A few cross words on a rather odd campaign trail

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This was published 12 years ago

A few cross words on a rather odd campaign trail

By Michael Gordon and Adam Carey

AT THE precise moment that Tony Abbott was chiding Julia Gillard yesterday for being unwilling to confront the potential victims of her carbon tax, the Prime Minister was pulling into one of the country's leading steel companies to chat with the workers.

''To the best of my knowledge, she's never been to a coal mine since she talked about the carbon tax,'' the Liberal leader told workers at an engine factory in Dandenong South. ''She's never been to a motor plant since she talked about the carbon tax. She's never been to a steelworks …''

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott gets a rise out of forklift driver Darryl Betts as the pair argue the merits of a carbon tax at a Dandenong South factory yesterday.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott gets a rise out of forklift driver Darryl Betts as the pair argue the merits of a carbon tax at a Dandenong South factory yesterday.Credit: Angela Wylie

If the remark was accurate at the time - and the PM's office can demonstrate that it wasn't - it was superseded within minutes when a relaxed Ms Gillard took questions from workers at OneSteel's steel recycling mill in Laverton.

Back in April, Mr Abbott warned that the carbon tax would turn Whyalla, where OneSteel employs more than 3000 people, into a ''ghost town''. If the Laverton workers held fears for the jobs of their Whyalla comrades, they chose not to mention them.

Mr Abbott's less-scripted approach to campaigning showed when he exposed himself to a swag of thoughtful questions from two groups of manufacturing workers in Melbourne's south-east - and received a gentle rebuke from forklift driver Darryl Betts.

''Don't you think at least Julia is trying to do something about it?'' Mr Betts asked him of the Gillard climate change plan, before reprimanding him for being ''so very negative''.

The pair parted with a handshake, but not before Mr Abbott told his adversary that everyone would have to make a choice in the end, and Mr Betts reminded him what happened when he gambled and lost on workplace relations. ''We learned our lesson,'' Mr Abbott said.

One worker asked whether he would change his view on a carbon tax and an emissions trading scheme if a global consensus were to emerge. ''I don't think there is any way at all that other countries like China and India and America are going to move towards a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme,'' he replied.

Another asked if he would rescind the tax when in government. Although Mr Abbott asserted the Coalition had done something similar before, Kerrie Pointon was not convinced. ''He gave a politician's response,'' the purchasing co-ordinator said later. ''I would be sceptical of either party being able to rescind a tax that's in place.''

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On one level, this is a very odd campaign, one without an apparent purpose. The government has the numbers to get its plan through the Parliament and the next election is not due for two years. So what is Mr Abbott on about?

As he explained it to the factory workers, the aim is to spook Labor MPs to the extent that they dump Ms Gillard before the legislation is passed. That is why he is concentrating on Labor-held seats. ''They may not cross the floor, but they may well remove this Prime Minister.''

And Ms Gillard? With Labor's primary vote in the 20s and her own approval ratings abysmally low, she has to restore confidence in her ability to lead the nation and she is taking every opportunity to do it. In the past 48 hours, she has submitted to about 30 separate interviews, and was patient and measured, or resolute and firm, depending on the circumstances.

There was, however, one hint of anger when a radio reporter probed her about how many degrees her carbon tax would reduce the earth's temperature by. ''The question doesn't make any sense, because it assumes the rest of the world isn't acting; the rest of the world is acting and we've got to keep pace,'' was the curt reply.

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