SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott joins us from his office in Canberra. Prime Minister, good morning and thank you for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you, Sam.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Will you fight this injunction or will you allow the asylum seekers to be processed on land rather than at sea as the human rights advocates want?
PRIME MINISTER:
Sam, the person who brought this injunction is a former Labor candidate. What I'm focused on is stopping the boats. That is what we are absolutely and constantly focused on because as long as the boats keep coming, we will keep having deaths at sea. So, the most decent, humane and compassionate thing you can do is to stop the boats. I'm not going to comment on what may or may not be happening on the water, but I do want to assure everyone that what we do on the water is consistent with our legal obligations and consistent with safety at sea.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Do you find an injunction like this irritating in your plan to turn back the boats?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, the Labor Party and its activists, the Greens and their activists, they will try to disrupt the Government's policies; they will try to do things that start the boats up again because that's in Labor's DNA. But, we promised that we would stop the boats. We are stopping the boats. It's important that we keep the boats stopped because as long as the boats keep coming, people will keep drowning and that's the last thing anyone should want.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Do you know when this group of 153 asylum seekers was due to be handed over to Sri Lanka?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am just not going to comment at all on operational matters because any commentary by government members about operational matters just gives aid and comfort to the people smugglers.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Ok, moving on, Clive Palmer, as you well know, has attached conditions including retaining the school kids bonus if he is going to support the repeal of the mining tax. Will you keep the programmes Mr Palmer wants, even if they blow a hole in your Budget? We are talking about a $9 billion hole in the Budget this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Sam, we went to the election with very clear commitments and many of them were very tough commitments. We said absolutely upfront before the election that we would scrap the schoolkids bonus, that we would scrap the low income support payment, that we would scrap the low income superannuation payment because all of these were funded by the mining tax which was threatening investment and threatening jobs but wasn't raising very much revenue. So, we want to keep our commitments. Obviously, we will keep talking to the crossbench senators but, in the end, if they want to keep spending this money presumably they are going to have to find savings to pay for it. We will just push on with good government. We will push on with implementing our programme. That's what we were elected to do.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Putting aside the politics here, Mr Abbott, what do you think of Clive Palmer as a bloke?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it's not about him and it's not about me. It's about doing the right thing by the Australian people.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
But he is very much the centre of attention at the moment and it does seem that he is flexing his muscle here with the Government. Is that purely what he is doing? Do you think he is trouble-making?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, there will be a lot of colour and movement in the Senate and there will be a lot of sound and fury in the Senate. I think that's all a lot of theatre but, in the end, the Government's job is to govern the country in accordance with our commitments and in accordance with decency and sound principle and that's what we are doing. We are scrapping the carbon tax. We are stopping the boats. We are getting the Budget back under control and, sure, there will be a bit of argy-bargy in the Senate, but we will get on with governing.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Now, the Japanese Prime Minister is in Canberra today to officially sign the free trade deal between our countries. While cheaper imports from Japan will benefit consumers, are there positives for our own manufacturing industry in here, too?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, there are, Sam. Freer trade means more jobs and lower prices. That’s what freer trade is all about: more jobs and lower prices. That’s why this Government is committed not just to the free trade agreement with Japan and with Korea but we also want to get a free trade agreement with China, too. This is good news for Australian industry because as well as getting better access to Japanese consumer goods, we will sell more beef, more dairy, more horticulture, more wine to Japan. So, this really is a good deal for Australia and it's the first free trade deal which Japan has done with a major developed economy. So, this is not just a breakthrough for us, but it is a breakthrough for freer trade right around the world.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
And great news for the farmers. Fantastic.
PRIME MINISTER:
Exactly, Sam.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE:
Prime Minister, thank you for your time. We’ll talk to you soon.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you so much, Sam.
[ends]