DAVID KOCH:
Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull joins us now, Prime Minister were you concerned for your safety?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I wasn’t concerned for my personal safety but I was concerned that the Parliament could be interrupted like that, the demonstrators who rioted in the Gallery were interrupting the people’s House. They were interrupting democracy, they were denying democracy.
DAVID KOCH:
Should they be charged? They were interrupting our Parliament, they got off scot free. Do you think we need to tighten the laws on this?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the presiding officers, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate will certainly have to look at that and yes, we’re all concerned that they’re able to get in there and of course, the business of super gluing themselves to the railing too was another act that potentially caused harm to themselves and others.
DAVID KOCH:
Okay, so will you look at pressing charges? Hey you got your legislation…
PRIME MINISTER:
It’s not for me to press charges Kochie. That is a matter for the police, but the -
DAVID KOCH:
Well they’ve let them off scot free.
PRIME MINISTER:
But the security position more generally needs to be looked at and needs to be looked at very carefully.
DAVID KOCH:
Would you ever look at closing the public gallery?
PRIME MINISTER:
We should never do that. This is the people’s house and if we have a – Incidents like this are regrettable, they will happen from time to time, but people should not feel that they are free to interfere with the Parliament. I mean, our forebears fought very hard, very hard over centuries to secure parliamentary democracy and to be able to have their elected representatives come together and speak their mind. And interrupting that is a denial of democracy.
DAVID KOCH:
And it sort of distracted attention away from you getting through the building industry watchdog, that was significant for you yesterday, but the papers this morning are suggesting your backpacker tax is doomed. It’s dead, it’s buried. Will you still try and push it through today?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Kochie, let me say this. The industrial reforms, the restoration of law, the rule of law to the building and construction sector is a vital economic reform. The Labor Party has been fighting against this, tooth and nail to protect the CFMEU for years. Now, Bill Shorten has demonstrated that he’s on the side of the union bosses, not on the side of the workers, not on the side of the million people who work in the construction sector. Not on the side of the 300,000 small businesses. He’s been on the side of the bosses -
DAVID KOCH:
Well you won. You won the day -
PRIME MINISTER:
We back the workers, we backed the members and we’ve got those reforms through.
DAVID KOCH:
Which is terrific.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes. We’ve demonstrated that.
DAVID KOCH:
What about the backpacker tax as I was saying, you still going to push through with that? Farmers don’t like that because they’ll lose their seasonal workers to New Zealand.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, again, Bill Shorten has got to face up to this.
DAVID KOCH:
So you’ll keep pushing ahead on it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Kochie under the existing law backpackers who are non-residents will pay 32.5 cents tax from dollar one. We have, in consultation with the farmers and the sector, we have compromised and brought it back down to 15 per cent which is what the National Farmers Federation and the industry support. The Labor Party out of sheer bloody mindedness are now saying it should be 10.5 per cent. So if you are an Aussie kid and you go picking fruit, your marginal tax rate is 19 per cent after the tax free threshold. Labor wants you to be working side-by-side with a foreign worker, some rich kid from Germany who is out here on holiday to be paying 10.5 per cent but it is worse than that, there is a sinister side to this and it says a lot about Labor. If you are seasonal worker from some of the poorest countries in the world, our Pacific Island neighbours, your workers are picking fruit here, the farmers have got to deduct 15 per cent tax from dollar one. Labor wants a rich kid from Germany, from Norway, from Sweden to be paying less tax than someone from one of the poorest countries in the world who are sending their money back to their village.
DAVID KOCH:
Okay, so you are still going to push it through?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are pushing through. Our reform is just.
DAVID KOCH:
Just quickly, school is out for summer for you guys at the end of today. How would you rate your year? Your popularity has plunged. What you need to do to turn it around for 2017?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Kochie, the measure of what we do as a government is not measured in my ratings as you describe or popularity, it is measured in what we do. Australians are interested in what the government does for then. What have we delivered? We have reformed superannuation to make it fairer and more sustainable. We have reduced middle income tax levels so half a million Australians won’t go into the second highest tax bracket –
DAVID KOCH:
Alright, you are sounding like a politician now. But people don’t like you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Kochie, they like us to deliver, Australians want us to deliver for them. I have to say to you that there are two worlds Kochie, there is the press gallery who are interested in polls and ratings and personalities. When I talk to Australians - whether it's on the street, on the bus, in a pub, in a café - what they want to know is what we're doing for them. And I am saying to you we are delivering. We are delivering on our economic plan.
DAVID KOCH:
We wish you a Merry Christmas and enjoy the school holidays.
PRIME MINISTER:
A very Merry Christmas to you too. I hope everyone has a safe and happy and blessed Christmas. Thank you.
[ENDS]