Thursday, May 10, 2007
LEAKS TO BE PLUGGED
Kevin Rudd’s Budget response might be the emptiest speech yet made in Australia’s parliament. Extracts:
I am an optimist when it comes to our country’s future.
Tonight I want to outline our plan for our country’s future.
We are truly blessed to be Australians.
We live in a stable democracy, when many in the world do not.
There is nothing to hold us back as a nation and as a people – except a lack of long-term vision.
We are part of a world that is changing faster than ever before.
Big changes are coming.
Big challenges are waiting around the corner.
They will dramatically influence almost every aspect of our lives – some for the better, others for the worse.
And some will be upon us in the blink of an eye.
We can either seize the great opportunities that have been presented to us. Or we can squander them.
The truth is the sun is shining right now on Australia.
We must seize the day and get our house in order.
Productivity is the measure of how efficiently we produce goods and services.
The better trained we are, the greater our productivity.
The better our use of technology in the workplace, the greater our productivity.
The better our management in the workplace, the greater our productivity.
Productivity is a bit like getting the best performance out of your engine for the least amount of fuel.
Sometimes the wind changes direction and there can be lots of turbulence. And the only way to get home is with powerful engines that can do the hard yards in any conditions.
The time for action is now.
The earlier you invest in a child’s educational opportunities, the better the result.
Good for the child.
Good for the country.
For business it is a tough and highly competitive world out there.
Our intention is to enable Australian businesses to take on the world and win.
We want to unite Australia, not see it divided.
Pure boilerplate, all the way. And at the end:
I conclude my remarks where I began.
I am a great optimist when it comes to our country’s future.
Good for him. Kevni was a little light on specifics, however, although he does plan a nationwide plumbing initiative:
Tonight I announce that if elected, we will begin by establishing a modest national fund to start plugging the leaks in the water pipes of our towns and cities.
UPDATE. Dminor asks: “Why did the Budget Reply sound like it was written (and delivered) by Bindi Irwin?”
UPDATE II. Andrew Bolt wraps it up.