PRESENTER:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, welcome to the show.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it’s lovely to be with you. Thank you for having me on.
PRESENTER:
Good morning, Prime Minister. How do you feel after you’ve finally given birth to this Budget? You and Joe Hockey, it’s been your little baby for a little while, are you feeling ok about it now?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, I think it’s the right Budget for our country. Yes, it’s a tough Budget, but it’s also a visionary Budget because as well as necessary expenditure restraint, there’s the world’s biggest medical research fund and there’s the biggest infrastructure fund in the Commonwealth’s history. The equivalent of 10 Snowy Mountains schemes in new infrastructure will be built over the next decade as a result of last night’s Budget.
PRESENTER:
Now it’s actually quite good for Sydney’s west, isn’t it? Because they get the lion's share of an $11.6 billion infrastructure growth package, can you paint a picture of what the hell that means in laymen’s terms?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well what it means is that within a decade you’ll have WestConnex well and truly built which will connect the west to the city, to the airport, to Port Botany. You’ll have NorthConnex built which means that the missing link in that terrible traffic jam on Pennant Hills Road will be fixed. Then, really importantly, we’ve got all of that work associated with a future airport for Western Sydney done, you’ve got Bringelly Road – the work will start within near within a couple of months, you’ve got Elizabeth Drive upgraded and you’ve got the Northern Road upgraded.
PRESENTER:
Are we going to have an airport, Prime Minister? Will we have our second airport in Sydney?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the short answer is yes. There will be an airport for Western Sydney, but you’ll get the roads first and then the airport. We’re not going to dump an airport in Western Sydney without giving the people of Western Sydney the extra infrastructure that they need because let’s face it, Western Sydney has been neglected for far too long and I want to end the neglect because it is such a fantastic and dynamic part of our country and it deserves much more support from government.
PRESENTER:
Prime Minister, it seems to be a delicate balance that you’ve tried to strike between austerity and stimulus and Nobel Prize winner for economics Joseph Stiglitz has been directly critical of your Government’s austerity measures. How do you respond to a man with such impeccable economic credentials?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well what we’re doing is we’re spending less on short-term consumption so we can spend more on long-term investment and the difficulty that we had was that we were blowing too much borrowed money. I’m not against borrowing, but you’ve got to borrow for the right things not the wrong things and borrowing to build new roads that’s economic infrastructure for the future makes sense. Borrowing to pay the school kids bonus or the low income support payment that makes no sense and that’s why things like this will be going as part of this Budget.
PRESENTER:
Prime Minister, Sophie here, I love talking politics; I was just wondering I don’t have any kids and I like to drink a lot of wine.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good, you sound like fun, yes.
PRESENTER:
I am. How will this personally affect my life?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the abolition of the carbon tax will certainly be good for you and if the economy strengthens in the long-term that’s good for everyone, including single people who like to drink a lot of wine.
PRESENTER:
Awesome and now this is the last serious question I’ve got for you. How do you feel about Jay Z and Beyonce’s sister having a fight?
PRESENTER:
Have you been across that Tony? I know you’ve been locked away doing your homework.
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, no, I’ve been a sort of a Budget hermit. You know, the most exciting thing I do is watch a couple of my colleagues have a cigar occasionally.
PRESENTER:
Is that Monica Lewinsky?
PRIME MINISTER:
This is Canberra, not Washington!
PRESENTER:
Joe Hockey, he can’t afford that!
PRESENTER:
Tony Abbott, I’m so sorry about that visual, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you for having me.
PRESENTER:
And just very quickly, any tips? We’ve got three guys – I’m one of them – and we’re wearing budgie smugglers and we’re going to put $750 worth of coins in it and then we have to go through an obstacle course and the person with the most amount of coins at the end wins $1,000 and I’m playing for a home listener. What’s your tips to retaining coins in your budgie smugglers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Don’t wear budgie smugglers in Canberra because nothing fits.
PRESENTER:
That’s a fair point; they’ll tax you anyway so you’ll end up with none.
Thanks so much Tony Abbott, really appreciate it.
PRIME MINISTER:
No problems.
[ends]