Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the next election will come down to voters’ decision on economy and defence in a live question and answer session on Monday night.
The Prime Minister fielded questions from a largely supportive audience in Sydney’s Central Coast, on Sky News’ “Pub Test”.
He said the next election would come down to “keeping the economy strong and keeping Australians safe”.
Morrison opened questions on the next election by saying his government will manage the economy better than Labor.
“How strong our economy is will determine the country we live in,” Morrison said.
Mr Morrison acknowledged not all his decisions during his Prime-ministership were popular, but said during that time he had not changed and was a reliable choice.
“I can say I can surf like Kelly Slater but that doesn’t mean I can,” Mr Morrison said.
“I’m happy in my own skin and I’m not pretending to be anyone else.”
The Prime Minister also said most Australians were not interested in politics outside of the election cycle.
“In Australia, we don’t have politics like they have in many other countries. In between elections Australians basically just get on with their lives … and I actually like that about Australia,” he said.
“They’re constantly not agonising and talking their country down. Yeah there’s plenty that do that, but they’re on other programs.”
He said the Liberal party was “rebuilding” the defence force back from 1.57 per cent of GDP under Labor to 2.1 per cent over the past eight years.
Mr Morrison also referenced international agreements with “like-minded” countries such as the AUKUS and Quad alliances.
Morrison said the debt incurred during the pandemic was “significantly” less than comparable countries.
“The Labor Party would have spent $81 billion dollars more [than the coalition during the pandemic],” he said.
He also defended JobKeeper and said the government knew when to cut additional funding to prevent overspending on stimulus.
He said getting the economy back on track following the pandemic would be a priority.
“That’s what enables us to get back to where we need to get back to where we want to be,” he said.
The Prime Minister said he still backs coal and would support coal for stabilising renewable energy in the grid.
“What you need in today’s energy economy is you need to continue to run your coal-fired power stations for as long as you possibly can. And that is our policy – we want them to run as long as they possibly can,” he said.
He added companies were “welcome” to build new coal fired power stations if they wanted.
“It will be difficult because of the state government planning powers they will never allow them to do it. But nevertheless, if they wish to, fine.”
He later added that Australia will see coal-fired power stations eventually become exempt, and that gas fired stations may be preferable as you can “turn them on and off”.
Mr Morrison said he would not force drivers to choose an electric vehicle, firelding off a question about energy supplies to power them.
“Under our policies, I’m not forcing anyone to drive anything,” he said.
“Our policy when it comes to emissions reduction is about choice, not mandates.”
Supporting domestic manufacturing is another priority according to the Prime Minister. He said the government was supporting local manufacturing with direct funding and reducing gas prices by securing the fossil fuel for local use.
One voter asked about raising the height of Warragamba Dam to increase water security.
Mr Morrison said he would love to see NSW government raising the height of Warragamba Dam, adding $1.9 billion federal funding had been set aside to support state governments build dams.
He blamed environmental regulations and unwilling state governments for blocking the building of more dams.
He said dams were key to “unlocking” Australia’s agricultural industry.
He added that the national cabinet of state and territory leaders had succeeded in making decisions more efficiently, comparing the federation to a family that mostly gets along, but occasionally disagrees on things.
