The recent announcement by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, that Australians will head to the polls on September 14 has been welcomed by the Independent Member for New England, Tony Windsor.
Mr Windsor believes that the early announcement will help provide certainty and stability to all sectors of the community but probably most importantly to business, that often puts off decisions due to not knowing when an election is to be held.
He said that the date selected is in the bounds of the dates set out in his agreement to form Government.
“The early announcement of the Federal election date of September 14 is good for the nation.
“I congratulate the Prime Minister on her decision to provide the Australian people with some direction and certainty as to when they will go to the polls.
“In the past, Australians have been frustratingly on ‘election alert’ for long periods of time and, in this ‘hung’ parliament, on the brink of an election from day one if you believe the Opposition Leader and some sections of the media.
“When I entered into my agreement to form Government, a rough timeframe was set for September/October 2013 and I trusted the Prime Minister to honour that – something I didn’t trust the Opposition Leader to do.
“Previously too, Australians have had to put up with mini-campaigns and speculation up until the Prime Minister of the day saw a political opportunity to call the election.
“This announcement will remove the media speculation of a date and reduce the space devoted to the hype surrounding the choice of a date usually until six weeks before an election.
“Putting paid to this practice will encourage the media to present the policy choices allowing Australians to consider their options over a longer period of time,” Mr Windsor said.
Mr Windsor said that, whilst the early announcement will mean that the next eight months may have both the major parties in campaign mode, there is still a lot of work to be done by this Parliament.
“My focus until the election campaign proper begins will remain firmly on working with the present Government to deliver outcomes for the people of the New England Electorate and more broadly, for regional Australia.
“I believed we needed a full term of the Parliament to address the big issues like the Clean Energy Future, the Murray Darling Basin Plan and the rollout of the National Broadband Network.
“This ‘hung’ Parliament has achieved these important reforms and been good for regional Australia and I am pleased to have been part of the process that has helped lay the foundations for future benefits to flow to the New England and regional Australia.
“I see the next period of this Parliament in the lead-up to September 14 as having the challenge of implementing the Gonski recommendations for Education reform and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
“I look forward to helping achieve these important reforms and confirm that I will then proudly put my performance as the Independent Member for New England to the people of the New England Electorate to seek their support to continue as their representative in the next Parliament,” Mr Windsor said.
