CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER (7.30): Opposition Leader Tony Abbott laid down some of his markers for 2012 at the National Press Club in Canberra today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good speech Tony?

TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER: Well I wrote it, so I hope it is (laughs)

BILL SHORTEN, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS MINISTER (to press): It's a new year and we were promised that we would see a new Tony Abbott this year.

TONY ABBOTT (at National Press Club): My vision for Australia is to restore hope, reward and opportunity by delivering lower taxes, better services, more opportunities for work and stronger borders.

Should I become prime minister I will spend at least a week every year in a remote indigenous community.

One of my final acts as health minister was to establish the Medicare dental scheme.

I always envisaged that this would be the precursor to putting dental services more generally on Medicare.

LAURIE OAKES, CHANNEL NINE REPORTER: But that was just an aspiration, not a promise.

TONY ABBOT (at National Press Club): Well I'm not against aspiration.

(Footage of Tony Abbott laughing)

REPORTER 1 (at National Press Club): Are you pledging that interest rates under an Abbott government will be lower than they are under a Gillard Government? And is that a promise, an aspiration or a guarantee?

TONY ABBOTT: Well, I can...

BILL SHORTEN (to press): So I listened carefully to Mr Abbott's speech.

PETER REITH, LIBERAL PARTY: It had some positives and negatives.

TONY ABBOTT (at National Press Club): This Government is almost a poster child for ineptitude and failure of process.

REPORTER 2 (at National Press Club): This speech was billed as a positive vision but you still have managed to call the Government lazy, deceptive, complacent.

BILL SHORTEN: No less than 44 times in a 30 minute speech.

TONY ABBOTT (at National Press Club): And you're disputing that, are you?

(Laughter)

BILL SHORTEN (to press): World land speed record of negativity, even for Mr Abbott.

HUGH MACKAY, SOCIAL RESEARCHER (to press): But really nothing that we haven't heard before.

TONY ABBOTT (at National Press Club): 16 members of the current shadow cabinet were ministers in the Howard government.

BILL SHORTEN (to press): And with a B team refugees from the Howard government.

TONY ABBOTT (at National Press Club): We are a great team. We have a great cause and we have a great nation that we need to help.

BILL SHORTEN (to press): And we'd like to have another crack even though we've got nothing new to say.

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB PRESIDENT: We'll conclude on that note.