JOURNALIST: Ms Gillard, good morning and welcome to AM.
PM: Good morning Sabra.
JOURNALIST: The Opposition has labelled today assassination day, one of your senior colleagues calls it liberation day. Is it a happy anniversary for you?
PM: I call it a day of more work as Prime Minister, so I am determined to make sure that our nation is a nation of opportunity right around the country. I am travelling today to Western Australia, of course, the state central to the resources boom.
Our economy is seeing now the resources boom is a good thing but I want to make sure we manage this phase of economic growth so we see opportunity right around the nation. So that is my focus today and my determination each and every day I do this job.
JOURNALIST: Your party's primary vote though is down to 27 per cent and that is a terminal figure for a government. There are some in your party that are predicting worse polling to come. Why is it so bad?
PM: Well I don't comment on opinion polls Sabra but I understand. We are in the middle of some tough reforms and as we work our way through those tough reforms I am not surprised that that is causing some anxiety in the community.
But can I certainly say this; anybody who thinks that I am going to fold because it is a bit tough out there has got me wrong, absolutely wrong and we are doing these tough reforms because they are right for the country's future.
It is what Australia needs to make sure we have got a strong economy and opportunity for all in the future-
JOURNALIST: -But when you took over, when you took over the leadership of the party last year, I mean the polling was a large part of that and you said that the party had lost its way. Your polling figures now are worse than what Kevin Rudd had at the time. Isn't he right to feel miffed about that?
PM: Well, I am not agreeing with the premise of your question and the important thing is delivering a plan that gets us to a better future for our nation. That is what I'm determined to do.
So I'm doing these things because they are right for the nation's future. They are huge reforms. I believe Australians can change, that we are up to making major reforms together in our economy and in our nation, but of course, day after day people are being invited by the Opposition to believe that we are not up to tackling the big reforms.
I'm not surprised that there is anxiety out there-
JOURNALIST: -Kevin Rudd was tackling those big reforms too. He was tackling the big reforms that you are talking about as well and he had bad polling figures. Isn't he right to feel - what on earth, why should you be given a reprieve and he wasn't?
PM: Sabra, this is about delivering a vision for the nation's future and you're inviting me to get on the political analysis side. I'll leave that to the commentators.
I judge myself and the progress of the government I lead by the difference we are making in the lives of Australians today and for the future.
That does require us to engage in and explain the big reforms in a context where the Opposition each and every day invites Australians to believe they are no longer up to big reforms. Well, I'm not going to put this nation's future in the too hard basket.
We are going to get this done and yes, it's tough and yes, it's got consequences in the political debate that people see and reflect on, but it is not the political debate in that sense that is happening today or tomorrow that concerns me. It is what is happening in the future of this country - next year, the year after, the year after that, having jobs, having opportunity for all, tackling the big challenges like climate change.
JOURNALIST: But on your own record in the weeks before you became Prime Minister, you said a leadership challenge was absurd, during the campaign you said the idea of doing a deal with the Greens was ridiculous and on the carbon tax, that you said there would be no carbon tax under a government you led.
In terms of what you say and what you do, there is a huge disconnect and voters appear to be very disappointed.
PM: Well, what I am saying is what I am doing. I'm saying the nation needs to tackle the big challenges of the future - climate change, we've got to get on with this job. It's big, it's tough, it's a major economic transformation.
I understand it's causing anxiety, but to be the kind of country we want to be in the future with the environment we want and the strong economy we want, we have got to get on with the job and price carbon.
So what I'm saying and what I'm doing - exactly the same.
JOURNALIST: Internal Labor Party research leaked to Fairfax this week suggests that people haven't forgiven you for the way that you became Prime Minister and they haven't forgiven you for the broken promise. Why not just say sorry?
PM: I've explained, of course, to the Australian people that I never meant to mislead anybody during the last election campaign about carbon pricing. I said during the course of that election campaign I believe climate change is real and I do. I believe the best way of reducing carbon pollution is to put a price on carbon. I've always-
JOURNALIST: -But why can't you just say sorry?
PM: Well, I've always thought the best way of putting a price on carbon was a cap and trade scheme, where you cap the amount of carbon pollution coming out of your economy and we're going to get there, Sabra.
We are going to get there through a path I didn't expect during the election campaign of a fixed price period for around three to five years.
So yes, the route to the objective is different. When I said those words during the election campaign I didn't mean to mislead anybody and I understand that people heard those words and they look at what's happening now and they perhaps look at me and say well, ‘what's going on, what did she mean then, what does she mean now'.
Well, what I meant then and what I mean now is climate change is real. We're up to tackling it. We're a nation that can tackle the big reforms. The big reform we need to reduce carbon pollution is to put a price on carbon.
JOURNALIST: Do you think that those same people would be saying all of that but also why can't she just say sorry?
PM: Well, I think the best thing I can do is explain my words and I've just done that.
JOURNALIST: When you took the leadership you said that the Government had lost its way and you nominated three issues; the climate change policy being one, the mining tax being another and asylum seeker policy. Those were the three top issues.
None of those are 100 per cent resolved and some would say that they are a mess. Tomorrow marks seven weeks since you announced the Malaysia swap and again before the election Labor said it wouldn't be involved in off-shore processing and this deal effectively is that.
Again, you gave an impression of one thing and did something else.
PM: Oh, Sabra. That is completely untrue. If you go back to my first speech to the Lowy Institute on the question of refugees and asylum seekers, I said we needed a regional solution.
We needed to aim to break the people smuggler's business model, that that was going to require us to work with our regional neighbours and partners and we are. We are in advanced discussions with Malaysia about a transfer agreement.
Our nation has never seen this innovation before. It has never been in contemplation before and it is a great idea for sending the strongest possible message to people smugglers - don't keep trying to profit on misery and enticing people to get onto your boats that can crash on the shores of Christmas Island or elsewhere and cause asylum seekers to lose their lives.
Don't do that. The message is if you do get on a boat, you'll end up at the back of the queue in Malaysia.
But of course the other side of that equation Sabra and so important is that we would take 4,000 more genuine refugees.
So, when I spoke about asylum seeker and refugee policy for the first time as Prime Minister, I was looking to a regional solution and we've worked patiently and methodically to deliver just that through the Bali process and now the transfer agreement with Malaysia. And on-
JOURNALIST:-But seven weeks ago, with respect-
PM: -Minerals Resource Rent tax, in the early days of being Prime Minister I entered an agreement with our biggest mining companies. They had complained very deeply about lack of consultation about the resources super profit tax.
And when I extended my hand to shake hands on that agreement I said to myself, I am going to make sure everything we do now is done with the maximum consultation. Yes, it's taken some time but the draft legislation is there for all to see. And carbon pricing, we've talked about; we are in the process of putting a price on carbon.
JOURNALIST: But on the Malaysia swap, you gave the impression seven weeks ago it would be done in a matter of weeks. It is still not signed on the dotted line. Is it going to happen or is this like the East Timor processing centre, going to die?
PM: Well, Sabra, I'm a little bit bemused that someone who works in the media would be advocating to me a lack of transparency. I was in a position to put out a joint statement with the prime minister of Malaysia about the intentions of our two nations and I'm in a position to advise the public of something as significant as that in a joint statement with the leader of one of our regional neighbours. It seems to me the right thing to do is to give people the information and I did.
JOURNALIST: On the carbon tax, Tony Abbott says that you can't be trusted on this, that it will just keep going up and up and up and based on the record with other previous policies, isn't he right here? That it will just go up and up and up?
PM: Oh, we all know Sabra that Tony Abbott is wandering around every day looking for what's this day's scare. What can he frighten people about today, so he'll say anything, he'll do anything, he'll claim any job is going to be lost, he'll claim any price is going to go up-
JOURNALIST:-But on your own policy performance, things that you've been adamant about-
PM: -Well, Sabra, I'll answer your question thanks. Tony Abbott is out there making ridiculous claims day after day about job losses, about price increases. He doesn't care about the truth in this debate.
The claims he makes are false and it is part of saying to the Australian people actually, you know, you the Australian people, the Australian nation, you're not up to reforming. You're not up to grappling the future. You're not up to this. Be afraid, stay with me in the past. That is what Tony Abbott is saying to Australians.
Well, yes, I'm saying something quite different. I'm saying we are a confident, creative country. We've worked our way through the big reforms in the past. We'll work our way through this big reform.
And when I meet with Australians what is on their mind, I mean of course they live hectic lives and there are daily pressures but when you get people to sit for one moment of stillness and say, what's the most important thing to you? Overwhelmingly people say to me I want to leave for my kids a better country so they can have a better life than I did.
Well, if you want to do that, leave a better future for your children, then you believe in tackling climate change and you believe in doing it the most efficient way and that's pricing carbon.
JOURNALIST: Will you be in a position to announce the details on this within the next fortnight given that we are at the midyear mark and are you confident that Australians will change their minds on this tax once you announce that price? Won't that just make people even angrier with you?
PM: I think we are working through with a great deal of goodwill to get all of the details of this big reform discussed and we are working for agreement on all of those details.
This is a big reform and consequently it's got many moving parts and many details to work through. The discussions in the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee are happening with a great deal of goodwill and people are working hard.
I've said that we would always aim to announce the details of carbon pricing in the middle of this year and, of course, that continues to be my aim. On the reaction of people when they see all of the details, well I think first and foremost, they'll be trying to work through and understand it and will be explaining it to people.
I think that that will take months and months and months of explanation. This is a big reform. It is not something that people will digest in the first five minutes of seeing the press conference when it is announced.
But we will work through and people will be able to sit at their kitchen table and work out what it means for them and how much assistance they are going to get and when they've worked that through, they'll see a dollar figure of assistance provided by me and a dollar figure of assistance that Tony Abbott is committed to taking away.
JOURNALIST: Ms Gillard, thanks for joining us this morning.
PM: Thank you.