The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20150120191732/http://australianpolitics.com:80/tag/penny-wong


Penny Wong: Light On The Hill Address

The ALP’s Senate Leader, Penny Wong, has delivered this year’s Light On The Hill Address in Bathurst.

WongWong, the ALP’s Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, told her audience that “Labor stands for fairness, growth and building the future”.

She said: “Labor’s record of opening Australia’s economy to the world has been one of the most important ways of achieving these goals – from Chifley’s support for Bretton Woods, to Whitlam’s across the board tariff cut, to Hawke and Keating’s dismantling of protectionism, to Rudd and Gillard’s pursuit of trade agreements and a place for Australia in the Asian Century. In today’s world, the forces of globalisation drive economic, technological and social change. Labor knows we won’t improve living standards by pulling down the shutters.”

However, Wong said: “Labor recognises that while globalisation brings tremendous benefits, it can also drive rapid, unpredictable and sometimes unsettling change. That is why we see a role for government in implementing policies which empower our citizens to participate in the globalised economy. Policies that will allow more Australians to prosper and benefit from economic change, rather than being discarded and left behind.” [Read more…]


Labor Reacts To Repeal Of Carbon Tax With Commitment To Emissions Trading Scheme

Following today’s repeal of the carbon tax, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed the ALP to support an emissions trading scheme.

Shorten

Shorten told a press conference that Australia is taking a step backwards while the rest of the world is moving forward. He said “Labor believes climate change is real and we must take action”. [Read more…]


Carbon Tax Repeal Bill Defeated In Senate As Palmer Squabbles With Government Over Amendments

The Senate has rejected an Abbott government bill to repeal the carbon tax.

Parry

A combination of ALP, Greens and Palmer United Party senators, supported by Motoring Enthusiast Senator Ricky Muir, voted 37-35 to defeat the bill that would have abolished the carbon tax.

The bill failed due to a breakdown in negotiations between the government and the Palmer United Party. Palmer wanted the legislation to mandate that power savings be passed on to consumers. In the end, the amendment moved by Palmer was judged to be a tax that the Senate had no power to introduce. [Read more…]


Senator Don Farrell (ALP-SA) – Valedictory Speech

Don Farrell was elected as a Labor senator from South Australia at the 2007 federal election.

Farrell

Farrell served just one term. He was one of six ALP senators to be defeated at the 2013 federal election. His term expired on June 30, 2014. His place was taken by Bob Day of the Family First party.

Farrell had originally been preselected to the number one position on the ALP Senate ticket for the election, but he relinquished it to Penny Wong, out of deference to her status as a senior minister. However, the ALP only polled 22.66% of the primary vote and won just one seat. [Read more…]


Senator Mark Furner (ALP-Qld) – Valedictory Speech

Mark Furner was elected to the Senate as a Labor member from Queensland at the 2007 federal election.

Furner

Furner served just one six-year term and was one of six ALP senators defeated at the 2013 federal election. His term finished on June 30, 2014. He was replaced by Glenn Lazarus from the Palmer United Party. [Read more…]