HOSTS: Good morning Prime Minister, do you get sick of hearing that? They do play it a lot. You know, over and over.
PM: They do play that a lot that's true. But I've had the opportunity because they play it a lot to talk about that and to say I meant every word when I said those words that I've always wanted our nation to have a clean energy future and to end up with an emissions trading scheme and putting a price on carbon and now it's started and people have got the opportunity to judge for themselves.
You won't have to listen to the pollies any more. They can make their own judgements.
HOST: I don't really know anything about this. Don't know about the tax, don't care about the tax, don't know why they're doing it, don't care, but I'm sure people do.
What is it for?
PM: Kyle, let me explain it quickly. Why we're doing it is to cut carbon pollution, so you'll see things like the equivalent of 45 million cars coming off the road in 2020, because we're starting this scheme now. Cutting carbon pollution because it's carbon pollution that's causing climate change. Less carbon pollution, better for our environment.
We're doing it by making big businesses that generate a lot of carbon pollution pay a price per tonne of the pollution they generate.
HOST: So it's the big businesses that are paying this tax, right?
It's the big businesses and that sends them a price signal, a real incentive, to work out how can I cut my carbon pollution, how can I change the way my business works.
HOST: Doesn't everyone pay though? Everyone has to pay.
PM: No, no, only the big businesses that generate a lot of pollution that pay the tax. Now some of them will try and pass some of the cost through to the things that you go and buy in the shop.
HOST: Which they are.
PM: What that means is that you'll see your cost of living go up less than a cent in a dollar, and to help people through with that there are tax cuts starting today for people who earn less than $80,000 a year.
HOST: Oh, damn.
PM: And we've already increased pensions and family payments and they'll keep on going up.
HOST: Now Tony Abbott has come out and said that if he is in power, he's going to get rid of that carbon tax straight away.
PM: To which I would say, yeah sure. What he'll do is some kind of fiddle or fudge or name change or something like that, but let's remember, Prime Minister Howard in the 2007 election with Tony Abbott standing alongside him, was all in favour of putting a price on carbon. And Mr Abbott's said on many occasions that he's in favour of carbon pricing too. So wait for the pollies' fudge and fiddle, that's where that will all end up.
HOST: Fudge and fiddle sounds like a gay nightclub, I love the sound, I'm writing that down. That's a new enterprise for me.
HOST: Do you pay attention to the polls on popularity?
PM: Not when you are so determined to do what's right for the nation's future. I mean, we've been through big divisive debates in the past in our country. I mean, something we all take for granted now, Medicare, was the subject of a huge divisive debate. Native title, the subject of a huge divisive debate. It was going to be the end for our nation as we knew it. You weren't going to have your backyard any more. These were the kind of claims made, and look at it now, everybody goes ‘gee, Medicare, that's part of being Australia, native title, everybody's fine with it.
So in the months to come, I think Australians will be able to look back and say well now the dust has settled, now it's obvious that the coal industry hasn't closed down, that the Sunday roast isn't costing $100. Now all of those false claims have been proven to be untrue, I think people will say, well I'm pleased our nation did take a big step towards the cleaner future.
HOST: Emma's saying in our news here, oh maybe your groceries, your fruit and veg cos the truck's gotta take it from point a to point b and it's going to be more expensive, and they're going to try to make the tomatoes dearer. Well can't you just buy tomatoes that aren't as dear? That the idea was like, spend your money in the appropriate place?
PM: Well the impact of all of that will be less than a cent in a dollar. And depending on what you pay her, and I don't know, but I suspect she's going to get a tax cut.
HOST: Right. Oh, Emma you're going to get a tax cut!
HOST: Emma, I don't think you will.
HOST: Well we pay ‘em well around here. We've got to pay them hush money to keep their mouths shut.
PM: And that's nice too, but the vast majority of Australians are going to get enough assistance through tax cuts, family payment increases, pension increases. So they come out either square or better off.
HOST: Now apparently parliament is on winter recess for six weeks, right? Is that right?
PM: That's right.
HOST: What does that all mean? Does that mean you get to have a break or what's the deal?
PM: No what that means-
HOST: No she doesn't have a break!
HOST: I wanted to know, does she ever have a break?
PM: What that means is your parliamentarians aren't sitting in parliament, but they're back out in their electorates doing all of that community work, and of course for me, the work continues.
HOST: How many hours a night do you sleep?
PM: Well it depends.
HOST: Do you get woken up, like do you get the three am call, like, oh Prime Minister something you know bad has happened overseas. Do you get woken up about everything that goes on around the world?
PM: You do get woken up in the middle of some nights, and if that happens then it's really bad news.
HOST: Do they just come in or do they knock or ring or what goes on?
PM: They ring.
HOST: Kyle and I are always having a big debate cos he has a blackberry and I have an iPhone. And we are always debating over which is better. What do you have?
PM: I have a blackberry, I'm with you Kyle.
HOST: Jackie, because that's what the workers do. Because we don't have time for toys, we're workers.
HOST: Oh, I thought you would have been an iPhone girl.
PM: Sorry about that.
HOST: So this weekend, barbie on? Yeah, no?
PM: The weekend that's just been?
HOST: No the weekend that's coming!
PM: Oh the one that's coming.
HOST: We can't set the date for the weekend that's been.
PM: Oh I see, when are we having that barbie?
HOST: look, I'm just going to come around unannounced. With a bun loaf.
PM: Like one of those phone calls that wakes me up in the middle of the night.
HOST: Good luck with this. Because I know everyone thinks half the country are for it, half are against it. I didn't know, so now I've formed an opinion. I don't mind paying one cent in the dollar.
HOST: Thanks for calling in Prime Minister.
PM: Thank you.
HOST: Your welcome, nice to chat.