Opposition leader spruikes at AICC lunch
Just four weeks ahead of the Victorian State election, Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy presented his key election promises to the business leaders represented at the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) luncheon on Wednesday.
Matthew Guy
Liberal Party Shadow Ministers and candidates, including Member for Caulfield David Southwick MP, candidate for Bentleigh Asher Judah and Federal candidate for Macnamara (Melbourne Ports renamed) Kate Ashmore were scattered around the tables at the Palladium at Crown.
AICC Chair Leon Kempler welcomed guests and described the extensive range of 30 delegations to Israel arranged by the AICC in 2018. He also facilitated the Q&A with the Leader of the Opposition.
The preceding speaker for the day was Prof Patrick McGorry, Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health Research Centre which is closely involved in the work of Headspace around Australia, and more recently in Israel, where a second Headspace office will soon open in Jerusalem. Headspace is a stigma-free, one-stop shop for mental health services for young people.
keynote speaker Matthew Guy said: “We don’t want to be the government for the next election, but a government for the next generation.” He then outlined a stream of policy initiatives relating to crime, the cost of living, traffic congestion, population and transport which he is promoting ahead of the State election being held on Saturday 24 November.
Key promises outlined by Mr Guy included:
– reforming bail and parole processes
– reintroducing the police in schools program
– introducing a mandatory drug rehabilitation facility
– addressing the costs of school fees and school books
– addressing congestion through roads and freeway work, as well as metro rail
– controlling population and incentivizing decentralization
– as the future Premier, he would also be Minister for Population
– establishment of a Population Commission
– introducing Ministers for Decentralisation and Geelong to help develop growth outside of Melbourne
– a chief innovation officer to be appointed for Victoria
During question time, which included questions on energy prices, the education sector, land tax and the Red Shirts fiasco, Mr Guy expressed concern with some of the negative outcomes from the Airbnb phenomenon. While he welcomed the disruptor nature of Airbnb, he said balance and increased regulation was needed to protect people living in high rise apartments, who had effective hotels created in their homes. He said that Airbnb players needed to respect that these were people’s homes.
Mr Guy will most likely not be Liberal leader by years end as his party will loose the state election partly because the federal liberals are on the nose.
And he has promised to shut down the Supervised Injecting Facility in Richmond which is one of the more moronic promises ever by an Opposition Leader. On that basis alone he should be unelectable.