STATE political issues in Isaacs have dominated the lead up to this weekend’s federal election with Labor MP Mark Dreyfus hoping to see off a second challenge from Liberal hopeful Garry Spencer.
Cash has been splashed by both major political parties with sports clubs and community groups set to benefit but the spectre of sky rail has loomed large in Kingston.
Mr Dreyfus saw his margin cut from 10.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent at the 2013 federal election but he showed no signs of concern about his electoral chances on 2 July when The News visited his office to speak to him about the election subjects that matter to Isaacs voters.
He revealed Labor has conducted no internal polling in the seat.
National pollsters have focused on neighbouring Dunkley where Labor’s Peta Murphy is closing in on a potential upset win over Liberal candidate Chris Crewther after the political retirement of small business minister Bruce Billson.
Mr Dreyfus, Labor’s shadow attorney-general and spokesman for the arts admitted there has been “a certain amount of weariness” in the Isaacs electorate over a marathon eight-week election campaign triggered by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s double dissolution call but he believed voters will tune in as election day nears.
“I’ve never accepted that there’s apathy on the part of Australians,” he said.
“I think people care about their system of government, they care about how they’re governed and they certainly pay attention at the time they’re called on to cast their vote.”
The possibility of elevated rail, dubbed sky rail, along parts of the Frankston line has galvanised community groups to voice disapproval about any rail over road solution to remove level crossings.
Mr Dreyfus is in the crosshairs of community anger despite the level crossings removal project being a Labor state government plan.
“I’ve been listening to the concerns expressed locally and I’ve been talking to state government ministers and (State Transport Minister) Jacinta Allan.
“I’ve been appalled at the lies and misinformation spread by the Liberal candidate who is actually showing himself as being unfit to be a member of Parliament by the ways he is spreading lies and misinformation.”
Mr Spencer, for his part, is enjoying a second crack at trying to unseat Mr Dreyfus in Isaacs having whittled down his margin in 2013.
“There was unfinished business. We got a swing of 6.5 per cent last. The job’s not over. I’m here to finish the job,” the long-time Mentone resident told The News.
Any prospect of elevated rail has clearly caused angst in the community, Mr Spencer said.
“The community does not want elevated rail of any description. The community wants the safer, less intrusive rail under road solution.
“Labor knows that. If Labor were going to do rail under road they would have said so months ago.
“Labor will watch results on polling booths along the rail line – key areas that determine state elections. If there’s a strong vote against Labor they’ll know they’ll lose the next State election if they don’t dump sky rail.
“Labor’s had the seat for 20 years, Mark Dreyfus has had it for nine. He’s never lived in the area. He’s out of touch and he’s a careerist with a great job in Canberra. He’s been the Attorney-General so he’s achieved his objective. He was parachuted in here over a very popular lady member. She was sacked to make a job for him.”
In 2007 Mr Dreyfus ousted sitting Labor Isaacs member Ann Corcoran thanks to Labor Party selection committee support.
Mr Dreyfus, a barrister appointed Queen’s Counsel, and one of 12 federal politicians nationwide who does not live within electorate boundaries, says voters will look at his record as an MP when casting their vote.
“I’d point to my record of service to this community. I have had no complaints about the level of service I’ve provided to, what is after all, a large part of south east Melbourne. It’s a big metropolitan electorate.
“I’d like to think I’ve represented every part of the electorate more than adequately.”
Mr Spencer, a defence force veteran of 20 years, says it is “time for a change”.
“Labor in Isaacs takes the people for granted. I would encourage people to make their vote work for them the way their Member in Parliament should be working for them.”
Mr Dreyfus nominates health and education as the issues high on voters’ minds.
“People are very conscious that our local schools’ funding, if the Coalition continues in government, is going to be cut.”
The examples of Parkdale Secondary will losing more than $1 million in funding, Mordialloc Secondary missing out on $500,000 and Mentone Girls Secondary facing a $1 million funding shortfall under a re-elected Coalition government are mentioned by Mr Dreyfus.
Primary schools will also lose out according to the MP.
“About $37 billion is being cut from the education budget by this government,” Mr Dreyfus said.
As for health, he says people are concerned about rising medical bills.
He says the continued Medicare rebate freeze on indexation “is a GP tax by stealth”.
“It will certainly mean a decrease in the number of clinics and doctors offering bulk billing and will lead to charges. Doctors cannot continue to absorb a reduction of their income for this length of time. The AMA [Australian Medical Asssociation] has been talking about this for many years.”
“Bulk billing is a key part of our universal health care scheme. There is no confidence that the Coalition has the best interests of Medicare at heart.
“Labor will end the freeze on indexation.”
Mr Spencer accused Labor of running “a scare campaign” on Medicare.
“We’ve had the Prime Minister come out and make very definitive statements about not touching Medicare. In fact, we’re putting $4 billion into Medicare over the next four years. Labor persists in this lunacy … of making it one of their key flag-flying issues.”
He did concede some voters “may be” spooked by former prime minister Tony Abbott’s “no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS” pledge on the eve of the 2013 election.
Former Liberal Treasurer Joe Hockey then effectively brought in funding cuts to health, education and the ABC in his poorly-regarded 2014 federal budget.
Mr Dreyfus and Mr Spencer are also at odds over the imminent likely closure of Aspendale climate science laboratories by the CSIRO.
“For us locally, the CSIRO in Aspendale is the only significant Commonwealth government institute in the electorate so I’ve always been very conscious of it,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“It occupies a unique place in Australian science and I’d argue, together with its sister organisation in Hobart as part of the Marine and Atmospheric Division, it occupies a unique place in climate science in the world as reflected by it [the cuts] made The New York Times twice in month including once on the front page … shows there is global concern about cuts to the CSIRO.
“There is no other country doing such scientific work in the southern hemisphere and we will be seeking to make sure those cuts don’t go forward if we’re elected.”
Mr Dreyfus says the national science body makes operational decisions at arms-length from government.
“The CSIRO is a government organisation but it wholly manages itself. It’s got a budget, it’s got a management structure. They manage themselves and make the decisions on where to place their money and what type of knowledge to get in, what type of technology they need to move on from and what their priorities are.
“Where I come from you give people the responsibility and let them get on with the job. You only interfere if there’s some particular reason that you need to and there’s no indication that they’re being inefficiently run at the moment. They’ve made the decision, we’re behind them.”
Both candidates stick to their parties’ respective scripts but Mr Spencer offers a personal take on weekend penalty rates, a topic Labor has also campaigned hard on.
He believes Sunday penalty rates should be brought into line with Saturday rates to help businesses open on Sundays and boost employment.
He notes the Fair Work Commission determines penalty rate levels but recalls a time when his daughter
worked part-time at Kmart for many years while studying at university and “relied” on penalty rates to get by.
“From a personal point of view I can see how so many people do rely on the penalty rates but on the other hand a lot of businesses now close down on the weekends,” Mr Spencer said.
“They can’t afford the penalty rates so there are a lot of kids missing out on a job. There is a balance between opening up the employment market, too many young people particularly but people of all ages, but the high penalty rates keep people out of the market and that seems unfair to me.
“We want to get as many people working as we can. If they’re not working the nation may have to support them.”
Climate change, “the greatest moral challenge of our time” by former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd, has been raised by voters but Mr Spencer says it is not “a hot topic”.
Mr Dreyfus also said younger people tend to mention it more often but there is an undercurrent of people worried about the world left for future generations.
“The Liberal Party has some good plans to manage the transition of energy sources. There is nothing to replace coal-fired power stations as a base load and any claim to the contrary is wishful thinking at best,” Mr Spencer said.
In making a final pitch for voters Mr Spencer pointed to his Army career as a base for his commitment to public service.
“Give me a chance to show you what I can do. I’ve got a well-established track record in serving the community, in serving the nation. It’s been the driving ethos the whole of my life.”
Incumbent Mr Dreyfus believes the nation faces a better future under Labor.
“The people of Isaacs should be voting Labor to make a choice for better schools, better health services and policies that will actually lead to jobs in our area.”
The Greens candidate Alex Breskin and Animal Justice Party’s Elizabeth Johnston are also contesting the seat of Isaacs.
First published in Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 29 June 2016
1 Comment
Not one mention of the NBN and the Isaacs electorate. A state-of-the-art broadband solution is required for Australia to keep up with and be a leader in the world. It really should be the main issue of this election.