Today Show

E&OE TRANSCRIPT Interview – Nine Network Today Show with Karl Stefanovic and Anthony Albanese 9 May 2014 SUBJECTS: Budget KARL STEFANOVIC: Education Minister Christopher Pyne and Shadow Transport Minister Anthony Albanese join us now. Round of applause for the lads, please. [applause] This is not Q&A my friend. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: That is an innovation. ANTHONY ALBANESE: That is impressive. KARL STEFANOVIC: I thought it was a nice way to start. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: It a very nice way to start. KARL STEFANOVIC: Not a nice way to start if you are in the public sector this morning waking up to the news in The Australian that the Treasurer is indicating that some 3,000 in his own portfolio will go in the public sector more broadly, there will be more cut backs in that sector, can you confirm that this morning? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, I can't confirm it, Karl. Obviously, a month before the budget there is always a lot of speculation and some of it turns out to be true and some of it turns out not to be. The truth is there is no easy way out to the debt and deficit disaster left to us by the Labor Party. Next Tuesday the question will be is this a reasonable response to the challenges that we have been left. It has to be fair for everyone and it has to be right for the country. KARL STEFANOVIC: 3,000 from his portfolio alone. Are you preparing for similar cut backs in your own portfolio? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: My portfolio has already been split between employment and education because those two departments have become - one department has become two. I have already, therefore, had quite a cut back in public servants over the past 7 or 8 months. I am looking forward to the budget. KARL STEFANOVIC: So you are safe. But you don't want to be in the Treasurer's portfolio at this point? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Next Tuesday night we will find out for sure how all this speculation lands. KARL STEFANOVIC: Okay, income tax is going up for higher income earner, right? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: That hasn't been confirmed either. KARL STEFANOVIC: It is happening. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: There has been a lot of very seemingly firm speculation about it. KARL STEFANOVIC: That is going to happen, there. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: The question is if the only cuts are to entitlements and welfare across Australia that hits low and middle income earners more than anyone else. If high income earners are going to contribute to getting the country back on the track that Labor took us off, then obviously there is going to have to be some kind of adjustment. KARL STEFANOVIC: Philosophically you don't have a problem with it though, do you… CHRISTOPHER PYNE: I don't have a trouble with everyone contributing… KARL STEFANOVIC: No, the higher taxes on higher income earners you don't have a problem with that philosophically. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Nobody likes higher taxes, I have a problem with higher taxes, of course I do, but at the same time the government has to make the tough decisions that we were elected to make last September. KARL STEFANOVIC: Here a reminder of what Tony Abbott said about tax before the election. PRIME MINISTER [excerpt]: No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions. No one's personal tax will go up. There should be no… KARL STEFANOVIC: There is also speculation this morning that the fuel tax will go up. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: There is speculation that the fuel tax might go up. The last time that happened was 12 years ago, Karl. KARL STEFANOVIC: Any other taxes that are going up? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well look, I can't confirm that any taxes are going up but on Tuesday night you will find out for sure. The public know that they elected us to make the tough decisions that for six years the Labor had refused to make. Labor was living in a fool’s paradise that you could keep borrowing money, with debt easing to $667 billion dollars and deficit to a $123 billion. KARL STEFANOVIC: You did spend like drunken sailors and you never came up with a surplus, and so you can't really take the high road here, can you? ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well look Karl, they inherited an economy that was growing, low unemployment and low inflation and low interest rates, and AAA credit rating. And what we are seeing is that they don't like the ABC or SBS, so you will have cuts there, they don't like Medicare, so they will get rid of universality of Medicare, they don't like public education, so there will be cuts there. There’s a theme here, Karl. They don't like the public. They are attacking the public through the bowser now, we hear, every single week, every time when working families fill up in their car and it is a regressive tax because if you live further away from where you work and you don't have public transport options, that they are also putting back to zero the Commonwealth funding for public transport then of course you will pay more and you will pay it every week. KARL STEFANOVIC: You are picking a fight also with the miners on the diesel excise. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, not that I'm aware of. But you know, Karl, Labor are like the arsonists that set fire to their neighbours house and then when the firefighter turns up to try to put it out they mug the firefighter as well. I mean, Labor can't have it both ways. They can't spend and borrow and pretend there is a money tree out the back and then when the public change the government to give us the chance to fix it, they try and stop us from doing so. KARL STEFANOVIC: Well alright, that’s fine. That’s all well and good. But why before the election did you make promises you can't keep? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, we went to the election with a paid parental leave levy. We went to the election with a NDIS levy, so the public didn't elect the Abbott government thinking that there would be no changes… KARL STEFANOVIC: You went to the election saying there would be no new taxes and there are going to be at least two new taxes. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: But we will also, now finally hopefully abolish the carbon tax because hopefully the new Senate will abolish the carbon tax unlike Labor who keep blocking it. And they are still blocking the abolition of the mining tax! ANTHONY ALBANESE: You are putting it on everyone watching this show. Bigger than the carbon price on everyone's personal motor vehicle. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You won't let us abolish the carbon tax. KARL STEFANOVIC: Something does need to be done about welfare. There is some information in the Tele this morning, some research that says half of Australian families receive more in welfare than they pay in income tax. ANTHONY ALBANESE: Look, I'm – KARL STEFANOVIC: Something needs to be done, and when you were in government you didn't do it. ANTHONY ALBANESE: Look, I have no problem in ensuring. Well, in terms of the welfare changes, we did make some changes in government. What the previous government did of course is introduce a whole range of measures, every year around about June you got these bonuses out there, rather than spending on infrastructure, rather than looking for the long term which is why when we came into government we had to address the infrastructure deficit and we had the global financial crisis. But we still left the situation with a AAA credit rating for the first time. For the first time. There is no government you would wrath are have been in 2013 than Australia's. KARL STEFANOVIC: You didn't waste any money? ANTHONY ALBANESE: Look in terms of what we did in getting through the Global Financial Crisis – KARL STEFANOVIC: You have to admit you made a mistake. ANTHONY ALBANESE: Of course all governments make mistakes but what we did was see Australia through the Global Financial Crisis in a way that was more successful than any other industrialised economy in the world. KARL STEFANOVIC: One final question. To me, and to several other economists - not that I am putting myself in that esteemed company. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: And neither is Anthony, I'm sure. KARL STEFANOVIC: There is a simple solution here, and that is raising the GST. If you are going to break an election promise, why not make it the right one - just increase the GST. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Only the states and territories can call for a change of the GST – KARL STEFANOVIC: You are open to it, right? CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No, we are not open to it. If they want to change the GST, they need to campaign for a change to the rate of the GST. KARL STEFANOVIC: Would you support it… ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, that will be the next broken promise from this mob. What we are seeing next Tuesday - KARL STEFANOVIC: Would you support it though? ANTHONY ALBANESE: We support progressive taxes, not regressive taxes. KARL STEFANOVIC: Is that a progressive tax? ANTHONY ALBANESE: The GST is not a progressive tax. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Okay, why didn't you abolish it? ANTHONY ALBANESE: The GST pays you know, if you are a pensioner you pay the same amount as if you are a millionaire. What this mob is doing is contracting out to the Commission of Audit what their vision is and we can see it - we will see some of it on Tuesday might - but there is more to come. But the broken promises are just extraordinary. KARL STEFANOVIC: We will see what happens on Tuesday. It is a much nicer atmosphere, isn't it, than Q&A. You didn't get into him at all. ANTHONY ALBANESE: I missed it. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He was sorry he missed the protest. ANTHONY ALBANESE: I was in the Territory. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He was rushing in through the door to join the protesters. ANTHONY ALBANESE: Those same people usually are protesting against me. KARL STEFANOVIC: You are both very welcome on this show. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Are you Trotskite or Moscow? ANTHONY ALBANESE: Always Labor, mate. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Which one are you? ANTHONY ALBANESE: Labor until I die. KARL STEFANOVIC: Always the good stuff happens at the end with you two. Thank you very much. ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good to be with you. CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Thank you. [ends]