MORRISON: We have on the line the Acting Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister by normal role, Julia Gillard, good morning to you.
GILLARD: Good morning.
MORRISON: All the very best and thank you for being on the program this morning too. I guess at the end of 2008, it's easier to sort of sit back and reminisce but the challenge is well and truly ahead of us here in Australia, in so many different fronts but particularly on the economic front.
GILLARD: It certainly is. 2009 is obviously going to be a year in which we're dealing with the effects of the global financial crisis on our economy. We've been up front with the Australian people, we always said we weren't going to be immune and clearly there is going to be implications for Australian jobs. Everything the Government has been doing has been about investing in jobs and protecting jobs. That's why we did the more than $10 billion economic security statement.
It's also when we look at the stuff we've done through the Council of Australian Governments and our new infrastructure investments, it's all about investing in and protecting jobs. And this will also be a year of big changes. We laid the foundations for long term reform in education and health in 2008, and people will see those changes flow through in 2009.
MORRISON: You talk about jobs. I don't know how it all sets with a headline today in the major national newspaper, “Jobless heading for a million”. Significant respected economists that are saying that's where we're going, unemployment eight per cent. Look, you know, I know, everyone knows someone who has lost a job so far and plenty of people who thinks it's ahead of them too. What do you say?
GILLARD: Well of course there are all different sorts of forecasts and figures out there, today's newspapers have some forecasts from economists. The Government published its official forecast in 2008 and we did say we're expecting unemployment to go up to around five per cent in the middle of the year.
Now obviously the global financial crisis is feeding through, and it's feeding through into unemployment, so the loss of any job is a huge problem for the individuals involved and what we do as the Government, is be out there investing in jobs, protecting jobs, and helping people who lose their jobs in one part of the economy to get into the parts of the economy that is still growing. And amongst the things that we've done to respond to the global financial crisis and as part of our $10.4 billion economic security statement, we made available 56 thousand new productivity places, they're training places, training for work, training for jobs, training in those areas of the economy where people are still crying out for skilled labour.
MORRISON: Yeah 56 thousand though, they're talking a million and even if we are to take the Government's projected of five per cent unemployment by the middle of the year, that's I mean these are small percentage points, but they're massive numbers of people. Well we just can't meet this. We are entering in a phase I sense, and I'd be interested to hear what the Government's response to this is, we're entering a phase that a lot of people and a lot of people who voted for you have never felt.
GILLARD: Well can I just say about the 56 thousand places to help people train for jobs. That was an extra investment -
MORRISON: No good. I know that's good that you do that, but how do you confront that -
GILLARD: If I can just finish that sentence. That was an extra investment to bring to a total 700 thousand training places so we are talking about mammoth investments.
MORRISON: Oh yeah, but we're also talking about school leavers entering the workforce -
GILLARD: So that's 700 thousand in total.
MORRISON: I appreciate that and we talk of big numbers, but you know the reality that there are a lot of younger people that voted, perhaps for the first time that have never known tough times and they are the ones that are facing being laid off from their jobs. They're the ones that the casual work is drying up already and it's not there. This is, this is a major turning point that a lot in this country has never felt.
GILLARD: Look I agree with that. Obviously the global financial crisis is the most significant event we've seen on global markets in modern times, and you know people who are, you know even in middle aged, would not have seen events like this in their lifetime. So the global financial crisis, a huge turning point for the world economy and consequently for our economy.
What do you do in the face of such a huge turning point in the global economy, is you respond, you respond quickly and you do everything you can to keep our economy growing and to keep jobs in this country. That's why we've done the things that we've done as quickly as we've done them, because we wanted to stay ahead of the curve.
So whether it's the investment in the car industry, the $10 billion in the economic security statement, the new training places, our infrastructure investments, it's all been about staying in front, keeping the economy moving and therefore keeping jobs.
MORRISON: Yeah. I just listening to you talk about those things there, I'm sure you've heard this feedback but everyone I talk to, each day they read the paper there's another bit of money being spent here and spent there, and we start to say to ourselves, well you know it's tough times and we've got to spend money, but this is going to dry up eventually. I wonder when the announcements are going to stop?
GILLARD: Well we are in a situation where we had, when we did the May Budget, a big budget surplus. We deliberately created a big budget surplus and you do that because you want to have the money available to assist you in tough times. Now those tough times came very quickly because the meltdown in global financial markets started to take hold and then became a contagion that spread around the world. But because we had created such a big surplus, there was money available to put into the kind of economic stimulus we need after the global financial crisis to keep the economy moving.
So the Government has been in the situation where we've been hording money if you like in the good times, in order to have it available there to use to invest in the economy in the more difficult days that are upon us now.
MORRISON: Yes, well you've been hording our money. Oh yes -
GILLARD: It's absolutely your money, it's taxpayers money, it's not Government money. There's not a cent that the Government has that doesn't come from people who work hard and pay taxes, and we understand that. And I think that when people work hard and pay taxes, what they want to see is they want to see action taken to keep the nation as prosperous as possible. So that's what your money is going to.
MORRISON: Thank you. I just wanted to have it acknowledged that's all. Look it's interesting, we're heading to new year, I'll be keen to see what you've got planned for the night but I noticed the whole world's happening. There's this massive story in the Middle East, the economic stimulus package that you're having to deal with in the role of Acting Prime Minister as well. And then last night I switched the news on and there's someone who's asking you a question about Paris Hilton. I just kind of wonder if there was ever a point when you entered the job and thought I'm the Acting Prime Minister now that you would be expecting to answer a question about Paris Hilton.
GILLARD: I have to say it's not normally a Prime Ministerial role to wake up in the morning and say what do I think about Paris Hilton today. That's not normally at the forefront of my mind, but obviously Paris Hilton is in Australia and creating a bit of a splash all round. And I'm glad to see that she's a supporter of Australian fashion because we do have great designers in this country, so that's a good thing.
MORRISON:All the best. Well look, what are your plan tonight. Where are you going to be?
GILLARD: I'm going to have a quiet one at home. Barbeque on the back deck with some friends coming round.
MORRISON: You mean you're not going to go to Kirribilli. I hear there's a house party at Kirribilli House.
GILLARD: (laughs) No, I will be at my house in Altona in Melbourne with the barbeque on and maybe an occasional glass of wine to see the new year in.
MORRISON: All the very best. Thank you for your continuing availability to this program and have a happy new year. All the best.
GILLARD: Thank you very much and to you too.
MORRISON: Julia Gillard, the Acting Prime Minister.
[ends]