ALISON CARABINE:
Prime Minister, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning Alison.
ALISON CARABINE:
You say that your Government has made a strong and methodical start, but not everything has gone the Government’s way. If you had your time over what, if anything, would you have done differently?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think if we were replaying the last hundred days, the thing the public would like would be for the Labor Party to accept that they lost the election and therefore the carbon tax repeal legislation, the mining tax repeal legislation, the Australian Building and Construction Commission restoration legislation should at the very least have been allowed to pass the Senate.
Back in 2007, the Coalition accepted the peoples’ verdict when it came to workplace relations legislation. Labor just doesn’t get it on this, but we are determined to push on and if Labor doesn’t see the light in the next few months, there’s a new Senate coming in in July, and I’m confident that they will accept the Government mandate and if that’s not the case, well obviously there are constitutional options available to us.
ALISON CARABINE:
But Prime Minister, it sounds as though you are still running an Opposition campaign by blaming Labor for blocking your agenda in the Senate, but voters so far do not seem to be that impressed with the Government. First impressions are always important and you have said that people are never wrong. Do you have a sense of why your Government has had the shortest political honeymoon since polling began about 40 years ago?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Alison, what we’re doing is purposefully, calmly, carefully, methodically implementing our commitments. Some of those commitments require getting legislation through the Senate and obviously until the 1st July, we require the Labor Party to see sense and accept that it did lose the election and that the people did vote against the carbon tax and they did vote against the mining tax and they did vote for the restoration of the rule of law in the construction industry.
Now, if you ask me why the carbon tax is still there, the reason is because of the Labor Party. If you ask me why we don’t have temporary protection visas in place to help stop the boats, the answer is because of the Labor Party.
Now, Labor just doesn’t get it on this, but what we’re doing for our part, is carefully, purposefully, methodically implementing our commitments, because what the public expects from us is competent and trustworthy Government, and I believe that’s exactly what we are delivering.
ALISON CARABINE:
One early difficulty for your Government was the diplomatic row with Indonesia over spying. You have said that it’s high time Jakarta resume co-operation on people smuggling. That seems to suggest that you’re getting a little impatient with the Indonesians. Is that the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we’re determined to stop the boats and I deeply respect the Indonesian people and government. I think SBY has been an outstanding President of Indonesia. I think President Yudhoyono has been a great friend of Australia, so I make those points, Alison, crystal clear. But people smuggling is a crime in Indonesia and I do think that Indonesia should resume co-operation with us. We are certainly being as good a friend as we humanly can to Indonesia, and I think that it would be the act of a good friend to swiftly resume anti-people smuggling co-operation.
ALISON CARABINE:
When do you expect to see that resumed co-operation? The Indonesian President also had something to say over the weekend; he says he hopes the relations will be better by the time he leaves office next July. Could it really take that long to resume normal transmission, or would you expect better relations before then?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I would certainly expect people smuggling co-operations to be resumed well before then. And look, we have good relations, we have very good relations – very, very good relations - but there is no doubt they have suspended co-operation on people smuggling operations.
I think one of the reasons why there’s been an uptick in boats over the last couple of weeks has been because of this suspension, and the point I make is that we deeply respect Indonesia’s sovereignty. We wouldn’t do anything to undermine Indonesia’s sovereignty.
There was a boat that was heading off from Australia to West Papua, which in the end didn’t go for a whole host of reasons and I think that if we can ensure that boats don’t leave Australia for West Papua to embarrass the Indonesians, well similarly, there’s more that Indonesia can do to help us here.
ALISON CARABINE:
But it’s hardly comparable; one leaving Australia for West Papua compared to the number of boats which transit through the Indonesian archipelago.
PRIME MINISTER:
You’re absolutely right, it’s hardly comparable and that’s why it’s absolutely critical that Indonesia offers the assistance that one friend would offer to another on something like this.
ALISON CARABINE:
Prime Minister, considering the uptick will mean more people in detention, why then is the Government disbanding the Immigration Health Advisory Group, which offers your Government expert advice on the psychiatric wellbeing of people in detention?
PRIME MINISTER:
If I may say so Alison, this is a complete beat-up by the ABC and some of the Fairfax papers…
ALISON CARABINE:
How so?
PRIME MINISTER:
There was a committee which was not very effectual, and the chairman of the committee is now the departmental medical officer who is providing advice in a more sustained way. So, we’re still getting the advice; we’re getting the advice in a more sustained way from the chairman of the committee, rather than needing to have a full committee to do it for us.
ALISON CARABINE:
Prime Minister, let’s move on. One of the Government’s biggest early tests will come tomorrow when Joe Hockey releases the mid-year economic update. There are credible reports today of a budget deficit of $47 billion; that’s a $17 billion blow-out since the pre-election forecast. You own that blow-out don’t you, not Labor?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh that’s… if I may so Alison, nonsense.
The MYEFO figure tomorrow will be Labor’s last budget statement and it will be Labor’s only truthful budget statement, because what is in MYEFO tomorrow will be a result of the decisions which the Labor Party had taken and what Labor has given us is debt and deficit unparalleled in Australia’s history.
This has been the most profligate period for debt and deficit in Australia’s history. We’re ruling a line under it tomorrow. I’m not saying that the damage won’t be felt for years to come, but we’re ruling a line under it tomorrow and the repair job starts.
ALISON CARABINE:
But blaming Labor won’t wash with voters forever, whether it’s blocking the carbon tax or budget deficits, at what point will you start owning Government, owning your own problems and the solutions to them?
PRIME MINISTER:
We own the decision obviously. They’re all our decisions, but we’re dealing with the legacy and the fact is, we inherited a mess, a complete mess. We’ve made a very good start, but obviously there’s a hell of a lot to do and that’s what we’ll be doing, in the weeks and months and years to come we’ll be repairing the mess that we inherited from Labor, we’ll be building a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia. That’s what people elected us to do, but we’ve got to be honest and upfront with people about precisely what we inherited.
I mean Labor was telling fibs for years, whether it was about the schools halls programme, the pink batts programme, the border protection disaster, the fiscal blowout. They didn’t get a single budget figure right, let’s face it. This will be the first truthful budget statement from the Labor era. It will be their last budget statement. It will be their only truthful budget statement. The repair job starts tomorrow.
ALISON CARABINE:
And in that spirit of truthfulness, when will we see the budget back in surplus? Will your Treasurer warn tomorrow that we could be facing a decade of deficits?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well without policy change, with the same sorts of policy settings that we’ve had from Labor, with spending growth three per cent plus, yes, that’s what we would be heading for. Now we’re going to make very substantial changes. You’ll see those changes in the weeks and months ahead culminating in the budget next May and next year’s budget will put us back on a path to a sustainable surplus.
ALISON CARABINE:
Well you have just confirmed that we could be in for a decade of deficits. That being the case, why are you so determined Prime Minister to proceed with your paid parental scheme at $5.5 billion, isn’t it a luxury that the budget simply can’t afford at the moment?
PRIME MINISTER:
Alison, I think that the parents of Australia should have access to the same sorts of benefits that people working for the ABC have. I mean if it’s right for people of the ABC to get a fair dinkum paid parental leave scheme, why isn’t it right for the factory workers and the shop assistants and people like that to get access to a similar scheme and our scheme is fully funded Alison.
ALISON CARABINE:
Well the business levy will pay about half the scheme.
PRIME MINISTER:
Labor’s existing inadequate PPL plus the levy will fully fund the scheme.
ALISON CARABINE:
What you are doing is withdrawing a pay rise for child care workers and aged care workers but proceeding with a generous maternity scheme for women who are already earning up to $150,000 a year. Whether or not they work for the ABC, what message does that send to the community about your government’s priorities?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don’t accept the characterisation that you’ve put on things Alison, but it’s very important that every parent in the workforce has access to a fair dinkum paid parental leave scheme. I mean, you’d accept that. Why should ABC workers get a very generous scheme and other people get a completely inadequate scheme?
ALISON CARABINE:
Well Prime Minister, just to finish up, we’ll whip through a few issues on Holden. Almost 3,000 auto workers will lose their jobs, possibly many more in the supply chain. When will we see some support measures for these workers and what do you have in mind?
PRIME MINISTER:
Alison, obviously the impending Holden and Ford shutdown is tragic and the last thing anyone would want. The former government presided over the Ford shutdown, we’ve had the Holden shutdown announced last week and these are tragic – no doubt about that, absolutely tragic. We should remember though that Ford will continue to produce until 2016. Holden will continue to produce until 2017. So we’ve got plenty of time to prepare. All of the workers concerned will be treated generously by their employers. I believe that there are fundamental economic strengths in Adelaide, in Geelong, in west Melbourne. Our challenge is to have a strategic plan for these areas and we’ll be making further announcements in the next couple days about that.
ALISON CARABINE:
Next couple of days, great. Now, Malcolm Turnbull says a conscious vote on gay marriage is likely in this term of Parliament. Is that what you’ve told him?
PRIME MINISTER:
What I say Alison is that if there is a proposal put into the Parliament, a private members’ Bill put in to the Parliament, it would be dealt with by our Party room in the normal way and our policy has been that marriage is between a man and a woman, but in the end it’s up to the Party room to decide what our policy is.
ALISON CARABINE:
And you are the Party room’s most influential member, would you be supporting a conscious vote?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I certainly support the traditional definition, when this matter was last considered by the Parliament about a year ago there was a pretty decisive vote to keep the Marriage Act the way it is. When this matter was first considered by the Parliament back I think in 2004, both the Labor Party and the Coalition strongly supported the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. If we see a Bill come before this Parliament, as I said the Party room will consider it and we’ll deal with it in the usual way.
ALISON CARABINE:
And just finally, you’ve name checked the national broadcaster a number of times this morning, are you enjoying your ABC?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I always enjoy Alison the vigorous discussions that I have on our ABC and look, you know, the ABC is an Australian institution, it’s a great Australian institution, some love it, some are not so keen. I certainly listen to it a lot, I watch it a lot. Occasionally I find myself shouting at the radio, but I guess we often do that don’t we?
ALISON CARABINE:
You’re always welcome to come on Radio National Breakfast, Prime Minister and shout at us. So may those vigorous discussions continue for some time to come! Thank you so much for joining RN Breakfast.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you Alison.
[ends]