ABC - Waleed Aly

SUBJECTS: Prime Minister’s speech, Coalition policy plans and costings

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

Waleed Aly: Here’s Christopher Pyne the Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training, thank you very much for your time.

Hon Christopher Pyne MP: Waleed, good to be with you.

Aly: Surprised?

Pyne: Well, It’s a very strange decision, an unusual announcement.  It’s the longest election campaign in Australia’s history.  It’s been done of course to head off Kevin Rudd.  We know that Labor Members of Parliament were spending January period thinking about if they could replace Julia Gillard as the Prime Minister this year and of course this is much harder for them to do that during the middle of an election campaign, but they concluded …..

Aly: Even Rudd’s team, Rudd’s backers have been saying its very unlikely there is going to be any change and if the situation is so dire that they would have changed leaders anyway, then they would probably still do it because it would be that dire it would be their only option, I don’t see that it makes any difference.

Pyne: Well that’s your opinion Waleed but the truth is that it’s much harder now that the Prime Minister’s announced an election although they still could do it and there are still Rudd supporters who are working to that end because they see Kevin Rudd as the only thing standing between them and political oblivion, if Julia Gillard leads them to the election.   It’s a strange decision on a number of fronts of course, it also gives away the advantage the Government has of calling an election at 5 weeks notice; it allows the Opposition to plan our entire year up to September 14; it means every decision the Government makes between now and the election date will be seen through the prism of a cynical electoral ploy designed to win votes rather than govern for the good of the Country.

Aly: Well I’ll pick up on some of, on your planning in just a moment, but it seems to me and you’ve called this the world’s longest election campaign.  The Government’s made clear that’s not what they are after at all and indeed there is a lot of commentary around today to suggest this is designed precisely to allow them look more like they’re governing.  Do I take it given that you’ve called it the world’s longest election campaign that this precisely what your plans are in Opposition, that you intend to start the campaign now and that is the political gain that the Opposition has got?

Pyne: Well the Opposition’s job is to do two things.  One is to hold the Government to account and expose their incompetencies, also to expose the lack of trust people have in Julia Gillard personally and in the Labor Party collectively.  It’s also to outline our plans for the future and we have, of course we are in the middle of a mini campaign where Tony Abbott has launched his real solutions booklet and in fact, I spoke today on Restoring Faith in the Parliament in Melbourne to the Institute of Public Affairs and we are outlining our policies for a future Coalition Government.

Aly: Sure. 

Pyne: But the point of an election..

Aly: They can’t be heard to complain about a long election campaign.  You’ve been campaigning pretty much non stop every day since August 2010 and just five days ago had a US presidential style campaign launch.

Pyne: Well, I’m not complaining, I love campaigning Waleed, I’m looking forward

Aly: Then why are you saying it’s the world’s longest election campaign as though this is a bad thing, when it seems to be precisely what your side of politics wants?

Pyne: No, I think it’s a bizarre thing Waleed.  It’s a bizarre thing for the Prime Minister to do and I’m sure a lot of Labor Cabinet Ministers are shaking their heads today, thinking about another poor judgement call on Julia Gillard’s part because of course every decision that the Prime Minister now announces will be seen through the prism of trying to win votes.  For example she needs to explain how she is going to fund $120 billion of funding promises that she’s made.  She either has to make spending cuts which she should have outlined today or she promised ….

Aly: They have a Budget for that, they made it clear that’s when they’ll do it.

Pyne: Well, that’s great. But she did bill today’s speech as being one where she’d announce spending cuts for the $120 billion black hole she also has to announce if she hasn’t got those cuts whether taxes will rise.

Aly: Well no, she said that there are going to be structural changes to the economy so that it’s going to be like a structural cut, structural savings.  They’ve done  …

Pyne: What does that mean Waleed?

Aly: I asked Penny Wong that in the last hour she said it will be in the Budget, so there you go, we’ve got that answer.

Pyne: So she doesn’t know the answer so she going to see in the Budget.

Aly: She didn’t say she didn’t know the answer, she said it would be in the Budget.

Pyne: Well if it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for me Waleed but I do think the public have a right to know which taxes will rise and which spending programs will be cut to fund the Governments $120 billion black hole. 

Aly: Can you clear something up for me?  This is something Joe Hockey said today on Sky News “What she has done is she’s defined the next eight months as the longest election campaign in Australian History.  What that means is business and consumers will start to clam up.  They’ll clam up because there is now a far more uncertain environment for business and consumers than there was a few hours ago.” I’m completely stumped by this, Christopher Pyne.  How is he something called a trickery.  How is it that calling an election with a long period of notice is trickery and makes life more uncertain?

Pyne: Because it’s a part of the normal political and economic process of the Nation  that when an election campaign is on, many businesses, small businesses and large businesses and households tend to put off spending decisions until they have the certainty of the kind of government they are going to have and therefore the Prime Minister has made the economic climate more uncertain as people hang on to their dollars or businesses put off investment decisions while they wait to see who will actually form a government .

Aly: Sorry, I don’t understand this.  We all knew an election was coming up; the one thing we didn’t know was the date.  We now have the date that is we have more information about our current circumstances and somehow this increases uncertainty?

Pyne: Yes, well I’m sorry you don’t understand it Waleed but if you speak to most businesses, they’ll tell you when an election campaign is on and we’re now in an eight month election campaign consumers and businesses put off investment decisions or spending decisions to wait and see what kind of government will be formed.  For example, if a Coalition Government is formed we’re likely to cut taxes and of course, we’ll abolish the mining tax and the carbon tax.  We’re likely to reduce the foot print of government in the economy; we’re likely to cut red tape.  If Labor is elected on the other hand, they’re likely to increase taxes, increase spending, increase red tape and break the promises they’ve made before the election as they did over the carbon tax.

Aly: Righto, well even if I accept that all of that is true, what’s changed by the fact we now know when the election is?

Pyne: Well, what’s changed is in the usual five weeks of an election campaign what I have just described is what happens with businesses and households and now instead of it being over I’ve weeks of uncertainty and people hanging on to their investment dollars, or consumer dollars, It will now be spread over eight weeks .  Sorry, eight months.

Aly: Ok.

Pyne: Sorry eight months.

Aly: One of the things that’s great about this though, is that we won’t get this ridiculous situation where all the policies get costed at the very last minute when no one’s watching.  You’ve got seven and a half months.  When are we going to expect to see your costings? 

Pyne: Well, as you pointed out, Penny Wong has said the public will be kept in the dark on tax increases and spending cuts until at least the May Budget.  The Opposition will wait til the May Budget and after that, we’ll have a better idea of what the Government’s books are.  We’ll know what the deficit is, for example.  Of course, they promised to deliver a surplus on 200 occasions.  But we’ll have an idea of what the deficit is and what the books are and we’ll be able then to frame our fiscal policy around that May Budget.

Aly: So June, June good?  July? Does that work for you?

Pyne: Well Waleed, I won’t be announcing our schedule on your radio program but sometime between the May Budget and the election.

Aly: Well that’s hardly helpful! I mean..

Pyne: I’m sorry the Prime Minister has tried to get away with having $120 billion of spending promises since August last year and I haven’t heard you demanding to know from the Government where those taxes, increases or spending cuts are going to come from.

Aly: Well you’re apparently not listening to the program I asked Penny Wong exactly that in the last hour but now I’m asking you about a timing for your costings but that’s okay if you don’t have it yet, that’s fine we’ll keep asking the question through the year and no doubt, eventually you’ll tell us. 

Pyne: Absolutely.

Aly: Good to talk to you Christopher Pyne.

Pyne: Good to catch up with you Waleed.

Aly: Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training.

ENDS.