Speech - National Coalition election campaign launch 2025

Melissa McIntosh MP
Shadow Minister for Communications
Shadow Minister for Western Sydney
Federal Member for Lindsay

13 April 2025

Address at National Election Campaign Launch 2025 at Liverpool Catholic Club

E&OE

Western Sydney. Menzies Forgotten People. Howard’s Battlers. Tony’s Tradies. Scott Morrison’s Quiet Australians. And with Peter Dutton, the heartland of our Australian Liberal Party.

Former Prime Minister Menzies called the forgotten people the backbone of our nation. In the 1950s, nowhere was this represented more than in outer Western Sydney, which was a nucleus for the transformation of market farming into suburbia, where the aspirational working class were moving out of the city to secure their slice of the Australian dream and a better life for their families.

Today, Western Sydney is a microcosm of Australia, like all the outer suburbs of the cities of our great country. With families, small businesses, tradies, and aspirational people working really hard to get ahead. Over the last three years, they have been hoodwinked, let down, and lied to by the Albanese Labor Government.

I would like to acknowledge the former Prime Ministers here today – My former boss John Howard and Jannette, Tony Abbott, and my other former boss Scott Morrison, and Jenny.

And our future Prime Minister, Peter Dutton – who for the first time ever has created a Federal Shadow Cabinet portfolio for Western Sydney.

Peter’s strength is in protecting the Australian dream, protecting our kids, families, and communities. A former police officer who has seen all the bad has toughened Peter on the outside.

But on the inside it has made him care deeply, about not letting children, women and Australian families down. Peter will be a Prime Minister that is laser focussed on the good for our country.

To Sussan Ley, David Littleproud, our MPs and candidates – welcome to Western Sydney, the heartland of the Liberal Party.

It is our heartland because we are the Party that encourages hope, we reward aspiration, and we value the Australian Dream. But these ideals are being crushed by this bad Labor government.

I have never heard so many older women using very strong swear words that I would love to tell you about as it is from the heart of all these women. They are very angry with Prime Minister Albanese and his government and they use all the alphabet to express their feelings.

They feel like our Prime Minister is not protecting them, and their children and their grandchildren. They need us to get our country back on track.

And here in Liverpool they need us to get Werriwa back on track with Sam Kayal who can take this seat from Labor.

All our Western Sydney candidates along with our Western Sydney MPs, like Angus Taylor and Alex Hawke are on the ground fighting for our communities. The people of Western Sydney want what all Australians want.

To get Western Sydney, and every suburb, and town across every stretch of this great country of Australia Back on Track.