Prime Minister
DEBORAH KNIGHT: Scott Morrison joins us now from Melbourne, good morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning Deb.
KNIGHT: Now you’ve gone in hard over the past fortnight to try and discredit Labor on border protection. This Newspoll though shows things haven’t shifted. Why do you think your message isn’t cutting through?
PRIME MINISTER: We’re just doing the right thing for Australia’s borders. That's why we are doing this. We have always been strong on this issue, and I take great issue, whether it is the Labor Party, the Greens or anyone else, who want to undermine the strong border protection that we have put in place. That's why I acted on it, Deb, and that's why I will always act on it.
KNIGHT: You have been accused of scaremongering on this issue. Do you think that that’s not cutting with voters?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I know what the accusations are. I was accused of that when the boats were turning up thick and fast when we were in Opposition and people said I wouldn't be able to, as a team, turn it around. But we did. So that was an important thing for us to do as a nation. So I don't get swayed by those sort of criticisms. I just do what's right for the country and what’s right for our borders.
KNIGHT: Now, you are taking the fight to Labor on the issue of climate and your Party we know has been tearing itself apart on this for years. It has brought down leaders on both sides of politics. How do you come up with a united policy on climate change when some within your own ranks appear to doubt that it is even real?
PRIME MINISTER: We have one and we have been achieving it is. It is a right thing to do for future generations. The plan that we have been working to has taken where we inherited a 700 million tonne deficit on carbon emissions for the 2020 targets and we are now going to beat that by more than 400 million tonnes. And the core of that success has been the Emissions Reduction Fund and we are putting more money into that over the next decade to meet our 2030 targets. But it is not just that, it’s the work we are doing on hydro, whether it is Snowy Hydro 2.0 or down in Tasmania with the Battery of the Nation project where I was last year with Will Hodgman and I met with him again this week and we have been working on how we can bring that project to life.
And all the work that has been done on energy efficiency, whether it is on people's roofs or within their businesses, this is what will get us to the 2030 target. And what I'm announcing today will make sure that we can do that. We are already over achieving on our targets and with our plan we will continue to meet those targets which is what matters at the end of the day. Are you getting the job done? And when it comes to climate we are getting the job done on the targets that have been set and they are responsible targets as well as real and credible targets.
KNIGHT: Because I guess that would make people why we need to spend another $2 billion to get there, because you have said in the past as you have said now we will meet those Paris targets by 2030, and you used the language in a canter, so why do we need to do this spending?
PRIME MINISTER: And we will, Deb. Deb, I always knew we were going to put these policies in place and I was very clear about that all the way through and these are the policies that will continue to get us there in 2030. And they are built on the success of what we have achieved to date and they carry that success through to make sure we can achieve it by 2030. Now, we won't be do it by buying foreign carbon credits using taxpayer's money. Other countries will be doing that. New Zealand just confirmed to me last Friday that's what they will have to do. We will be reducing our missions on our side of the line, but we’ll be doing it without putting a wrecking ball through the Australian economy. I mean, Labor's 45 per cent emissions reduction target will cost everyone’s wage $9,000 a year. That's what the independent assessment came out and said last week. That's a carbon tax on steroids. We won't be doing that. Our target reduces the intensity of emissions by two thirds by 2030 and emissions per capita by over 50 per cent. We will achieve all of that. We will be doing our bit but keeping the economy strong at the same time.
KNIGHT: We know how crucial credibility and authenticity is in politics and you were the Treasurer who came into Question Time with a lump of coal talking up fossil fuels. I guess the big question for voters is how can they trust you to turn things around on climate policy?
PRIME MINISTER: Because our policies have been working. We need to draw our energy from all sources, Deb, all sources. And we need reliable power, as well as renewable, and in many cases, like with hydro, it is both and that's why we are investing in those areas. But I'm not going to join the Labor Party who sees the global market for our biggest mineral export facing some real problems as being wonderful. The Labor Party has said to 55,000 people who work in the coal industry that your jobs don't mean anything to us. Now, I know that would be a terrible message for people to hear up in Townsville. They are already dealing with the floods, and now they have got a Labor Party who wants to take their jobs away.
KNIGHT: All right, Prime Minister, time is unfortunately against us as always. There is lots more to talk to you about. But we hope to have you back on the show again soon. We thank you for your time this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Deb.