Kevin Rudd spent this morning in Ballina, in the marginal National-held seat of Page, NSW.
He used the visit to announce $1.5 billion funding for road projects on the NSW north coast.
The plan includes upgrades to the Pacific Highway in places such as Tweed Heads, Ballina, and Byron.
Rudd also stopped by the Lismore SES headquaters, where he grappled with the demands of local SES controller and retired school teacher, Lindsay Materson. As the Herald Sun reports:
First, Mr Materson ordered the accompanying party inside the headquarters, where he then carried out an evacuation drill after the sounding of a large klaxon horn.
Next, Mr Materson (as in what's-the-matter-son) took Mr Rudd on a tour of the Lismore emergency vehicles before telling him to strip off his coat and help fold a tarpaulin in the approved SES way.
Now, he ordered Mr Rudd, I want you to stamp up and down, up and down!
In a trice Mr Rudd was doing what he was told, jumping up and down on the folded sheet in his shiny RM Williams boots.
Mr Materson also took every available opportunity to tell the Opposition Leader how short-funded the SES was in handling emergencies in the Lismore area.
Later, surrounded by happy patrons of the Ballina RSL and sipping a medium-strength beer from a stubby, Mr Rudd was serenaded by a stout member who sang Like A Mountain.
Meanwhile, if you look closely you will notice that Rudd is sporting what appears to be a healing graze or lesion on his right hand.
A campaign wound, he explains. "That actually is from shaking hands and there's been a lot of that in recent days."
PIC CREDIT: livenews.com.au
