E&OE........................................
JONES:
Prime Minister, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning Alan. How are you?
JONES:
Good thank you. Congratulations. How important, could you just tell
our listeners, is it that national Governments fight this battle
against debt?
PRIME MINISTER:
Enormously important. It's the foundation of a secure, confident
future. The feeling that we are now, for the first time in eight
or ten years spending less than we collect each week, if I can put
it that way, but knowing that the surplus you get through spending
less than you collect has to be used to pay previously accumulated
debt, I mean, that is the situation we are in. We inherited a deficit,
that's an annual gap between what we spend and what we collect,
of $10.5 billion two years ago. We have now wiped that out.
JONES:
And $13 billion turn around in two years. It's a phenomenal
achievement.
JONES:
And no raising of taxes?
PRIME MINISTER:
And no raising of taxes for the third year in a row. The Treasurer
was able to say last night, no increase in wholesale sales tax,
excise, income tax or other taxes, and what we have been able to
do now with the surplus is also begin the mammoth task of repaying
the accumulation of all of the annual deficits over previous years
and they were in the order of $95 to $100 billion when we came to
power so it really has been a phenomenal turn around and it has
all been done without raising taxes and the beauty of it for the
future is that we are now able to lock in lower interest rates.
I mean, every homebuyer in Australia on an average loan is now $3800
a year better off. That's the equivalent of a $100 a week tax
rise from the boss for the average wage and salary earner.
JONES:
It doesn't get taxed, does it? It doesn't get taxed. It's
a far better benefit than a wage increase.
PRIME MINISTER:
A far better benefit. There is a huge benefit when you have a lower
mortgage bill and the greatest immediate and consistent and future
dividend out of this Government's economic prudence has been
that cut in interest rates for homebuyers because we now have the
lowest interest rates for 30 years, the lowest inflation for 30
years. We have generated 280 000 new jobs in just over two years
since we have been in office, and despite all the turmoil in Asia
we are able to see our economy growing by at least 3 per cent next
year.
JONES:
More Australians working than ever before.
PRIME MINISTER:
Could I just say one other thing about the region? Just ask yourselves,
listeners, where this country would now be in the face of what has
happened in Asia if my Government had not taken the measures it
has over the last two years, if we had not resolved two years ago
to take the spending decisions to get the books back into balance,
to get the country back in the black and to say bye bye to the bankcard?
JONES:
Well I am happy to tell you on behalf of millions of Australians
that I believe we would have been in all sorts of bother and I think
any detailed debate on the Budget today only dilutes the very, very
significant benefit to all Australians by this attack on debt. I
just want to put this to you before we get off this debt question.
In five years in the 90s we increased our debt by $80 000
million. It's almost criminal.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes that's right, we did, year after year, because we ran deficits
of 7,8,9,10, whatever it was, billion dollars. We just added them
up and by the time we got to office in 1996 and in that period in
the 90s we had run up that massive amount of debt. Now what we have
had to do is first of all, we have had to close the annual gap between
what you spend and what you collect and we achieved that last night
and then you set about using the surplus you generate to repay the
debt of earlier years. Now what I want to be able to say to the
future generations of Australians is that our aim is to enter the
third millennium of the next century as free of debt as any Government
has ever made Australia and I think it is a remarkable achievement
that we are now, with confidence, able to say to the Australian
people, when we turn the page of the calendar into the next millennium
we will be as free of debt as we have been in the living memory
of most Australians.
We now have the strongest economic foundations this country has
had for a quarter of a century and it's needed at the present
time with the turmoil in our region. Who would have thought a few
years ago that we could boast of being the fastest growing economy,
or one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. Remember just a
couple of years ago people were looking almost in awe at the rates
of growth in the Asian Pacific region. Now we are able to..
JONES:
Funded by debt, funded by debt.
PRIME MINISTER:
That's right. Exactly. Now we are able to look everybody in
the eye and say, we've got our house in order. The fundamentals
are strong. We have done it without increasing tax and most importantly,
we are locking in in a way that they have never been locked in before,
low interest rates and low inflation rates.
JONES:
Prime Minister, one writer said earlier this week of you, and I
quote, "he's hampered by a rather Methodist modesty, rare
in politicians as well as a dislike of braggadocio. As a result,
sometimes major announcements and indications about the government's
thinking go under reported". He went on, "neither John
Howard nor his senior Ministers have developed the art of selling
their successes". I wonder has the success that we all experience
as a result of mortgage interest rates being the lowest since 1970;
small business the lowest since 1960, down from 20 percent in 1990.
Have you really sold to Australians the real benefit of that rather
than have them believe that Government's have got to be giving
money all the time?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I suppose I'll find that out whenever the next election
is held though and I read that article with interest. That may or
may not be an accurate description of me. I'm not a person
who likes to over exaggerate things, I like to tell it as it is,
I'm telling you as it is now when I say to you and your listeners
this economy is in better shape then its been for a quarter of a
century and I am really fantastically proud of what my Government
has been able to achieve. Now we don't take the public for
granted, they're entitled to say well that's your job,
we elected you to fix the show up, that's why we got rid of
the other crowd. Now you've got the books back into balance
we want to see some decent tax reform, we want to see you continue
with your efforts and let me say to your listeners we will, to reform
the Australian waterfront. We are absolutely unapologetic about
the fact that we want to reform the Australian waterfront. We've
never made any bones about it and I don't want anybody in the
community to imagine that we are in the least bit changing our attitude.
We need an efficient Australian waterfront, we need to end compulsory
unionism on the Australian waterfront and the reason we need those
things is that it will benefit the whole country. We're not
trying to destroy a union, I've got no argument with trade
unionism, we have never set out to destroy the Maritime Union or
any union. What we've set out to do is to give Australia a
break through a more reformed and a more efficient waterfront.
JONES:
Many people listening to you as well have long been concerned about
the fact that they work their butts off everyday and other people
can actually put their hand out at the welfare trough and get away
with it. I know there was a report in the Budget last night that
you've been cancelling social payments at the rate of about
$28 million a week. It's a figure that's almost impossible
for the average worker to comprehend.
PRIME MINISTER:
It's about $600 million saved over a period of 18 months. And
this is taking money back from people who are never entitled to
it. And let me make it clear also that we estimate that we'll
be collecting an additional $200 million over the next two years
from some very wealthy people in Australia who haven't been
paying their fair share over the past few years and we've made
no apology.
JONES:
Do multi-nationals pay their fair share of tax?
PRIME MINISTER:
I believe multi-nationals pay according to the law, but if they're
not we'll make sure they do.
JONES:
But should the law be changed to make sure that they pay tax at.....
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, one of the things that we are going to examine, Alan, in
the course of taxation reform is the operation of the law in all
areas of taxation to ensure that people who are now exploiting the
existing law can no longer do so. So I want to say to you and to
other people who are concerned about that, that we are in the business
of making sure that everybody pays their fair share. If that happened
we'd all pay less.
JONES:
The Gold Card you announced last night was extended to world war
II veterans and they become eligible at 70 years of age for free
treatment, choice of doctor, optical, dental, physio, no Medicare
levy and so on. Korean veterans and Vietnam veterans fought in the
theatre of war as well, some of them many never get to 70 because
they fought wars based on chemical weaponry. Why have they been
excluded?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, they haven't been excluded, they haven't, let me
put it this way, what we've done with world War II veterans
is what we did with World War I veterans and that is about 55 years
after the end of the war in which they served we decided to extend
this benefit. Now obviously we'll be looking in future at the
position of Korean and Vietnam veterans.
JONES:
Some of these blokes with agent orange may never get to 70.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Alan, as it happened many of the diggers of World War I because
of the effects of gas and shell shock and diggers from World War
II because of the enormous strain they suffered didn't live
terribly long after they returned either. Now we've been very
very compassionate and sympathetic with veterans and we'll
obviously keep their position very much in mind.
JONES:
Okay. Self funded retirees?
PRIME MINISTER:
Very good Budget for them. A quarter of a million self funded retirees,
additional self funded retirees, will now get the Commonwealth Health
Card which gives you the same benefits and access to pharmaceuticals
as pensioners get and the income limits are very generous. For an
individual $40,000 a year...
JONES:
That's up from $21,000?
PRIME MINISTER:
Up from $21,000, and for couples $67,000 a year....
JONES:
Right so.....
PRIME MINISTER:
So all the self funded retirees listening who are under those limits
will be entitled.
JONES:
So they don't pay $3.20 for their pharmaceuticals.......
PRIME MINISTER:
That's right from the 1st of January.
JONES:
But after 52 they'll get the rest free of charge.
PRIME MINISTER:
Exactly and that's the same benefit as applies to pensioners
and there are a lot of people in that category who said to me over
the years that we've worked hard all our lives, we been thrifty
enough to accumulate enough to look after ourselves and yet we get
blocked and we are denied access to many of the benefits that are
available to others. Now we have found it possible in this Budget
to respond to that, I think quite legitimate concern, you're
talking here about a generation of people who were thrifty....
JONES:
Absolutely.
PRIME MINISTER:
.....who believe in the value of saving....
JONES:
Absolutely, that's what everyone says.
PRIME MINISTER:
....and feel rather resentful that because they are not a burden
on the tax payer.....
JONES:
Yes, plus low interest rates knock them around
PRIME MINISTER:
Low interest rates does them a disservice I understand that and
one of the dilemma's of low interest rates is great if you
are a borrower.....
JONES:
Yeah, that's it.
PRIME MINISTER:
.....it's not so flash if you're a lender. And that's
why we have been very careful, not only to give them a tax break
in relation to the same rebate as is available to pensioners but
also to give this very significant concession in relation to the
Seniors Health card.
JONES:
If an employer, a businessman, an entrepreneur in Perth or Adelaide
or Melbourne or Sydney today was opening a brand new business and
employing 450 people, you would be there, Kim Beazley would be there.
It would be a great triumph because it would be a tremendous fillip
for the community. But every time a hotel opens, that's exactly
what's happening. There are jobs for 450, up to 1000 people.
We have only got 1 percent of world tourism. Are we doing enough
to really sell Australia, forget Asia where we've got a problem
at the moment, to the rest of the world in a tourist sense?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think we are. We are putting a lot more money into tourist promotion
this year including domestic tourist promotion. One of the interesting
things, Alan, about the tourist figures is that although there has
been a significant fall from some of the Asian countries, and that
was inevitable, there has been a quite significant increase in the
number of tourists coming from North America and Europe. Now I am
not saying it's enough to balance out the fall from Asia but
Australia is not just seen by Asians as being an attractive tourist
destination. Increasingly large numbers of Americans and Europeans
are seeing in Australia the attraction that a generation ago Australians
automatically saw in travelling to Europe.
JONES:
We've only got one percent of world tourism. For God's
sake, if we can double that, wouldn't we be looking...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we would and one of the reasons we want a reformed the industrial
relations system is to give to small business operators in the tourist
industry a greater amount of flexibility and I mean, all of the
reforms that we are making in that area which make it easier to
employ people and encourage people to make bargains at a workplace
level, all of that will aid and assist the tourist industry in this
country.
JONES:
It wouldn't be an interview with the Prime Minister if I didn't
raise yet again the health care question. I am astounded, I noticed
that you fully indexed the payments to the GPs but the rationale
is that you are wanting more GPs to more bulk bill. I thought bulk
billing was the problem of the health care system.
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don't think it's the problem. I think one of the
biggest problems of the health care system...
JONES:
What, people going in 50 times a day to see a doctor and getting...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Alan, abuse is always a problem and I don't think the
level of remuneration is now such that the abuse that people quite
properly...
JONES:
I'm not blaming the doctor...
PRIME MINISTER:
No no, but that is an element but it's a mistake, and I say
this Alan, and it wouldn't be an interview if you ask me, that's
fair enough, but it's a mistake to see the problem with the
Australian health system as being a problem of just over expenditure.
In fact, the aggregate expenditure on health in Australia, both
public and private, compares quite favourably with a lot of other
countries. It's really the balance between public and private.
JONES:
But we don't have a policy for good health. We've only
got a policy for bad health.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no I don't agree with that. The health care in this country
is very good. Our doctors are splendid, our nurses are very good.
JONES:
Look, I could eat a lot of pies and drink a lot of grog and go
on the turps and I get sick. Someone will look after me for nothing.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think everybody has a self-interest in not doing all of those
things. Certainly, not to an extent. We all do it occasionally in
moderation, don't we.
JONES:
I'm pleased to hear you are not completely methodist.
PRIME MINISTER:
Not totally!
JONES:
Just one final thing, and we've only got a minute to go. Why
has the Treasurer not undertaken, in terms of tax reform, any large
scale study of the debits tax. My understanding is that he has advised
the tax taskforce not to consider any proposals right into that.
PRIME MINISTER:
Earlier governments have looked at that including the Government
into which I was Treasurer and Alan, it won't work. It was
temporarily tried in, I think Sri Lanka, about thirty years ago.
JONES:
When we talk about the Reserve Bank maintaining currency stability,
can you give our listeners any indication at what point would the
dollar go so low which would require intervention?
PRIME MINISTER:
As a golden rule, Treasurers, Prime Ministers and other people of
responsibility...
JONES:
Don't comment on the currency.
PRIME MINISTER:
They never comment on the currency. My stock answer when I was Treasurer
was, whatever the level was at the time the question was asked was
right.
JONES:
Well done. Thank you for your time and congratulations, a very significant
achievement in terms of attacking debt I am sure is welcomed by
all Australians.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you Alan.
ENDS