ALI MOORE: Well Kevin Rudd is in Singapore and that means Julia Gillard is the Prime Minister. Well, she's the Acting Prime Minister. She's sitting in the Prime Minister's chair - if not literately than figuratively. And she is doing that on a morning when soldiers have been injured in Afghanistan. Russia has pushed further into Georgia and at home the question now being asked is just how many people will loose their jobs as part of this economic slowdown. Julia Gillard, good morning.
JULIA GILLARD: Good morning Ali.
ALI MOORE: If we can start with Afghanistan. We talked to Joel Fitzgibbon at the beginning of the program. Are you worried about the increasing number in injuries and casualties we're experiencing in that country?
JULIA GILLARD: We've always said this was going to be a difficult fight and it is a difficult fight. We've also moved into a period of increased intensity. It's what they refer to as, somewhat tragically in Afghanistan, as' fighting season'. Because we've moving into the season where the weather facilitates people doing the kind of things we saw happen to our troops yesterday. So it is a tough fight but it's an important fight.
ALI MOORE: Well if we can turn to Georgia- Russia as I have said has pushed well into Georgia. It's gone beyond the disputed areas despite appeals for a ceasefire and Georgia is calling for international help. Where does Australia sit on this conflict?
JULIA GILLARD: Well we have certainly joined the international calls to say that hostilities should cease and we would renew those calls. I think people who have been watching their TV screens and listening to the radio would be very disturbed by some of the images that have come in of civilians who are caught up in these hostilities. So we certainly want to see a ceasefire there.
ALI MOORE: Julia Gillard here's a little of what President George Bush had to say.
{President George Bush grab}
ALI MOORE: Julia Gillard I think President Bush meant to say “Georgia's duly elected Government” there, not “Russia's duly elected Government”. But my question to you is: do you think the US will physically come to the aid of Georgia?
JULIA GILLARD: Well look I don't think, Ali, that it's appropriate for me in these circumstances to be making predictions about what the US or any other nation would do. Obviously we're monitoring the situation closely. We're staying in contact with people around the world, including of course our ally the United States. And the position we're advocating publically and within the councils of the world if that there should be a ceasefire.
ALI MOORE: Would Australia ever get involved in a conflict in that region?
JULIA GILLARD: Well Ali, I'm not going to be drawn on hypothetical's, particularly about something as serious as this. We're in a situation where we are calling for a cease to hostilities and we're obviously monitoring all developments very closely.
ALI MOORE: Well if we look closer to home - the Reserve Bank is forecasting a rise in unemployment which would equate to some 100,000 people out of work. Can you offer any comfort? Is this just the slowdown we had to have?
JULIA GILLARD: We're in an environment where there are a number of big global factors that are hitting the Australian economy. We haven't been immune from the global credit crunch which started with the sub prime mortgage issue in the United States and has gone on to infect global credit markets and obviously we haven't been immune from the impact of increased oil prices either. We're also seeing a slowing as a consequence of eight interest rate increases in the last three years, so those factors are all in the mix.
What can we do? Well, what we can do is fight inflation here, which is an enemy of working families, putting prices up, putting upwards pressure on interest rates. We did that by delivering a fiscally responsible budget. And we are doing it by generating better capacity in the economy through new investments in skills and infrastructure.
Our recent employment numbers, the numbers that came out most recently, continued to be strong with unemployment at 4.3 per cent. So that's obviously very low.
ALI MOORE: You also have argued in the past of course, that the other thing you can do is to generate a more gentle industrial relations environment but at the same as we're getting this slowdown, I understand that the abolition of the Coalition's Work Choices is now going to be delayed. Is that correct?
JULIA GILLARD: I read that in the newspapers this morning with some surprise - because no, that's not correct. We've always said that our substantive industrial relations Bill would be in the parliament in the second half of this year. And it will be. And we've already substantially taken away the worst aspects of Work Choices. We...
ALI MOORE: But not unfair dismissal. And you had held out the prospect that that would have an earlier start.
JULIA GILLARD: What I've always said is the Substantive Bill, which will deal with unfair dismissal, would be in the parliament in the second half of this year. And we will look when the bill is through the parliament - and I say “when” because obviously we've got to deal with a Senate with a Coalition which is still in the embrace of Work Choices. But when the bill is through the parliament we will obviously be bringing on stream the parts that we can as soon as possible.
But I think we've got to remind ourselves that in terms of the worst Work Choices rip off - the 16 year old kids that had the safety net ripped away in their first job - we've already fixed that with the first Bill in parliament of the Rudd Labor Government.
No one need fear that they walk into a workplace today to have an Australian Workplace Agreement shoved into their hand which takes away basic pay and conditions...
ALI MOORE: Julia Gillard we are heading up to the news, but just wanted to clarify: there is no delay? You are on timetable for those changes?
JULIA GILLARD: We are on track, where we always expected to be. And AWAs are already gone - the worst aspect of Work Choices. We are delivering exactly as we promised before the election.
ALI MOORE: Julia Gillard, thanks for joining us this morning.
JULIA GILLARD: Thanks Ali.