“Retired farmers and failed businessmen”: Weatherill cuts loose at Libs
Globetrotting Premier Jay Weatherill has launched a withering putdown of his Liberal opponents’ “2036” mission statement, slamming the state party as a bunch of “retired farmers, failed businessmen” and factional hangers-on.
Liberal leader Steven Marshall, whose personal approval rating plummeted in the latest Newspoll, this week released an 80-page “manifesto” for the titular year, telling correspondents: “I have a vision for 2036 and it starts now.”
The document detailed a series of principles for government – and South Australia’s bicentenary – but offered little policy detail.
“2036 represents the values we will bring and the reforms we will implement to restore prosperity to South Australia and make our community a better place to be,” Marshall said at its launch.
But quizzed about the document from the US this morning, where he had just met with General Motors executives in Detroit, Weatherill was unimpressed, telling FIVEaa: “I think it’ll give some people some comfort that they made the right decision at the last election.”
“It’s got nothing in it,” he went on.
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“It’s just empty and that’s, really, one of the fundamental problems with the Liberal Party: they don’t actually have a capacity to actually design high quality public policy… they’re a party of retired farmers and failed businessmen and a few apparatchiks hanging around Christopher Pyne.”
He wound up the spray by concluding: “I’d prefer not to waste my time thinking about it.”
Marshall told InDaily: “I don’t think the people of SA have got any interest whatsoever in politicians just taking swipes.”
He said Weatherill should concentrate on “creating sustainable jobs” and that voters wanted “a plan, not just a Premier taking cheap political shots”.
“Especially at two sectors, farming and small business, which have been the backbone of the SA economy,” he said.
