Maitland Business Chamber hosted a high-profile guest speaker on Thursday, with senior Labor MP Chris Bowen visiting the city to present an intriguing snapshot of what Labor plans to do if it takes government at the next Federal election.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“We want to be a government with a clear agenda,” the Shadow Treasurer told observers in a relaxed setting at The Whistler bar.
“I want my first budget as treasurer in a Labor government to have no surprises.”
He said Labor would seek to return to a budget surplus by tackling negative gearing and family trust reform.
Although he said he worked to “never be alarmist”, he conceded that house pricing was an issue government had to tackle.
“The last thing the country needs is the alternative treasurer saying the sky is falling in,” the Member for McMahon, in Sydney’s west, told observers.
“But it is an issue that needs attention.”
The Labor money man bemoaned the lack of trade links with Indonesia, saying that their economy was set to steam ahead over the next decade.
“Asia is about much more than just China. Indonesia is a hop skip and a jump away,” he said.
“It’s economy is currently smaller than ours, but they’re on track to be the world’s fifth largest by 2030.”
He also said that the growing number of voters “attracted to the siren song of populism, anti-immigration and anti-trade” could be put down in part to economic growth not reaching beyond the country’s cities.
“Our system is not built to be a level playing field,” he said, declaring that 50 per cent of the jobs created in the last decade are within 2km of the Sydney or Melbourne post office.
He said growth “can’t just be about the lane ways of Sydney”.
Mr Bowen also addressed the same sex marriage vote result in his electorate of McMahon, which recorded the third highest ‘no’ vote in the country, with just 35 per cent of residents voting in favour of the law change.
“I made it clear to my electorate before the last election that I would be voting yes,” he said.
He said he believed same sex marriage would be legalised before Christmas, but disagreed that it would lead to a more “stable” year for the Turnbull government.
“The one thing about this government is that they always seem to be able to create instability themselves,” he said.
Following the breakfast, the Shadow Treasurer was thanked by “running mate” and Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson, and pledged to visit Maitland again soon.
“Hopefully next time as treasurer,” he finished with a smile.