HOST: Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, good morning to you.
PM: Good morning.
HOST: And thank you for talking to with us this morning. Why does it seem that over a week into this discussion, you are losing the debate about convincing people they won't be worse off under this tax?
PM: We will keep out and about talking to people about what all of this means. As I have said publicly, this is a big reform, it's a tough reform, I expected it to get tougher; there's been a lot of fear raised, a lot of people have been told, for example that this will cost them thousands and thousands of dollars more when they go to the supermarket, whereas in truth, the impact on people's cost of living is less than one percent. Less than a cent in a dollar, we don't even have one cent coins anymore so I can' hold one up; less than a cent in a dollar and then people will find that they are assisted with tax cuts if you earn less than $80,000 a year, a $300 tax cut.
Many people, who work part time or casual, will find they no longer pay tax at all, and family payments and pensions are being increased too. So, look we're out there talking to people about the facts and we will keep doing that over the weeks and months ahead.
HOST: And Prime Minister, that is the policy argument, and yet what we know is we produce the cleanest energy in Australia in Tasmania, and we know fact, our power bills will go up by another ten per cent. That seems to be the fact of it, and people aren't convinced about the savings that might come on the other side.
PM: Well, I would suggest, on the income support people are getting, the pension increases, the family payment increases, the tax cuts, that people do get on the cleanenergyfuture.gov.au website and have a look for themselves.
I think many people haven't realised things like family payments are going up by up to $110 per child, or pensioner households on average will be $210 in front; so people can get that information there. On the impacts for the environment, I think, people in Tassie, like people around Australia, generally, do believe that climate change is real, they do want to see us get something effective done. We've only got one atmosphere and they are concerned about the amount of carbon pollution we put into it; and by pricing carbon we will cut carbon pollution by at least 160 million tonnes in 2020.
HOST: But, if we price carbon and yet there seems to be a contradiction, the motive of the tax is to reduce pollution, but we give polluters, and we have some here in Tasmania, massive subsidies so they're not affected. If the issue is so important, why the massive subsidies?
PM: Well, the price, of course, is being paid by around 500 of our biggest polluters. For some of those biggest polluters who are trade exposed, that is for what they do they take an international price, and they're very emissions intensive. We have worked with them to make sure we protect Aussie jobs and protect competitiveness, while still keeping a signal to them to reduce carbon pollution. So we're doing that with industries around the country, including in Tasmania.
HOST: Can you explain your poll numbers in the context of this debate at the moment? It sometimes seems a long way to Canberra from Tasmania; you're trying to win the argument but the sliding poll numbers suggest a lack of authority in carrying it, does that concern you?
PM: Look, democracy's not one long opinion poll, it's about getting the right things done for the nation's future. If we look at what's created our nation today, big decisions that were made in the past, whether it was floating the Australian dollar, or creating Medicare; whether it was reducing tariffs or introducing universal superannuation, a number of those things were bitterly politically contested at the time; with all sorts of claims about how they'd ruin our nation if they went ahead.
Here we are and we know we're a stronger country because we've got Medicare, we're a stronger country because we internationalised our economy, we're a stronger because people have universal superannuation. Big, hard reforms are necessary to make sure that we continue to have the kind of prosperity tomorrow that we aspire for. So, the judgement calls here that I make, are about what's best for the nation's future.
HOST: On the subject of the leadership at the moment, and in the context of the polling, do you take comfort in the fact that your leadership might be safe because Andrew Wilkie, Tasmanian member for Dennison, has said he'll only support the government while you're in the top job?
PM: None of that worries me, or is something that I need to deal with. The Labor team is supporting me because they want us to tackle this big challenge; all of us in the Labor government believe that the country cannot put climate change in the too hard basket.
HOST: There's a big rally planned today by forestry workers in Hobart, they're anxious to find out what compensation will be available to them from the federal government. Under the Kelty statement of principles, that is in your government's hand at the moment, when will the Federal Government make an announcement on this?
PM: Look, we've been strongly engaged with the various stakeholders in Tasmania, obviously, with the union, as well as, with the environmental stakeholders; indeed Bill Kelty is on the job because we're determined that he should be. And we will continue to be engaged strongly with Bill Kelty, with the groups that he's working with and with the Tasmanian Government, to work towards a resolution of this big issue which, of course, has been a huge issue for Tassie and for the nation for a long period of time.
HOST: Does the government see a future for native forest logging in Tasmania or are we at the point now where we're paying workers to get out altogether?
PM: Look, I think the best, and most responsible, thing I can do at this stage where negotiations, of discussions, are ongoing is not to play sort of, rule in, rule out, games or be pre-judging.
We want to work strongly, in good faith. There's been a process here, led by the groups involved in the industry, led by the unions and the environmental stakeholders, and they are the ones that have said ‘we want to sit around the table and work towards a good conclusion' and the Kelty process has been a part of that. So, I am respecting that by not engaging and answering questions like the ones you've just asked me.
HOST: What about then a timetable for government involvement? Many workers are desperate to see compensation flow, exits take place, when will the government be in a position to declare its hand on this?
PM: We continue to engage in this strongly, and continuously with a lot of work happening, so I am not going to set a timetable; but I can offer people who are listening, a reassurance that we are directly and strongly engaged.
HOST: Presentations at our major hospitals, Prime Minister, continue to rise at around six and seven percent a year, and yet at the moment, the Tasmanian Government is trying to cut $100 million out of a $1.8 billion service. How is Tasmania and the state government going at the moment, particularly in health, in your view?
PM: Well, I'm not going to offer commentary on another level of government, on Tasmanian State Government decisions; of course, you should talk to Premier Giddings about that.
HOST: But you care deeply about health, having served in the role.
PM: Yes, yes I do and I can certainly answer to what the Federal Government is doing, which is we are looking to invest $16 billion, stepping up to being an equal partner in the growth of health care costs in hospitals, training more doctors, more nurses. All of this reform, with the aim of making sure that we're cutting the amount of time for people waiting in emergency departments or for elective surgery. So, we are giving more people local control, more doctors, more nurses, more resources and less waiting, that's the objective of our health reform agenda.
HOST: And just on the issue of the media at the moment, we're all watching with interest the saga of the News of the World, in the UK. Would your life be easier if the Murdoch empire came crashing down?
PM: Look, I'm not going to; you know, obviously, we are all watching events in the UK and it's being reported on strongly here in Australia. Look, I dealt with some questions about the media when I was at the Press Club last week, and my simple message is I think it's important that the media is reporting the facts and that people get the benefits of good information.
HOST: Appreciate you talking with us this morning.
PM: Thank you.