Thank you Jane.
How good is Jane Hume?
I'm incredibly proud of my deputy leader and the rest of my team here.
Tim Wilson, James Paterson, Dan Tehan and Sarah Henderson.
Aaron Violi, Zoe McKenzie, Mary Aldred, and Jason Wood.
They're doing a superb job.
It's great to see all of them here.
But it's great to see all of you here, those who have travelled a couple of hundred meters but also those who have travelled hundreds of kilometres from regional victory.
It's good to see the fighting spirit of the wool industry out there too.
Can I commend Alyson Hannam for the leadership she's providing as State Director.
And I congratulate Brian Loughnane on his appointment as State President - and I thank him for his enduring service to our party.
Brian - you are the hallmark of professionalism.
And I know how committed you are to seeing the Victorian Liberals be a grassroots party once again - a party where members are heard.
Can I also commend all the state MPs here today for your hard work -
which is only going to ramp up.
Most of all, I want to sing the praises of Jess Wilson.
In Jess, we see a woman of composure, competence, and compassion.
We also see a leader with resolve.
A leader who can be trusted.
A leader with a vision.
I think Victorians see these qualities in Jess too.
And I'm sure you agree that when Victorians give her a chance, Jess will be an outstanding Premier.
SAVING VICTORIA
Friends, in just over six months' time, Victorians will determine the fate of their state.
Frankly, there hasn't been a more important election in Victoria's history.
This election really comes down to one thing:
Saving Victoria.
Victoria must be saved from the most inept, corrupt, and unaccountable Labor Government that's ever governed from Spring Street.
Victoria must be saved because it's drowning in Labor debt.
Victoria must be saved from being the most overtaxed state in the country.
Victoria must be saved from an ever-bloating bureaucracy that keeps costing Victorians more
yet hasn't led to any Victorian being better off.
Victoria must be saved from a neglected health system that's failing patients from the ambulance, to the emergency room, to the hospital bed.
Victoria must be saved from union crooks and criminal gangs who have turned this state's building sector into a lawless Mafia playground.
Victoria must be saved from a wave of youth crime - where home invasions, carjackings, and people held at knifepoint have tragically become the daily reality.
And Victoria must be saved from a race-based statewide Treaty that was implemented in defiance of the will of the people and the Referendum outcome.
Looking in the rearview mirror, Victorians see more than a decade's worth of Labor destruction
caused by Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan.
But now - finally - hope is on the horizon for Victorians.
And that hope is thanks to Jess Wilson'senergetic leadership of the Victorian Liberals.
I have the utmost confidence that Victorians will rally behind Jess and her dedicated team to save Victoria.
Jess has a clear plan to transform Victoria from a poor state into a prosperous economic powerhouse again.
A state where confidence thrives one more.
The outcome of this election is a choice.
Between no end to the decline under Labor.
Or the start of renewal under the Coalition.
Friends:
These are critical months ahead.
A time to remind Victorians how - for more than a decade - the Andrews-Allan government
has failed them at every turn.
But most importantly, a time to unite Victorians behind Jess' plan - behind the Coalition's plan -
to restore hope, pride, and prosperity to this state.
Friends:
It's time to stand together.
It's time to save Victoria.
It's time to fight like hell.
And I look forward to joining you in that fight on the campaign trail.
I'm confident that when you save this state from a rotten Labor government, that will set us on course to save Australia from another rotten Labor government.
LABOR'S ASPIRATION KILLING BUDGET
The Budget handed down by the Albanese Government last week was an absolute stinker.
It's the worst Budget I've seen in my lifetime.
New taxes on housing.
New taxes on small businesses.
New taxes on saving and investment.
A death tax by stealth too.
And the biggest tax of all - Labor's inflation tax.
The Albanese Government has lost control of its spending.
That's why Australia will soon be $1 trillion dollars in debt.
That's why inflation is soaring.
And the higher Labor's inflation goes - and the longer it lasts - the more the government takes from Australians.
And that suits Labor just fine.
The Albanese Government's not so dirty little secret is that it likes inflation.
Labor's best friend is bracket creep.
Labor is only too happy to see inflation push more of your income into a higher tax bracket
so it can steal more of your money.
Because when Labor runs out of money,
it comes after yours.
Make no mistake.
The Albanese Government's Budget is an attack on young Australians.
Labor is locking them out from the opportunities to get ahead that other generations have known.
But it's worse than that.
The Albanese Government's Budget is an attack on every Australian.
It's an assault on aspiration.
It will crush the 'reward for hard work' spirit that underpins our nation's success.
Too many in Labor have never built a business, never met a payroll, never taken the risks that people in this room have taken every single day.
I look around this room, and I see Australians who have sacrificed, backed themselves, created jobs, and built something from the ground up.
This Budget punishes you for it.
Labor looks at people like you and sees a target.
But it's the Liberal Party that sees aspiration as the Australian dream.
And that's why we will fight tooth and nail to ensure Labor's toxic taxes never become law.
But if they do, a Coalition government I lead will repeal them.
The Prime Minister has betrayed Australians.
He has broken core election promises.
Any government that wants to tax Australians more should have the courage to front up
and take that tax increase to an election.
And the justifiable public backlash to this Budget is of a magnitude unlike any I have seen.
I think Australians are finally seeing Anthony Albanese for who he truly is:
A man who occupies the highest office but has neither the character nor the capabilities to lead our country.
He is incompetent, a liar, and a fraud.
COALITION POLICIES FOR A FAIRER, FREER, AND BETTER AUSTRALIA
In my Budget Reply last week, I began to lay out my vision for a fairer, freer, and better Australia.
A plan to restore our standard of living and to protect our way of life.
A plan for better government - not bigger government.
Better government that gets the big things right and gets off Australians' backs.
Let me clear about my resolve:
If Labor's toxic taxes pass Parliament, a Coalition government will axe them.
We will axe Labor's toxic taxes.
I want Australians to keep the opportunities that previous generations have known.
We will also protect incomes from inflation.
Our policy to index tax thresholds to inflation is a Tax Back Guarantee for every income earner.
Never again
will a government be able to steal from Australians
year-after-year via stealth.
The Liberal-National Coalition is the only political party with a plan for generational tax reform.
A plan that preserves the aspiration and reward for hard work spirit that makes our nation tick.
Under my leadership, we will also restore the dream of home ownership.
Our plan is to cap immigration numbers based on the number of homes constructed each year.
We will stop Labor's mass migration.
This is a far-reaching and unprecedented housing policy that puts Australians first -
no matter their background.
I want young Australians to get ahead.
And the best way to get ahead as Robert Menzies knew - is seeing more Australians own a little piece of Australia.
Menzies understood the correlation between home ownership and the health of society.
When more Australians own homes, we will see stronger families, stronger communities,
and a stronger nation.
A stronger Australia means putting Australians first.
We will always put Australians first.
Citizenship is a privilege.
We cannot be a country that cuts support for seniors and veterans - as Labor has done - while expanding access to welfare for new arrivals.
I grew up in Cooma.
Many migrants who worked on the Snowy Mountain Hydro Scheme made that town their home and committed to our nation.
Our success as an immigrant nation can only be sustained if we uphold a simple principle:
If you commit to Australia, then Australia will commit to you.
A stronger nation also requires energy abundance.
Under my leadership, that will be the Coalition's energy policy.
And that means we will scrap Labor's carbon taxes.
We will scrap net zero.
We will back any technology that can deliver affordable and reliable energy.
That includes coal, gas, oil, hydro, nuclear, batteries, and renewables in the right places.
More energy means cheaper energy.
Cheaper energy means we can bring down the cost-of-living.
Cheaper energy means we can innovate, make, and build things of ambition once again.
Cheaper energy means we can re-industrialise in key areas - not de-industrialise as is occurring in Australia today.
Friends: I promise you, there's much more policy to come.
We're just getting started.
The Liberal Party is returning to policies grounded in its values.
Values that appeal to Australians from all walks of life.
CLOSE
Friends:
We must exert every effort to rid this state and our nation of two rotten Labor governments.
And may our resolve be energised by two things:
How worse things will be
if we don't defeat Labor.
How better things can be if we defeat Labor.
Victoria is worth fighting for.
Australia is worth fighting for.
We can restore our standard of living.
We can protect our way of life.
Let's save Victoria.
Let's bring about a fairer, freer, and better Australia.
