NEIL MITCHELL:
Prime Minister, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Neil, it’s lovely to be with you and happy New Year to all your listeners.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thanks for coming in. You’re in a bid of strife aren’t you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look Neil, judge us on our record. We said we’d get rid of the carbon tax – we did. We said we’d stop the boats – we have. We said we’d build roads and except for the East West Link which is a local problem, that’s exactly what we’re getting on with.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So why are you on the nose?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well as I said mate, I think judge us on our record. Judge us on our record.
NEIL MITCHELL:
People are judging, they’re judging you harshly.
PRIME MINISTER:
People are entitled to make their judgements but as I said, my response to everyone who says things aren’t going so well is to say look at the record.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But you wouldn’t say they’re going well would you?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’d say that it was a solid record of achievement last year. Sure we’ve had difficulty getting some of our legislation through the Senate. The Senate is entitled to be tough on governments. This Senate has been particularly tough on the government but compare us with the previous government. The previous government wasted billions, it jeopardised relationships with important neighbours. It restarted the people smuggling trade. Our main failing is that we’ve had some difficulties with the Senate. Now I reckon that’s a pretty good record.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Do you think you might be part of the problem?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Neil again, look at the record. Now I’m very proud of the work that my ministers have done. In the end, all of that reflects well on the government and it reflects well on the Prime Minister.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But look, you are clearly not wanted in the Queensland campaign. You weren’t wanted in the Victorian campaign. There are reports today your backbench is very restless with you personally. Are you part of this problem for the government?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again Neil, I say look at the record. Now, I think last year’s record was a record of solid achievement and the important thing is to build on that and that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing this year.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So did you do a good job last year? Did you sell it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Again Neil, when you look at what happened last year – the boats stopped, the carbon tax went, the mining tax went. Three free trade agreements were successfully negotiated that had eluded governments for a decade. The live cattle trade which the former government virtually closed down is booming again – absolutely booming. I just think that it is a solid record of achievement and our challenge this year is to build on that. Now, sure we’ve had some trouble getting legislation through the Senate, but again, who are the real wreckers here? The real wreckers are the Labor Party.
NEIL MITCHELL:
There is as you’d be aware continuing, increasing speculation that if the problems continue, you would step down and not lead them to the next election.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, that’s nonsense – absolute nonsense.
NEIL MITCHELL:
You will definitely be there next election?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look Neil, if there is one lesson to be learnt from the fate of the former government in Canberra, maybe even from the fate of the former government in Victoria is you do not change leaders. You rally behind someone and you stick to the plan and we’ve got a good plan. I mean the point I keep making is we inherited a mess, we’ve made a good start, there’s a lot more to be done, but we are on the right track.
NEIL MITCHELL:
It’s reported some of your backbenchers are describing the government as tending towards anarchy.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, this is just nonsense.
NEIL MITCHELL:
No backbenchers are calling you and saying…
PRIME MINISTER:
This is just nonsense Neil. Again, look at the record and also Neil look at the alternative. I mean the Labor Party, Bill Shorten has recommitted the Labor Party to a carbon tax. The Labor left wants to close down offshore processing – start up the boats again. Chris Bowen let the cat out of the bag saying that yes, the budget did have to come under control and there’d be spending cuts and he said there’ll be new taxes. Now, this is Labor’s hidden tax agenda.
By contrast, this is a government with a plan to keep our economy strong, to build a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia. Frankly, the alternative to this government is national decline and the last thing we want to be is a second rate nation living off its luck.
The last thing we should want Neil and this is very serious Neil – this is very serious. Our country is a great country. We’ve got a fundamentally strong economy, but we face many challenges and the only political party which is serious about economic reform, the only political party which is serious about budget responsibility is the one I lead. This is a government which can secure our country’s future and only this government can secure our country’s future.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well on that basis, several of your measures have been blocked or reversed. Where are you going to get the money? How are you going to get the cuts?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we are going to persist with the deregulation of higher education. We are going to persist with injecting some more price signals into the health system. We do need to change the indexation for social security benefits. We are determined to ensure that young people don’t leave school and go on the dole. These are all sensible economic reforms as well as important long-term savings. We have our plan.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But your plan keeps changing. You have something then you drop it.
PRIME MINISTER:
Neil, occasionally we come up with a decision. When you look at it in practice you think no, that’s not going to work out quite how we intended.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So why don’t you look at it before you make it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Neil, if you think you’ve made a mistake, it’s much better to correct it before it does damage and that’s what we did. But let’s look at Medicare. I mean a decade ago, Medicare was costing us $8 billion. It’s now costing us $20 billion. A decade hence, it will be costing us $34 billion. We do need to inject more price signals into the system and over time doctors will need to earn a little bit more of their income from their patients and a little bit less of their income from taxpayers.
NEIL MITCHELL:
And will the rich have to pay more?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Medicare is a universal system – it’s always been a universal system. We’ve never means tested Medicare. It’s the same for everyone. The whole point of Medicare back in the old days when it was brought in was that everyone – millionaires and paupers – should have access to the same high quality system.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Well the rich are already paying more as it is with the levy. But will people who are well off have to pay more? Will that universal nature continue or will people have to pay more?
PRIME MINISTER:
It is a universal system as far as I’m concerned, always has been, always will be.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So there won’t be a penalty for the better off – not the wealthy, the better off.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Neil, as you say, the Medicare levy applies to richer people. There are various incentives – carrots and sticks – for people to take up private health insurance. That’s the system that we’ve got. I think it’s fundamentally a good system.
But the point I make is that why should you, me and Bill Shorten expect to go to the doctor and not be charged? What we want to see is a modest co-payment, a $5 co-payment for people with jobs who go to the doctor. Now that’s not unreasonable – it is absolutely reasonable. We’ve long had it for the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
My challenge to the Labor Party – because let’s face it, they are the wreckers here – my challenge to the Labor Party is, why is it ok to have a modest co-payment for the pharmaceutical benefits scheme and not for Medicare?
NEIL MITCHELL:
Ok, what about the university fees? Is your policy on that locked in stone or written in stone or will you be willing to fiddle with it?
PRIME MINISTER:
This is an important reform Neil. It’s a very important reform. The universities want it because they know that this will be good for them. It’s not just good for universities but it’s good for students, particularly the non-degree students. This is one of the unsung achievements of the government.
We are trying to ensure that it’s not just your standard undergraduate who gets a break. We want the non-degree students to get access for the first time to the kind of benefits that degree students get. We’ve got trade support loans. For the first time apprentices are having access to a HECS type…
NEIL MITCHELL:
And is all this non-negotiable?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well of course we are prepared to talk constructively to the crossbenchers. We’d talk constructively to the Labor Party if the Labor Party was prepared to be constructive and Maxine Mckew is urging them to be. Let’s also get back to this point Neil, why don’t we have more universities in the world’s top 50? We’ve got one Melbourne University, but we are the world’s twelfth largest economy. Why isn’t our objective to get at least one of our universities in the top ten and in every state to have a university in the top 50?
NEIL MITCHELL:
A couple of other things I want to get to in a moment, but we’ll take a call. Andrew, go ahead please.
CALLER:
Good morning Prime Minister. I’m a Liberal voter through and through.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you Andrew.
CALLER:
And I’ll always vote Liberal. But I’ve got to be honest and truthful with you Mr Prime Minister. You are on the nose with Liberal voters and that’s a real concern to me because I don’t want to see you give the keys to Bill Shorten at the Lodge.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we’re not going to…
CALLER:
Well I’m sorry, the way you’re going it’s going to happen so my question to you is, what are you going to do to try and turn it around because I’ve got to tell you, you’re the world’s worst salesman Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Andrew.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Glad he’s a Liberal voter.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah that’s right.
CALLER:
And I am a Liberal voter. I’m fair dinkum.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you Andrew, thank you. What’s the specific problem? Is there a policy thing you don’t agree with?
NEIL MITCHELL:
I think he’s saying it’s you.
CALLER:
Prime Minister, it’s the way you do things like the Medicare things – the education. You’ve done so many backflips. People don’t know where you’re going and business is saying there’s roadblocks because there’s no direction and there’s no leadership and that concerns me as a Liberal voter. We can’t afford a Labor government, but you’re going to put Bill Shorten back in the Lodge with a massive majority because people simply don’t like you and as a Liberal voter, I don’t particularly like you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again, let’s look at the facts Andrew. I mean the facts are that jobs growth in Victoria was strong last year. We had 80,000 new jobs in Victoria in 2014. We only had 8,000 new jobs in Victoria in 2013. In 2013, we had 1.9 per cent economic growth. Now we’ve got 2.7 per economic growth. So this is a government which is doing something right. Now, by all means say that we could do better at salesmanship and look, I’ve never been a skite – never intend to be a skite. I would rather under promise and over deliver. I would rather let the facts speak for themselves. But if you look at the record, the record is a good one and Andrew, I would welcome you going out and using your salesmanship skills which I’m sure are considerable to help sell the government’s message.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Andrew, I’m sorry we need to move on. We’ll take a break and more questions for the Prime Minister in a moment.
**
NEIL MITCHELL:
Mr Abbott, it’s reported today private health insurance premiums will increase. They could be three times the rate of inflation. Will the government approve that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, essentially premiums are to be set by the funds.
NEIL MITCHELL:
You do have the right of rejection though.
PRIME MINISTER:
We do and from memory this is almost never happened. Certainly I don’t recall in my time as health minister interfering in this process. Look, in the end as I said it is up to the market to set the price. The premiums that people pay is a matter between the fund members and the funds.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So you won’t block it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, we expect that funds will do their best by their members, but in the end, this is a commercial decision.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Scott, go ahead please.
CALLER:
Good morning Mr Prime Minister, just a very quick question. Will the government and if not why not consider revoking peoples’ residency or citizenship if they’ve migrated here and undertake serious crime or go overseas and fight for a terrorist organisation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I can certainly understand why you ask the question and there are a few things which make my blood boil more than the idea that Australians born and bred here should be going overseas to fight with the Daesh death cult. We can’t take away people’s citizenship, what we can do is ensure that we try to stop them from going in the first place. If they do go and if they try to come back we will arrest them, we will prosecute them and we will jail them for a very long time indeed because people like that are a menace to our community.
NEIL MITCHELL:
I think there is a clause where you can revoke citizenship for some actions against the interests of Australia.
PRIME MINISTER:
My understanding Neil is that unless citizenship has been obtained by fraud or false pretences, it’s really not revokable. The other issue of course is most of these regrettably are not people who are born overseas, they are people who are born and bred in Australia. Now, this is pretty hard for most of us to comprehend. How could anyone who grows up in a decent welcoming inclusive country like Australia want to go off and fight with this death cult? But this is why it’s absolutely critical that we combat the death cult at home and abroad. That’s why we’ve got our military forces active in Iraq, that’s why we’ve got our security forces active here in Australia.
NEIL MITCHELL:
After the speech by President Obama yesterday talking about upgrading the fight against terrorism, are we willing to step up our involvement in Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, our involvement should be prudent and proportionate and at the moment that’s exactly what it is. We’ve got six super hornet strike fighters over there. We’ve got an early warning aircraft. We’ve got a refueler. Our forces are performing magnificently and we’ve also got 200 special forces soldiers working with the Iraqi security forces inside Iraq. I certainly don’t rule out doing more, but I think it needs to be recognised that we are doing a lot as things stand.
NEIL MITCHELL:
A couple of quick things – the East West Link – how are you going to get the money back from Daniel Andrews?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that was the deal under which the money was given, that it was specifically given for the East West Link. You know the crazy thing about this Neil is that if media reports are to be believed, the government is going to have to pay something like a billion dollars to get out of the contract.
Now, what government pays a billion dollars not to build a road? I mean this is the midsummer of madness – to pay a billion dollars not to build a road is just insane. I say to Daniel Andrews and look I’ve had constructive discussions with him and I look forward to further constructive discussions, sure you made a promise, but it was a silly promise in the first place and when you make foolish commitments, particularly when the circumstances change and you now know that the cost of getting out of this is going to be vast, just get it done.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But you did say before the election that this state election was a referendum on the East West Link. Well the people have voted on it.
PRIME MINISTER:
And look, they voted on the basis of a whole range of factors.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But do you accept that referendum argument?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I certainly tried to make the last federal election in Victoria a referendum on the East West Link and that referendum was in favour of the East West Link even if another one might have been against it. But the fact is Neil, East West is a very important project for Melbourne, for Victoria, for Australia.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But so are jobs, so is infrastructure.
PRIME MINISTER:
And there’ll be 7,000 jobs…
NEIL MITCHELL:
So what if Daniel Andrews can come to you and says leave the money with me and I’ll get all these jobs immediately. You don’t want Victoria to go down the gurgler. We don’t want Victoria to go down the gurgler. We need that money.
PRIME MINISTER:
I am not going to rip off Victoria. I want to see the cranes in the sky and the bulldozers on the ground here in Victoria.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So can he come up with a formula that will convince you to leave the money here and it’s not spent on East West?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m happy to talk to him about other important projects of national significance. I’m very happy to do that. But they really do have to be important projects of national significance and what he can’t do is keep the East West money and spend it on whatever he likes. It’s got to be something which the Commonwealth Government believes is important economic infrastructure of national significance. Again to go back to East West Link, with every passing month, the cost benefit ratios will improve because with every passing month, the congestion on Alexandra parade, on Hoddle street, on Flemington road is going to get worse. That’s why East West Link is a vital project and it must go ahead.
NEIL MITCHELL:
But it’s also reported today and I’ll ask Daniel Andrews about this – the state government is closing down the building industry watchdog. What’s your reaction to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again, this is a sop to the CFMEU. I thought that the two issues in the recent Victorian campaign should have been East West Link and the CFMEU because the Victorian Labor Party is heavily influenced, maybe even dominated by the CFMEU – the worst union in the country. This is a sop to the CFMEU. It was snuck through in a line at the end of a press release on whooping cough. It’s no way to run a government.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Ok, and are you looking at making it easier for contractors to work?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we certainly support freedom in the workplace and we want contracting to flourish, we really do. One of the interesting things is that new business registration in 2014 was at record levels. This is one of the other…
NEIL MITCHELL:
So you want to encourage contractors.
PRIME MINISTER:
Of course we do.
NEIL MITCHELL:
…at the expense of fully employed, paid PAYE workers.
PRIME MINISTER:
Not at the expense of anyone. If it makes sense for someone to be a contractor, if it makes sense for the person doing the work, if it makes sense for the business engaging the contractor, let it happen.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you for coming in – any more barnacles to scrape off?
PRIME MINISTER:
As I said Neil, this is a government that has a very solid record of achievement in 2014 and a record to be proud of and sure I could be a bigger and more effective skite sometimes. Sure sometimes we need to break out of if you like the left mindset in talking about issues, but it’s been a very good government last year and it’s going to be an even better one this year.
NEIL MITCHELL:
I think Daniel Andrews is in the lift on the way up. I’m willing to delay the interview with him. We’ll find a office if you can sort out that money for Victoria.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we are very happy to contribute to important economic infrastructure in Victoria, but we’ll make that decision. We certainly won’t leave $1.5 billion to be spent at will by a government in breach of its predecessor’s commitments.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks.
[ends]