Nine Morning News

SUBJECTS: AWU Scandal; Recent Galaxy Poll; National Disability Insurance Scheme

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

Sylvia Jeffreys: Julia Gillard has been talking positive on a National Disability Insurance Scheme, but the continuous attacks on her over the AWU scandal appear to have had an impact. For the Opposition’s perspective, we’re joined by Manager of Opposition Business, Christopher Pyne. Mr Pyne, Thanks for your time

The Hon Christopher Pyne MP: Good Morning, Sylvia

Jeffreys: A Galaxy poll found just one in five voters believe the PM was completely open and honest over her role. Your reaction?

Pyne: Well, the truth is that, Sylvia, of course the Prime Minister is coming off a very low base of truthfulness with the Australian public because, of course, before the election she promised there would be no Carbon Tax. Now we have a Carbon Tax. She promised Kevin Rudd she would never challenge him for the leadership, then she challenged him for the leadership. So that poll, that Galaxy poll, found that two thirds of people either think she told bald faced lies about the AWU slush fund scandal or she was economical with the truth, and only one in five thought that she had been completely honest about the AWU slush fund scandal. This lack of truthfulness deficit that the Prime Minister has with the public will unfortunately dog her right through until election day, and any promise she makes, whether it’s about the NDIS or education funding or anything else, will of course be seen through the prism of the promises she made at the last election which she didn’t keep.

Jeffreys: That said though, Mr Pyne, the majority of those surveyed said it wouldn’t change the way they vote at the next election

Pyne: Well, I think a lot of people have already made up their minds about this government, and about the need to change the government, to stop the chaos and dysfunction, and I think people are also very angry at the government – that they seem to have given themselves a big tick for introducing the Carbon Tax and seemingly getting away with it, and I think by election day, that wont happen. I think the public will vote at the next election on the cost of living, and so the Prime Minister talking about electricity prices today, as though somehow this new Power Watch that she intends to set up will somehow solve all the problems – we’ve had Grocery Watch, we had Fuel Watch, now we’re going to have Power Watch – The truth is if she wanted to reduce electricity prices, she would cut the Carbon Tax to zero, and that’s what Tony Abbott will do if we are elected. We will just scrap the carbon tax and reduce the price of electricity on day one.

Jeffreys: Now, just looking at today’s Galaxy poll, it is a ringing endorsement of Malcolm Turnbull as preferred Coalition leader to Tony Abbott. Given Mr Abbott’s consistently poor personal popularity, will you change leaders before the election.

Pyne: No, Sylvia, there’s absolutely no possibility of that. I mean, polls come and go, and I’m glad that Malcolm is popular in the polls. It’s good to be popular, its better than the alternative, but by the same token Tony Abbott is vastly more popular today as Leader of the Opposition than previous Opposition Leaders have been. I’ve been in Parliament almost twenty years, and the polls go up and they go down, but Tony Abbott is doing a sensational job. He’s the most effective Leader of the Opposition in living memory, and over the course of the next twelve months he’ll release more and more of our positive policy agenda, and I’m very confident that by election day, people will be looking forward to a government of adults in the room, rather than the chaos, dysfunction and division that we have from Labor at the moment.

Jeffreys: Now just quickly, Mr Pyne, a rare show of unity by the Leaders today over the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Surely that’s what Australian voters want to see more of?

Pyne: Well, what we want to see more of, of course, is good government policy. If the Opposition sees good government policy we’ll back it. On the National Disability Insurance Scheme, we believe it’s an important and good change. We’ve given it bipartisan support. Where Labor’s policy falls down is that they’ve underfunded it. They’ve allocated $1.2 Billion to it, and the Productivity Commission says it will cost closer to $8 Billion. So the proof of the pudding in this will be in the eating. I don’t want to see people with disabilities’ expectations raised only to be dashed by the Labor Government. If the Coalition gets elected, we’ll fund it properly.

Jeffreys: Ok, Christopher Pyne in Canberra, we appreciate your time. Thanks very much.

Pyne: Pleasure Sylvia.

ENDS