HOST: Prime Minister good morning and welcome home.
PM: Good to be back in Queensland Madonna and good morning to your listeners.
HOST: And just before we get to the mining issue you may have heard some of the interviews we've just done. A fairly unusual case, a woman who shot and killed her husband freed in a terrible domestic violence case, and we talk about mining taxes, we talk about these big things, but domestic violence, what can politicians or the community do about that?
PM: The answer is very basic on that one Madonna and that's lead. Because this is a scourge on our society. I'm very much involved and have been for a long time in the White Ribbon campaign and the White Ribbon campaign has men sign up right across Australia, to sign a pledge, never ever, under any circumstances to commit an act of violence against any woman.
HOST: But the wrong men are probably signing up.
PM: That's true but what I'm saying is men have got to speak to other men about this, there needs to be something in the culture which has somehow, in some parts of Australia, condone this. The figures are awful, around one in three women experience physical violence at some time in their life, and one in five experience sexual violence sometime during their life time. Our attitude as a Government is zero tolerance and that's why we are developing, with the States and Territories, a national plan to reduce violence against women and their kids.
HOST: Yeah because you wonder if children actually see that in the home, what hope do they have?
PM: It's crushing, I mean I've spoken to so many families both here in Brisbane as a local member, but since being in this position right across the country. This is a real disease, it's just wrong, and frankly blokes have got to talk to other blokes about this, there can't be any nod and a wink that under any circumstances this is acceptable. It turns my stomach.
HOST: Alright lots of things to get through this morning, just upfront this debate over whether US President Barack Obama has cancelled, or is in the process of cancelling his trip to Australia, can you fill us in there?
PM: Madonna I hope to be talking to the President in the next day or so. As I've said many, many times before, the President of the United States is welcome in Australia at any time. I note that he's going through some real challenges at the moment with that massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and frankly this is a big challenge for him. But I'll be talking to him in the next day or so, we will make whatever information is available following that, but as I said he's welcome in Oz any old time.
HOST: Alright he's not the only political leader facing challenges, this morning the first time there seems to be evidence of direct job losses through uncertainty over this resource rent tax. How many jobs will we see go before this is all nutted out?
PM: Well the first thing I'd say Madonna is that we believe this tax reform with the mining companies is really important because overall, it results in increased economic activity and jobs in Australia. That's the independent modelling done by the Australian Treasury.
HOST: But the 60 contractors who have reportedly been given pink slips, are they going to listen to that, are they going to understand that?
PM: Well let me just go to that, and some of the claims being made by Xstrata.
I'd draw your attention to an article in this morning's Sydney Morning Herald by journalist Elizabeth Knight who's a business writer for the Herald. And she's not a supporter of our tax proposal, but she has directly challenged the accuracy of Xstrata's claims on employment. I think the other thing to bear in mind about Xstrata is this, remember prior to the election of this Government, they actively campaigned against the Government getting rid of Workchoices and AWAs. I just think there's going to be a lot of sound and fury in this debate. You're going to have mining companies making claim after claim because none of them want to pay more tax.
HOST: But do you concede, do you concede-
PM: Our view in simple Madonna and that is we believe they should be paying a fairer share to the Australian people
HOST: We know that
PM: Of course which all Australians own.
HOST: We know that is your view, and held very strongly, but the uncertainty in no determination, do you concede that is perhaps hurting us economically?
PM: I think we can work our way through this Madonna, it's going to be a tough negotiation, we have a very firm position as a Government, but I'd just draw off on the lessons of economic history. The mining industry did a similar campaign against the Labor Government in the 80s when we brought in a similar tax regime for offshore mining called the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax, also at 40 per cent. They said that would be the end of the world as we knew it for offshore mining, that didn't happen, that sector has flourished since then, we're going to go through the same now.
HOST: But Anna Bligh says she wants to see you today, that this is costing jobs, it's devastating families, she wants you to put down the baseball bat and actually negotiate. How do you respond to your ALP State colleague?
PM: Anna is entitled to her views and she should put them, we talk all the time. My job is in the national economic interest and the very basic point is this, to bring about long term tax reform which makes sure that these companies are paying a fairer share so that we can do this: one, boost super for all working Australians from nine per cent to twelve per cent. Second, to make sure we can bring down the company tax rate for all Australian companies by two percentage points, bigger tax breaks for small business and critically, and this is a debate we had in Parliament yesterday, using some of the extra funds we get from a super profits tax on the big mining companies to put back into the infrastructure Queensland and the rest of the country needs. That's why we're doing this.
HOST: Your Resources Minister Martin Ferguson I understand told a meeting of the Minerals Council of Australia in Canberra yesterday that there was room for adjustment of the parameters. Will you negotiate on anything other than the transitional arrangements?
PM: You know something Madonna, the place where you don't have a negotiation is through the Australian media. Our position has been constant from day one when we released our tax plan and that is we believe we've got the rate right, we've said also however we'd consult with industry on detail, on implementation and transition.
HOST: But don't you think the public have a right to know how moveable, how flexible you are on this, it's certainly splitting the public, it seems almost 50/50 down the centre and people want to understand it, they want to know what's going to happen.
PM: I think what the Australian public really want to know is the impact of the Resource Super Profits Tax on the economy at large, secondly on jobs in the economy and thirdly, how it's used to fund other much needed areas in Queensland and around the country, like better super for all working families.
On the detail of negotiations, they are at the end of the day commercial because each company's circumstances are different and that goes to the transition arrangements that we've spoken of.
But I go back to the Xstrata point, the head of Xstrata by the way said yesterday his company pays too much tax. I mean give us a break.
HOST: Alright that's Xstrata, Merrill Lynch this morning is saying it might cause price rises for bricks and plasterboard, you quoted from the Sydney Morning Herald, let me do the same, BHP Billiton in the SMH this morning says that the tax jeopardized its multi-billion dollar expansion of Olympic Dam in South Australia. This is a very fairly big hill you need to climb.
PM: Well tax reform is always hard. You've got very, very big mining companies with well lined pockets able to fund very big campaigns against any Government which says we'd like to get a fairer share back to the Australian people, that's what's happening.
HOST: But at what point do you consider yes, you say the miners are wrong and a big proportion of the population agree with you, the other proportion support the miners, but do you agree the uncertainty surrounding this, the lack of decision irrespective of who's right and wrong, is actually doing damage?
PM: You know something Madonna, any form of tax reform is hard, it's not a neat, quick, clinical process because each company's circumstances are different. We're working through this in good faith with the mining companies; we believe the miners deserve a proper return for their investments but so too do the Australian people, but I've got to say when you have leading mining executives saying they're paying too much tax, I think that's wrong.
Can I just go also to this particular case of what's been described as a marginal coalmine in Queensland?
HOST: Yes.
PM: If that's the case the whole design of the Resource Super Profits Tax is this, and it's very important for your listeners to understand that, upfront when a mining project is not generating profits, this Resource Super Profits Tax benefits them because it taxes them less, it's only when later in their life these projects earn very big profits does this tax kick in, as opposed to State royalties which are applied on production volumes from day one. That is why this reform is good for marginal mines.
HOST: Just a final question before you go, I'm running an election sweep, is there a particular Saturday between now and March next year you'd like to put your name next to?
PM: That's a good one Madonna. I like that.
HOST: You could win $300 worth of ABC prizes.
PM: I think you'd be had for insider trading, if I did that, so I'm very mindful of the laws of the Commonwealth.
HOST: Prime Minister thank you.
PM: Thanks very much Madonna.