Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

Malcolm Turnbull, new opposition leader (Liberal) in Australia.

With Nelson gone, Turnbull switches to attack
By PHILLIP HUDSON - SMH
16 September 2008

TURNING TACTICS: Malcolm Turnbull has used his first press conference as the new leader
of Australia's Liberal Party to accuse Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of policy recklessness.

Malcolm Turnbull has used his first press conference as Liberal leader to accuse
Kevin Rudd of policy recklessness and displaying a failure of economic leadership.

Mr Turnbull also said that, while Opposition policies would be under review, he would
keep Brendan Nelson's plan to cut petrol excise by five cents a litre, oppose the
Government's Medicare changes and maintain the policy on an emissions trading scheme.

He began the battle to claw back the Liberal's economic
credentials by attacking Labor's claim to be fiscal kings.

He said the Government was not dealing well with the fallout from
the economic crisis in America and the "massive collapse" on Wall Street.

"Labor claims to be superior economic managers. We are presently facing,
probably, the gravest economic crisis globally in any of our lifetimes," Mr Turnbull said.

"We are seeing a collapse in global confidence. All year, from my very beginning
as shadow treasurer, I have said to the Government their role is to lead.

"What Australia needs is real leadership. It needs strong leadership. It needs
leaders that say this country is strong and can do anything. But we need confidence.

"We are suffering from a global collapse in confidence and instead of having a Government
which talked up Australia, which spoke of our strengths, which spoke passionately about what
we can do and why we are different, we've had a Government all year that's talked this country down."

He said that, when the subprime crisis started to hit and caused credit
problems in Australia, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, mismanaged the response.

"He begged the Reserve Bank to put up rates," Mr Turnbull said. "He created an environment where the
Government of the day - and this is unique in the history of our country or indeed any country -
exacerbated inflationary expectations. We have had a total failure of economic leadership in this country."

On emissions trading, Mr Turnbull said the Coalition's policy would
remain to support a properly designed system to begin in 2011 or 2012.

"What we've seen from Kevin Rudd so far ... is an emissions trading scheme that will destroy
Australian jobs. It will do economic harm with no environmental benefit," Mr Turnbull said.

He said the focus on the Liberals' position was "a little overdone"
and what would matter was the position it took to the next election.

He said Mr Rudd was asking the public "to buy an emissions trading scheme without telling them what it will cost".

"Kevin Rudd is forming an emissions trading scheme for purely political grounds without
knowing what will happen at the Copenhagen summit in 2009, without knowing what
the new US president will do. It's an extraodinary act of political recklessness."

Mr Turnbull said the Liberals would stick with Dr Nelson's policy to cut
petrol tax by five cents a litre - a policy he did not initially support.

He said the Liberals would also oppose the Government's Medicare levy
surcharge changes, saying it was a Labor "act of retribution" designed to
undermine the private health insurance industry and would most hurt those
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4694848a12.html
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Between regulators, senior executives, accountants, lawyers et al, failing to do there jobs
honestly and job honestly and conscientiously with neither fear nor favor, we have the same problem.

ANDREW MAIN: They made huge mistakes in the UK - probably lost
$1
billion there - huge mistakes in the US, about the same amount.

KAREN PERCY: Investment bank Goldman Sachs oversaw HIH's takeover of FAI in 1999.

That was when Malcolm Turnbull was at the helm.
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member.asp?id=885

BELIEVE HE WAS HOWARD'S CHOICE TO BE THE NEXT PM
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=26125434&txt2find=malcolm|turnbull