6 - 12 August 2013 Issue: 475
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Major parties vie for votes of UK Aussies
STORYTELLING CINEMA Indigenous film makes tracks in London | P7
IT'S ON n With the announcement of the federal election for 7 September, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have made a first pitch to voters. A PRIME MINISTER you can trust, or an opposition leader who’s fair dinkum. Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have kicked off their 7 September election campaigns by making personal appeals to Australia’s 14 million
registered voters. Rudd made his pre-election pitch in the same prime minister’s courtyard at Parliament House were three years ago he tearfully stepped down. He made it clear this election is about unfinished business.
Borrowing a line from former Liberal prime minister John Howard, Rudd asked voters “who do you trust” to deal with the challenges presented by a faltering global economy. He portrayed himself as the election
underdog with a “steady hand” and a positive plan for the future. In contrast, he said Abbott was negative, immersed in “old politics” and three-word slogans. Rudd also blatantly borrowed from US President Barack Obama by appealing to supporters to donate a few dollars to Labor to counter the “few millionaires” bankrolling the Liberal-National coalition. Making his pitch surrounded by portraits of past Liberal leaders in the opposition party room, Abbott kept to the script he’s been spruiking for three years. He harked back to the “faceless men” who ousted Rudd in 2010, then turned on Julia Gillard this year, ...continued on p3
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WITH only five weeks until the federal election, Australians in the UK are being urged by the two major parties to ensure their vote counts in what is anticipated to be a tightly fought contest. ALP Abroad President Paul Smith and the President of the Australian Liberals Abroad Jason Groves have encouraged UK-based Australians to register as overseas electors and vote at Australia House in the leadup to the 7 September election. “Australians overseas have been embarrassed by the incompetence of the Australian government over the last six years,” Mr Groves told Australian Times. “There are a lot of Aussies both overseas and in Australia waiting for the day to be able to kick this government out.” Mr Groves said London was the biggest single polling booth in the Australian election and the votes of Australians living in the UK could prove crucial to the outcome. In the 2010 federal election over 16,000 voters cast their vote at Australia House in London. “It is easy to imagine the number of votes cast in London could make the difference in key marginal seats,” said Mr Groves. ALP Abroad President Paul Smith said Australians abroad would play ...continued on p3
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