This week marks the return to Parliament for 2014 and the new Government is determined to continue the return of sensible and stable governance.
One of the key issues in the coming sitting weeks will be the carbon tax. Whilst the Coalition has acted quickly to get rid of the Carbon Tax, it is now up to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to accept the will of the Australian people. The election result last year clearly showed that the majority of people believe this tax is not in our nation’s interest.
The sooner Mr Shorten wakes up and listens to the Australian people, the sooner we can get rid of this tax which hurts Australian business, industry and families while it does nothing for the environment.
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I have welcomed Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s nomination of General Peter Cosgrove as our next Governor General. Having served since 2008, Governor General Quentin Bryce will finish her term in March this year.
I believe that General Cosgrove is an excellent choice for the role of Governor General.
General Peter Cosgrove has had a distinguished career, is a person of high integrity and is a very appropriate choice to be The Queen’s representative in Australia. He will fulfil his duties with dignity befitting the office.
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Over the last few weeks debate has emerged over the role of our national broadcaster. In the context of this debate it is very important to acknowledge the special role that local ABC services play in regional Australia.
Not everyone will agree on the way in which a story should be reported and it is human nature to exhibit some bias. In the main, however, our local ABC journalists do their best to report the news, produce interesting programming and abide by their charter.
ABC Local fulfils an especially important role in regional Australia where there is a broad listening base, and large geographic areas to cover. The programming is varied, and the multi-platform nature of the modern broadcast provides regional Australia with a media service it would not otherwise have.
We should demand quality journalism from the ABC. It is, after all, funded through taxpayer dollars. The ABC should be subjected to scrutiny by the public and by the parliament. This helps to ensure the best return of the taxpayers’ investment.
