have the date to do it. We now have the date to change it and I think all Australians can now look forward to September the 14^th. We can have hope, reward and opportunity. I’m determined to give it to the Australian people. I know the Australian people are ready for it.

 

I’ll be going to the National Press Club tomorrow. I’ll take questions then. Joe Hockey and Christopher Pyne will be taking media queries this afternoon.

 

[ends]