This weekend – September 12 and 13 – thousands of union members, their neighbours, colleagues, friends and families will take part in a doorknock across more than twenty marginal federal electorates to talk about the issues that matter to them in lead up to the election.
Workers' rights and jobs, Medicare, accessible, quality education, public services, a secure retirement and a fair go for all will be key conversation topics at front doors around the nation.
Doorknocks will take place from Launceston to Devonport, Brisbane to Cairns, Darwin, Adelaide, Melbourne, Penrith to Gosford and in the by-election hot bed of Canning in Western Australia.
It's been two years since the Abbott Government was elected on the promise of no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no changes to the pension, no changes to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS.
In two years, the Abbott Government has managed to backflip on every one of these promises.
The Abbott Government has made life harder for ordinary Australians – whether it's their inquiry into workers' rights that has recommended cutting penalty rates, reducing the minimum wage or cutting unfair dismissal protections, or selling out Australian jobs in the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement or for local shipbuilders in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, slashing 17,300 public sector jobs, $80 billion cuts to our health and education systems, $100,000 university degrees that will price thousands of young people out of higher education or refusing to fund Gonski.
Australian workers are concerned about the direction our country is going in under Tony Abbott and voters have lost faith in the Abbott Government's ability to protect our living standards.
Our campaign is focused on how we can build a better future – the Abbott Government has shown they can't be trusted to do that so we'll be encouraging people to put them last on election day.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver:
"The Abbott Government has broken promises at every turn and pursued a savage agenda of cuts that hit our living standards."
"Workers and their families will fight any move to cut rights at work, jobs, health and education. If the Abbott Government wants to make these election issues – we say bring it on."
"We'll be out in communities around the country this weekend talking to our neighbours about issues that matter to working people because we know this is a fight for our living standards and a better future for all."
Doorknock locations
QLD
Leichhardt
Herbert
Dawson
Forde
Dickson
Brisbane
Bonner
NSW
Page
Robertson
Reid
Banks
Lindsay
Macquarie
Gilmore
Eden-Monaro
VIC
Dunkley
Deakin
TAS
Bass
Braddon
SA
Hindmarsh
WA
Canning
NT
Solomon
Media Contact: Carla De Campo 0410 579 575