ABC News Radio

SUBJECTS:  Gonski Report; Robert McClelland retiring; Parliamentary reform

E&OE................................

Presenter: Here at home federal Parliament has completed its first two weeks of the year, and there are just seven sitting weeks between now and the September election. And the Government will probably be looking forward to some weeks out of Canberra after a week in which it was under attack over economic issues, particularly the failure of the mining tax to gather the revenue expected. Christopher Pyne is the Manager of Opposition Business in the House; he’s speaking here to Marius Benson.

Marius Benson: Christopher Pyne can I begin by asking you a question about education spending; Labor is now going through the hollow logs looking to find billions of dollars needed for the Gonski reforms. In principle is the Opposition committed to increasing spending on education or will it remain the same as now?

Hon Christopher Pyne MP: Well we’ll see what the Government comes up with in terms of a response to the Gonski Report, they’re yet to respond to the Gonski Report, and then we’ll see what they propose. Now, it might be that if it doesn’t cut funding to schools and it doesn’t push up school fees that the Coalition will look closely at it and find that we have some agreement with it. But on the other hand if we don’t, our commitment is to the current quantum of funding plus indexation which is at about 6% per annum, which of course is a real increase in funding per student, per school and that is our commitment. We are in favour of more money for school education based on the current system, but we don’t think funding is the only thing that matters in education. Things like principal autonomy, teacher quality and a robust curriculum matter just as much.

Benson: Ok, another topic. It’s been reported in the Daily Telegraph today that Robert McClelland who has announced that he’s not standing at the next election a former Labor Minister is planning to leave Parliament within weeks. If he does that, if he does go would you expect a by-election to be held or are we close enough to an election for that not to be necessary?

Pyne: Well a by-election is usually held within a month or two of the resignation of a Member or the retirement of a Member. The longest it’s been is about three months, if Robert McClelland was to retire from Barton in the next few weeks the by-election would definitely need to be held because otherwise it would be the longest period where a seat was vacant because of a retirement in the history of Federation. Now I know we’ve had a few firsts in this Parliament, we are now in the longest election campaign since Federation as well but it would utterly, stupendously arrogant of the Government to not call a by-election if Robert McClelland was to retire.

Benson: Parliament is up now for three weeks just seven sitting weeks to go until the election. Are you, are you the Opposition counting the days until you swap sides in the Chamber?

Pyne: Well I’m certainly counting the days for when the Australian people get to have a vote at an election to cast aside a very bad Government. We’re a great country Marius, but we’re served by a very poor Government and I think when the election comes it can’t come soon enough, that’s the feedback that I get from my electorate. But we’re not counting our chickens on our side of the House. We have a lot of work to do between now and election day, Labor will gather themselves at some point you would think, at the moment they seem to be self immolating but you never know what’s going to happen with the Labor Party and I think most of the troubles are on the other side of the House. But you know we just wish there was a Government that was putting the Australian people first rather than their own selfish self interests.

Benson: You’ve spoken about the need for the reform of Parliament as one of the things for a future Government to deal with. Now one of the reforms which is often proposed is to get rid of one of the most noticeable practices in Question Time, which is Dorothy Dixers. Dorothy Dixers; the convention where by a government asks itself questions. You think you could get rid of Dorothy Dixers if you become the government?

Pyne: Well Question Time is for the entire Parliament, it would be wrong to exclude Government backbenchers from taking part in Question Time. It’s a question of the quality of the questions that are asked and the answers that are given. But if backbenchers make good contributions and Ministers give good answers then Government members should have just the same opportunity as members of the Opposition. That said the Parliament in the last two and a half years has been hopelessly traduced by this Government and if we get elected, if we’re fortunate enough to be elected some of the reforms I think we would get to introduce, that I would introduce would make Question Time much more real and much more substantive and I think the Australian public would respond well to that.

Benson: Christopher Pyne thank you very much.

Pyne: Thank you.

ENDS.