E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
LIEBMANN:
Good morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Morning Steve.
LIEBMANN:
One of the most common observations of your third term agenda that I’ve read this morning is that it lacks vision and that you’re standing still. You’re relying on your record.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that’s not right. When you project a program across defence, the environment, an aged care package incidentally which is infinitely more generous and comprehensive than that offered by the Labor Party. Interesting, the Labor Party talked about aged care incessantly for the last three years yet we are offering to do far more, and to do it more comprehensively than they are. So I have my critics, we all do but I think we’ve offered a realistic programme, targeted tax relief. Everyone knows that the first child is the most expensive child.
LIEBMANN:
Just Prime Minister, just on that… tell me how come new families deserve a $1 billion tax break today and they didn’t last week or last month or at the last campaign launch?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well at the last campaign launch there was a $12 billion personal tax cut as part of tax reform. But we have limited resources, the surplus is smaller, growth will be slower and that constrains us all.
LIEBMANN:
But…
PRIME MINISTER:
I think it’s critical to the future of this country that we give people as much help as we can to start a family. It’s fundamental, it’s an ageless value to have a society that does recognise the cost particularly when one of the parents, even for a short period of time, and it ought to be a matter of choice for how long, drops out of the workforce.
LIEBMANN:
I accept that but isn’t it a bit like the boss who won’t give the office manager a pay rise until the office manager says he’s leaving. I guess the point I’m making is if you think families are worth it now, why won’t…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Steve you can say that about anything if you wanted, if you wanted to be cynical you can say that about any election policy. I mean the time to talk about the future in detail like this is at a campaign launch. Now, we have set a framework, we’re asking the Australian people fundamentally to return us because we’re better economic managers and we are better able to lead the country on the national security front. Now they are the two over arching pitches we make to the Australian public but within those, clearly people want to know specifically, okay we might go along with you on that Mr Howard but what about aged care, what about health, what about all these other things and yesterday was to do with those what abouts and people are entitled to know what we’re going to do on the tax front and after all we’ve been the most reforming government on the tax front that this country’s ever seen. We’ve had the courage to have a go and the country is stronger as a result of tax reform.
LIEBMANN:
Why not income tax cuts instead of…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well this is an income tax cut for the people who benefit from it.
LIEBMANN:
But the people who are benefiting are the people that are benefiting from the first home loan, low interest rates. Labor and ACCOS are saying that it’s a small tax cut for a minority of families.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well let me answer that by saying this, the people who are benefiting are the people who are carrying the peak load of big mortgages and family formation. I mean we all know from our own experience there are more expensive stages of life and less expensive stages and the most expensive stage of life for a couple is when they have their first child, they’re paying off a mortgage, one income drops out of the calculation. And this is designed exactly to target that and when you’ve got limited resources it’s better to target something that is socially positive and is part of the eternal values of the country rather than just sort of spread it around and say I’ve given everybody 50 cents.
LIEBMANN:
Are our resources limited because your government squandered the surplus?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. I don’t regard spending more money on defence as squandering it, I don’t regard abolishing regular indexation of petrol excise….I mean if Mr Beazley thinks I’ve squandered the money let him stand up and say I, Kim Beazley will bring back half yearly indexation of petrol excise. The things we’ve spent the money on, he called for the money to be spent on those things but he resents the fact that it cost the money, you can’t have it both ways.
LIEBMANN:
The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Doctor Peter Jensen is saying there is almost a universal contempt for our nation’s politicians. You are a despised cohort. How do you respond to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think he’s being a little, dare I say it, uncharitable.
LIEBMANN:
Because he goes on and says we reward politicians and parties who reflect some of the worst features of our national life and he singled out our hard line policy on asylum seekers.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don’t agree with him, I don’t. I don’t accept that stricture and I don’t think he speaks for the entirety of the Christian Church. He certainly doesn’t speak for a lot of members of his own Church that I know.
LIEBMANN:
But on asylum seekers are you sure you’ve got it right?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am absolutely certain I’ve got it right. I mean what I’m asserting is the right of this country to decide who comes here. I don’t think there’s anything the least bit exceptional about that. I think it is absolutely the right approach to adopt. I mean we cannot have a situation where people can demand entry into Australia. We have to have a refugee policy…
LIEBMANN:
The position’s costing us a lot.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Steve, it will cost us a lot more if the signal goes out to the world that if you demand entry into Australia and you persist you will eventually get there. Now that will create an infinitely more expensive situation, if you want to put it in terms of expense. But it will also create a situation where the management of our boarders becomes a nightmare and I think for too we were perceived as a bit of soft touch. Now it’s a difficult, sensitive issue, I understand that and I feel enormous compassion for those poor people who’s relatives died in that vessel but that ship sank in Indonesian waters and it’s just nonsense that people should run around and in some way try and blame the Australian Government or Australian policy for that.
LIEBMANN:
Couple of other issues. Telstra, are you or are you not going to sell off what’s left of Telstra?
PRIME MINISTER:
We are not going to sell any more of Telstra until we are completely satisfied, completely satisfied that services in the bush are adequate. Services in the bush have to be adequate and we have to be satisfied on the basis of consultation with people in the bush and their representatives that those services are adequate before we proceed any further.
LIEBMANN:
Your Treasurer, according to the Melbourne Age, is saying the Government will start selling Telstra in two years. Are you telling me this morning that he’s wrong?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, what I’m…. what you have is a situation that budget figuring is there on that basis but if the bush is not satisfied well we just don’t go ahead with it, it’s as simple as that.
LIEBMANN:
End of story.
PRIME MINISTER:
End of story if the bush is not satisfied. But can I also say on the question of selling Telstra, I mean Mr Beazley’s been exposed as having been considering the idea when he was Finance Minister.
LIEBMANN:
Yeah but that was six or seven years ago.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah but hang on, it was the last time he had his hand on the helm. So it’s pretty good field evidence, I mean and it wasn’t just a random thought. I mean I’ve seen that document, I know what these documents are, they’re not generated just spontaneously out of departments with the Minister knowing nothing about it, hang on.
LIEBMANN:
You said yesterday, your instincts, energy, experiences, commitment, success best equip you to lead this nation. Then tell the nation now that if you were re-elected you’ll serve out the full three years.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Steve I’ve been asked that question before…
LIEBMANN:
I mean your opponents are having a field day.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well for three years, we get elected for three years and I’ve said two years through that I will think about my future. I don’t think that is in any way inconsistent with what I said yesterday. I think it’s a perfectly sensible thing for me to say. Quite frankly the last thing…
LIEBMANN:
…the electorate’s saying, Howard goes, Costello’s in.
PRIME MINISTER:
Look well I’m not, I haven’t said I’m going to go. All I’ve said is that…
LIEBMANN:
Say you’ll stay.
PRIME MINISTER:
Steve, your concern is touching.
LIEBMANN:
Why won’t you….
PRIME MINISTER:
Steve, I’ve said all along that if I get elected to a three year term, two years through it I’ll think about my future. Right at the moment I’ve got to tell you the last thing I want to do is leave public life, I couldn’t feel more energetic and more committed. I really couldn’t but your concern is touching.
LIEBMANN:
Are you thinking about losing? Does that factor into your thinking at all at this stage?
PRIME MINISTER:
Steve, I don’t take this for granted, I don’t. Can I just say to people nobody should think for a moment that the Coalition is any kind of shoe in. I remain a person who thinks this could go either way. I really do believe it could go either way and I ask the Liberal supporters watching this program this morning, work your heart out between now and polling day, we need that effort.
LIEBMANN:
I’ll send you the bill. Thank you for joining us.
[ends]