SPEERS: Prime Minister, thanks for your time. Your new Ministers were sworn in this morning. We this be the line up you take to the election?
PM: Well, they are a first class team and I certainly expect that they will be with us through until we face the people.
SPEERS: When will that be?
PM: When the election is due. They're a good team. John Faulkner in Defence and supported of course by Greg Combet, also Mark Arbib is the Minister for Employment and of course a strong team of new Parliamentary Secretaries coming through as well. So, a good opportunity for renewal, but drilling into our key priorities which is nation building for recovery, infrastructure and jobs and that's what I think the Australian people expect of us.
SPEERS: You did make more changes than a lot of us thought you would. Is this a better team than you had before?
PM: It's always been the business of renewal when necessary. But as I said repeatedly, I'm not in the business of change for it's own sake. But I'm pleased with the changes that we've made. Faulks will be first as Defence Minister. But the range of other changes I think also speak well of the Government's future direction. Young Kate Ellis for example is now got an expanded responsibility for early childhood education and childcare together with her continued responsibilities for youth and sport. Early childhood education is a cornerstone of the education revolution and she has a lot of responsibility on her plate as well.
SPEERS: The one criticism has been she's the only one to take additional ministerial responsibilities - that there wasn't much for women in this reshuffle?
PM: Well, fair shake of a sauce bottle mate. If you were to compare what this Government has done in terms of the promotion of women of talent and ability compared with our predecessors, it is chalk and cheese. We have Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, we have twice as many Minister's who are women in this Government compared with its predecessor under Mr Howard.
Twice as many Cabinet Ministers compared to the previous government. We have I think well more than a third of our members of parliament are women, probably less than a quarter under Mr Howard's government. We have appointed the first women as Governor-General of the Commonwealth Australia. Fair shake of the sauce bottle mate.
SPEERS: What about the factions? What role did they play in the changes you've made?
PM: Zip, zero and none. I changed the rules of the Australian Labor Party, its parliamentary party after I was elected as Prime Minister. That was the first time a rule change had been made for a 100 years. And so therefore as Leader of the Party and as Prime Minister I chose my frontbench then and I chose it again now.
SPEERS: So is it pure coincidence that you still have a pretty even mix between the factions? You must bear it in mind when you put these things together.
PM: Not really, if you were to ask me where everyone lined up on those sort of questions I'd actually have to scratch my head a few times. I actually don't think about it in those terms at all.
SPEERS: Do you think about the people who helped you get the leadership like Mark Arbib, Chris Bowen?
PM: I notice that there's been a little bit of commentary along those lines. Can I say, my attitude to all these questions of appointments is merit. And when I look at parliamentary secretaries coming through, new ministers, when I look at the people who have gone into Cabinet, that is Chris Bowen, these people have earned their stripes based on what they've done.
SPEERS: So what about Bill Shorten and Maxine McKew? Not ready for the Ministry yet?
PM: There are always going to be opportunities, I'm confident in the future for appropriate additional promotions as well. We are fortunate in the Government to have a whole range of people from the Cabinet, the Ministry, the Parliamentary Secretaries and those who have yet to enter the executive who are first class people. This is a very strong team if you were to compare it person for person to those opposite, we are in a very strong position, not just for now but for renewal in the future as well and I'm pleased that we have such depth and breadth of talent.
SPEERS: A few other issues around today Prime Minister. The unions are accusing you of sending in the ‘storm troopers' before the Labor conference next month over their push for more industrial reform. Are you being too heavy handed?
PM: I've seen those reports today. What I said prior to the last election is what I've sought to do since the election as has Julia Gillard the Employment, Industrial Relations Minister. And that is to have a fair and balanced industrial relations system.
We said we'd get rid of Workchoices. We've done that. We said we'd get rid of AWAs. We've done that. We said we'd bring in a Fair Work Bill. We've done that. But, there will always be a limit to how far we can responsibly go. And we have made that very plain to our friends in the trade union movement.
And also I would say this to our friends in the trade union movement, the first Government in this country's history to bring in paid parental leave, a major reform to the age pension, the biggest single addition to the age pension in its hundred year history as well as a whole range of additional improvements in terms of the increase in the child care tax rebate - all goes to the bottom interests of working families.
SPEERS: But they're particularly concerned about the building industry watchdog that you've kept and will replace with a new body from next year. Why should building workers face different rules to those in coal mining or manufacturing? Why is there no equality under the law for all workers?
PM: Well, the first thing I'd say is that I meant what I said prior to the last election. And I said about the future of the ABCC that it would continue and that there would be a replacement body by 2010. Furthermore, on the substance of it, you'd have to be Blind Freddy not to conclude that there have been historical problems most particularly in the Victorian and West Australian divisions of the construction division of the CFMEU.
SPEERS: And they still exist?
PM: Well, I'm simply very attentive to what Mr Wilcox said in his report. He is a person of sober judgment and therefore we have to be attentive to the advice that he's provided us. So therefore, I've been fair dinkum with the Australian people about what we said prior to the last election. We've commissioned Mr Wilcox, who has reached his own conclusions and we have a responsibility to make judgments for the overall strength of the economy.
SPEERS: Couple of surveys out today, some confusing news though business confidence is up, but the job ads are again down, thirteenth month in a row they've gone down. What's your take on where things are currently headed?
PM: Well, again fair shake of the sauce bottle mate. First of all, business confidence, I mean this is a strong increase in business confidence in a survey that's out today. Now, as I'm advised you've now got business confidence at where they were about February of 2008. Now that I think is a strong indication that we have made some progress in our strategy of nation building for recovery and that the Government's overall investment in the economy is having an effect, together with what businesses themselves of course are doing as well.
Secondly you point to the jobs data, the jobs ads as I understand it have been falling month on month for virtually a year. What we've had with this data is for the first time, stabilisation at around about zero, -0.2.
SPEERS: Are you encouraged by that?
PM: Well, one swallow doth not a summer make, or whatever The Bard said and - we're not out of the woods yet and I expect unemployment still to rise but -
SPEERS: (inaudible) this week when we see the data-
PM: Well I'd expect, just given what is still happening in the global economy. But when you've got this fall in job ads, month on month on month for twelve months and we've now got at least, a stabilisation this month, put that together, stabilisation of the job ads, put that together with an increase in business confidence, bringing it back to February 2008 levels.
Bring it back to the fact we are the only advanced economy of the 30 advanced economies in the world, or should I say we are the fastest growing of those 30 advanced economies and we now have the fastest growth, the lowest debt, the lowest deficit of all the major advanced economies. This indicates that we are doing better than many other places in the world but we're not out of the woods yet.
SPEERS: We're not in a technical recession but Prime Minister do you feel like we are in one yourself?
PM: Well we respond to the data. What I did say the other day when the national accounts figures came out and showed that we have positive growth of 0.4 against all the other major advanced economies in recession and we are the fastest growing of the 30 advanced economies in the world - not a bad set of numbers given how difficult things are out there. But we're not out of the woods and I said I can't rule out the possibility in the future that we may still have a period of negative growth.
But can I say the Government's stimulus strategy, phase one cash payments starting from the fourth quarter last year to provide support to the economy when it was falling through the floor around the world. Stage two, medium term infrastructure investment with schools for social housing and the rest coming on stream now. Phase three announced in the budget, longer term infrastructure - ports, rail, road, high speed broadband. It's all part of the strategy for Government to step in to fill the gap in an economy where the private sector has been in retreat because of the global recession.
SPEERS: So Greens Leader Bob Brown is in a bit of trouble, he's facing possible bankruptcy and being expelled from the Senate if he doesn't come up with $240,000 in legal costs by the end of the month. I am sure you're not going to offer to pick up the Bill but would this be a disappointing way to see Bob Brown go?
PM: I've actually got a lot of time for Bob just as a person, just as a bloke I've got to know over the years and I actually know these facts since I read them in the press today so I am quite concerned about it for him personally. As to what can be done about it, that's a separate matter.
SPEERS: What do you think of State Forestry in Tasmania seeking to make a Senator bankrupt over something like this?
PM: Let me apprise myself fully of the facts, as I said I wasn't aware of this until I read it in today's press. Whatever our political differences are, Bob Brown and myself, I've had a lot of time for him personally and professionally over a long period of time and I was quite distressed to see the news today.
SPEERS: Another Brown, Gordon Brown is in a bit of trouble too, for different reasons. He's survived as Prime Minister overnight but there is pressure on him from many within his ranks. Have you spoken to him recently?
PM: Not recently. I last spoke to him, we corresponded about G20 matters and certainly our officials and advisers are talking with each other all the time as we get ready for the Pittsburgh Summit in September in the United States, the next meeting of the G20. But look Gordon is going through a difficult time but can I say this about him, his global leadership on the G20 and his global leadership on climate change and on the whole question of the Millennium Development Goals has been absolutely first class. He'll be judged of course within domestic politics in Britain like we're always judged domestically but when I engaged with this individual he is truly a first class global leader.
SPEERS: Just a final one Prime Minister. A women's magazine took photos of your wife at the gym without her permission, is that overstepping the mark?
PM: Well I'm very proud of Therese. She's probably fitter than you and I are going to be and she's in training to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. She is going to climb Mt Kilimanjaro with my son Nicholas before too much longer. So she's been flogging away and she's hard at it. But look, you know I think most women in Australia would feel that they should have some privacy when they go to the gym.
Look, if Women's Day want to take photos through the window, matter for them I suppose. Others will form their judgments of that but I think most Australian women at the gym would expect that they have a bit of privacy when they're doing their exercise routine.
SPEERS: Prime Minister thank you.
PM: Thank you very much.