Future Drought Fund; power prices; National Apology; Invictus Games; Retire Tax
Prime Minister
JOHN LAWS: OK. Nice to talk to you. We’ll get on with it because I know you’ve got other things to do. Could you tell me what’s the purpose of this federal drought coordinator, this retired Major General Stephen Day? Because he doesn’t seem to have a clue about the drought and which areas are the hardest hit. It’s a bit embarrassing, I think.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don’t agree with that, John. But one of the keys things that he’s been doing is trying to get what in the military they refer to a common operating picture. What does that mean? It means we’ve got to get everyone on the same page about where the need is and that is what we’ve been doing over the last eight weeks. You know, working with the Bureau of Meteorology, working with the farming communities, working with the banks, working with the charities, so we can better coordinate where all the support and assistance goes.
LAWS: OK. How many places would you say he’s visited during the drought?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh gosh. In the last eight weeks, it’d be countless. I mean, he sends me a text every day. He’s been in South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, down in Victoria. He’s even been over in places like the west and where there is no drought but how they can be better supporting the efforts on the east coast. So, mate, he’s been everywhere. Rural towns, major cities talking to the ag ministers. He’s been very, very active.
LAWS: OK well that’s a good thing because the farmers need all the help they can get at the moment and it’s really been very, very tough. As part of this future drought fund, the Government is providing almost $4 billion of seed funding. You know, at a time of long-term deficits and things like that, and I don’t want to be negative for the entire interview, but where does that money come from?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there have been… this is coming out of the Future Fund so we are putting aside $3.9 billion in capital and that will go into the Future Drought Fund, and that will earn, as these funds do, and that will grow to $5 billion. And that is also after we’ve been taking some of the earnings, about $100 million a year, and investing that in longer drought resilience projects across the country which can include everything from stuff happening on farm or more broadly. So that is putting money away for a non-rainy day and ensuring that we are addressing the longer-term resilience because the three things we have to do with the drought is: A; get the relief to the people who need it now and that’s why we’ve been doing that with additional financial assistance and supporting people with mental health counsellors and financial counsellors and ensuring we are supporting the charities and coordinating their efforts now. But then there’s the recovery, getting back on our feet. That’s where we’ve got support for investing in silage infrastructure and things like that. And longer-term, you need that bigger drought proofing and making sure we have the resources in the future to support our drought efforts over a longer-term.
LAWS: OK will you then scale back other benefits paid to farmers during times of drought?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
LAWS: You’d leave them the way they are?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
LAWS: Well that’s a very reassuring answer. Can you guarantee that we’ll see electricity prices go down by the start of 2019?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s the plan and the way you do it is by taking the big stick to electricity companies and having the legislation and the powers to… [INAUDIBLE]. I mean, our electricity… there are big companies, it’s heavily regulated, too often that regulations have worked in favour of the big companies not the customers so we are going to even up that score. A bit like a number of years ago when I was the Treasurer and we changed the competition laws to even the rules up for small business, which I know you were a keen advocate of at the time.
LAWS: You bet.
PRIME MINISTER: So it’s the same sort of thing but we’ve got to put more power back in the hands of the customers and less in the hands of the big energy companies. But I was surprised, I’ve got to say John, and disappointed, the Labor Party aren’t going to back us on this legislation.
LAWS: Why?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve got no idea. They want to… they’re not going to take a big stick to the energy companies but they’re going to take a big stick to people’s home prices with abolishing negative gearing as we know it and increasing capital gains tax by 50 per cent. So, they’ve got a big stick but it’s going to go and whack people’s home values.
LAWS: OK, they’ve got to get elected before they can do any of that though haven’t they?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that’s what I’m working to stop but also to ensure that we can keep doing the things that we know are, you know, driving the economy forward. I mean, last week unemployment came down to 5 per cent which is great news for Australian job seekers and good on for Australian businesses for putting people on.
LAWS: Yeah well what’s your feeling about former prime ministers remaining involved in our country’s politics? Good idea or not a good idea?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I think they all have a role to play because former prime ministers have things to contribute. And particularly internationally because of the relationships that they’ve formed. I mean, just this last week Julia Gillard was down in Canberra for the National Apology for the victims of child sexual abuse in institutions. Now she initiated the Royal Commission and I thought she did a great job this week…
LAWS: Yeah so did I. She was terrific.
PRIME MINISTER: … she was supporting victims and survivors. And so she can do a great job there, others can do a great job… I mean I had Tony, he’s still in the Parliament, but Tony’s out there working with me in indigenous communities looking at how we can get more indigenous kids in school. And of course, eight weeks ago, many, many weeks ago, we’d arranged with the Indonesian president, President Widodo, he’s got this big conference on oceans, and Malcolm was always going to go to that previously. I can’t go and the Indonesian president, with whom we have a very important relationship, very warmly received the offer that he might attend. So I know that upset a few people but it’s got nothing to do with Wentworth, it’s just got to do with putting people where they’ve got the skills to go and do a job.
LAWS: You can understand people being upset though?
PRIME MINISTER: I can. I can, John, and I get that. But, you know, we’ve got to move on. There’s just too many personalities in politics. People like politicians, they don’t like politicians, they don’t like this one or that one, and that’s what it’s about. What it’s about is what we are coming together today to do and that is to make sure we are backing in farmers and rural and regional communities and particularly the towns. I mean you know this, you know this better than anyone, when the drought hits it’s not just the farmers who cop it, but it’s the towns. So we are putting a million bucks into every single shire in a drought affected area so they can bring forward projects, they can do road works, they can fix up the toilet block at the local pool or they can do some records management. And that’s putting money into the towns for local contractors, for local staff and that keeps the town churning. We are going to expand that program today and reach more shires because sadly in places like South Australia and Victoria the drought is moving into those parts and it’s getting dryer. So we are keeping on top of that and we are making sure we are delivering the support.
LAWS: Who’s going to be in charge of that fund?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there’s a range of them. That one is actually run by Bridget McKenzie and she’s the Minister for Rural and Regional Services. She is the minister responsible for that fund. On water infrastructure projects, that’s the Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud. And on the road projects, that’s Minister Michael McCormack, the Deputy Prime Minister.
LAWS: OK there have been reports today that you were against dropping the pension the age to seventy. I was a bit surprised about that. Don’t you think…
PRIME MINISTER: Well so was I, John.
LAWS: Oh OK.
PRIME MINISTER: I was the one who abolished it so actions speaker louder than words. I mean, I think since the 2014/15 Budget it hadn’t been revisited really. It’d been there and then when I became Prime Minister I said I think we should get rid of that, and we did.
LAWS: Do you think our pensioners are well looked after?
PRIME MINISTER: We can always do better. But one of the things we do have in this country, whether it’s affordable medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which really does support senior Australians. I announced the Royal Commission into residential aged care a few weeks back to make sure we build a culture of respect for senior Australians. That’s really important to ensure they get the care they need. We’ve increased the support for in-home aged care places by about 20,000 places in the last twelve months. So we are doing all that, but I tell you what we are not going to do, John. We’re not going to take away their dividend imputation credits they get from their investments in Australian shares.
LAWS: Good thing.
PRIME MINISTER: Now the Labor Party, that’s their policy. It’s going to whack Australians, particularly senior Australians to the tune of just under $5 billion a year. So as much as what we are putting into this future fund on drought…
LAWS: They’re going to take out.
PRIME MINISTER: … they are going to whack that out of the pockets of retirees all around the country. And for what purpose? Just to splurge money around.
LAWS: You blamed an administrative error for your Government’s decision to vote in favour of Pauline Hanson’s “it’s OK to be white” motion. What was the administrative error?
PRIME MINISTER: There was a miscommunication between… with the Senate and they stuffed it up and they shouldn’t have and I was pretty angry about it and they fixed it.
LAWS: OK but you’re quite right they shouldn’t have stuffed it up.
PRIME MINISTER: No they shouldn’t and, you know, they shouldn’t. And so I think they came pretty clean on that and it was a fair cop. I wouldn’t have voted for that and I said the next day and I know the Leader of the Government in the Senate was very apologetic about how that had happened. But you know what happened down here John? I mean, you know this. It’s the Canberra bubble. You know what happened in the Senate? It turns into a bit of a high school debating society. They put all these motions up, day after day after day after day. There not Bills, they’re not things that actually pass laws or change anything. It’s just a lot of people grandstanding in Canberra, pontificating, and what I’m about is getting more support for farmers, more support for rural communities, more support in residential aged care and in-home aged care places, getting unemployment down to five per cent, passing laws to reduce taxes for small and family businesses, which we did last week down to 25 per cent. The new big trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership 11; I mean, that is going to enable all of us, including our farmers to reach half a billion customers. We’ve passed that through the Parliament. So that’s real stuff. The other fluff and bubble that goes on in Canberra, frankly I think most Australians just turn off to.
LAWS: I agree with that. Listen, this group calling itself Pride in Protest wants to ban members of the Liberal Party from the Mardi Gras parade and they want to move a motion tomorrow saying that you are, and any party you lead, are homophobic. Are you homophobic?
PRIME MINISTER: No, not at all John. Not at all. I think all Australians should be treated with dignity and respect and they shouldn’t be discriminated against for who they are.
LAWS: OK why would these people say such a thing if it’s so clear to them, and it’s obviously not, that you’re not homophobic?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I’ve got no idea. People do stupid things from time to time.
LAWS: Yeah I know you hold very strong Christian views but you’re certainly not homophobic…
PRIME MINISTER: Well my faith teaches me to love everyone, John.
LAWS: And do you?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I do. Sometimes, mate, as you know, it can be a bit hard to like all the time. I suspect it’s a bit hard for them to like me all the time too, but that’s just life. But I think we’ve got to treat everyone, each other, with dignity and respect and one of the things that I said when I became Prime Minister is yeah I want to keep Australia strong, our economy strong, so we can afford all the things that matter, you know the pension, health care, schools. We’ve got to keep Australians safe, on our boarders but also in our schools. This week we had the National Apology to the victims of child sexual abuse in institutions and I was there with hundreds and hundreds of people earlier this week and it made it just… it just breaks your heart what happened to them.
LAWS: Yeah, pretty moving isn’t it?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ve never met… I’ve never been in a room, John... I could actually feel my body just quivering at the level of hurt that was in that room. It was quite overwhelming. So we’ve got to keep our kids safe because we didn’t keep those kids safe.
LAWS: No we didn’t. We neglected them very, very badly.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s our national shame and I thought the Apology was a great way to acknowledge it, and a number of people have said to me, look thank you. They want to see the action and we are following through on the action but just the acknowledgement of it. Because for so long their tears were never seen.
LAWS: That’s true, very well put. What have you got planned for the weekend. More work?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah there’s always plenty of work. But I’m getting home later tonight but I’ll be out at Invictus for the closing ceremony and how good has that been?
LAWS: Absolutely fantastic and I think the response to it has been really, really solid.
PRIME MINISTER: I think so. Australians and Sydney-siders have got out, not just supporting our own athletes, but they’ve supported the courage and the victory whether they came first second or at the tail-end of the field, everyone is getting cheered on because they’re all champions and they’ve all demonstrated something that’s just a unique testament to the human spirit.
LAWS: I agree and they’re very, very brave people.
PRIME MINISTER: They are. So I’m looking forward with them. Jen and the girls went out and saw a lot of the events this week while I’ve been down here in Canberra and they were telling me just how good it was and how encouraged all the athletes were and how they all cheered. It’s just awesome.
LAWS: It certainly is. Well whatever you do, I hope you have a nice weekend and I hope you do spend some time with your family. That’s got to be getting a rarer and rarer thing in your life.
PRIME MINISTER: Well it is, John. But your family… my family has always been the mainstay for me and they believe in what I’m doing and whatever we do, we always do as a family.
LAWS: Good thing. It’s lovely to talk to you; it always is and I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family. Send them all my best wishes and our listeners send their best wishes as well and I thank you very much for your time, Scott.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, John. All the best, see you soon.
LAWS: OK, Prime Minister. Bye.