Topics: Keeping Australian’s safe, Labor’s budget, cost of living crisis, defence spending, insurance divestiture

 

E&OE   

 

SALLY SARA:

Well after back to back surpluses, the Treasurer has confirmed he'll be handing down a deficit in next week's budget somewhere in the order of $26.9 billion as initially forecast in the mid-year update, despite the plunge into the red Jim Chalmers is telling the Opposition he's ready for a debate in the election fought on the economy, and has used a pre-budget speech to warn voters that a Coalition government would put the beginnings of an economic recovery at risk. Joining me now is the Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor.

Angus Taylor, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Good to be with you, Sal.

SALLY SARA:

Firstly, on a separate issue, just to clarify, is holding a referendum on cancelling the citizenship of dual citizens who commit a serious crime. Is that Coalition policy or not?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, look, the first job of any government Sally is to make sure its citizens are safe, and we'll always look at any option that might ensure that Australians are safe. Now, this is not our policy, but it is something like any option that will ensure that Australians are safe, that we're prepared to consider. We have already said, that will strengthen our citizenship test to make sure there is a specific question there, criterion around anti semitism, because we have seen rampant anti semitism in this country. It's completely unacceptable and those coming to this country, we need to be confident that they're not going to perpetuate that unacceptable behaviour that we have seen in recent times.

SALLY SARA:

If someone is going to lose their Australian citizenship for committing a serious crime, if they're a dual citizen, how does that make the community safer when the offense has already been committed?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we do know that people who commit an offense are also, in some instances, more likely to commit them in the future. That's why we use detention, or one of the reasons why we use detention to ensure that we don't get repeat crimes, and it's why we take action against people who are criminals and who do the wrong thing. But look, as I say, this is not our policy at this point in time. It is an option, and all options are on the table when it comes to keeping Australians safe, and they should be Sally. I mean, we've seen a government that's been weak on dealing with ramping anti semitism around this country. We've seen a government that's not prepared to deal with the issues we face. We've seen people let out of detention who are murderers, who are rapists, and who are the sorts of people where there's real risk that they'll repeat those crimes.

SALLY SARA:

Given the last referendum cost more than $400 million and the Coalition criticised Labor for that spending. Is it appropriate to float the idea of another referendum in the middle of a cost of living crisis?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, we will make sure that our budget position is stronger than Labor's. That will re-establish fiscal rules to make sure that we have a strong budget position to be able to pay for the essential services, for defending the country, for all the things that we need. And at the same time, we're beating inflation and boosting growth. We are seeing already from Jim Chalmers, a master class in blame shifting, as he admits to the fact that there will be red ink as far as the eye can see. This guy is a doctor of blame shifting, excuses everywhere in his 30 minute speech yesterday, we need a strong budget position. We need to re-establish the fiscal rules that Labor threw out as soon as they came into government, they were put in place by Peter Costello. That means you've got to grow the economy faster than you're spending. You've got to make sure that you're moving towards a structural budget balance, and that's critical to beating inflation and ensuring we have a strong, growing economy.

 

 

SALLY SARA:

This is Radio National Breakfast, and I'm speaking with the Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor. If the cost of living is such a hot button issue at the moment, why has the Coalition released so few economic policies so far on this?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, that's just not true. I mean, re-establishing the fiscal guardrails is incredibly important policy, opposing over $100 billion of Labor spending that's inappropriate at a time like this when inflation is raging, has been a strong position taken by the Coalition. You have not seen an Opposition take anything like that kind of position against unnecessary spending in recent history. We've announced a whole series of policies to get rid of unnecessary red tape, to ensure approvals come through quickly, so that we can boost growth and beat inflation at the same time, to make sure we get extra housing supply into the marketplace, to make sure that our resource projects go ahead in a timely way to support that growth. And we know if you increase the productive capacity of the economy, you put downward pressure on inflation, you grow the economy and you grow people's incomes in real terms so that they can afford more goods and services than would otherwise be the case. So, they are the policies we've been announcing, we will continue to. The point is Labor has completely failed. Australians with the biggest hit to our standard of living in history, unprecedented, unrivalled, no other country has seen anything like it. They have failed Australians, and we've got a Treasurer now where the only thing he's doing is looking for excuses because he has simply failed.

SALLY SARA:

The Coalition was very quick to match Labor’s cost of living policy on bulk billing. Does this create the perception that the Coalition is reacting to, rather than proposing measures to deal with cost of living?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, quite the opposite. I mean, we will always back making sure we’ve got strong essential services in this country. What we won’t spend money on is frolics that are not going to strengthen our economy and risk more extended periods of higher prices and higher interest rates. That’s why we have opposed over $100 billion of Labor spending, but we will not cut essential services because they’re the things that Australians rely on. I should say on that particular one, we’ve seen a collapse in bulk billing in this country since Labor has been in power and that has become a cost of living…

SALLY SARA:

It has; to be fair, it has come back since the pandemic. On a separate issue, Angus Taylor, the Financial Review is reporting that the Opposition is weighing up lifting defence spending to at least 2.5% of GDP as early as 2029. Is this a serious consideration at the moment?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we’ve already said that we’d commit in government to a fourth F-35 Squadron. This is needed at this time and it’s not something that Labor’s committed to. But can I step back on defence and say the key being able to spend what is necessary on defence is to have a strong economy. We learnt that during the Cold War, that is an essential part of the way the United States beat the Soviet Union. A strong economy is essential to having strong defence.

SALLY SARA:

You’ve previously said that you want a cap on the level of government spending as a proportion to GDP so if you’re going to spend more money on defence, how does that add up? What’s going to be cut?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I’ve already said to you on multiple occasions in this interview that we’ve opposed over $100 billion of Labor’s spending. Peter made the point yesterday, we’ll roll back the FMA legislation, which is a very significant commitment from Labor that we think is inappropriate at the time. I mean, the first project that they committed to under that programme was a quantum computing project based out of America. I mean, this is not where we should be spending our money right now and we should be spending it…

SALLY SARA:

Angus Taylor, on insurance divestiture, the Coalition has flirted with this. Are you really comfortable with these ideas?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, I implemented divestiture in the energy sector when I was Energy Minister when we were in government. I have personally drafted divestiture legislation for the supermarket and hardware sector with the right safeguards carefully put together to make sure that our businesses in Australia, where there has in the past been evidence of abuse of market power or anti-competitive behaviour to make sure that they are focused on their customers, that Australians are served well by the businesses, that most of the time, let’s be clear, do the right thing and we’ve been prepared to do it in the past. We’ll be prepared to do it in the future. Right now, our focus is on supermarkets and hardware, but this is not something we’re frightened to do if it’s the right thing for Australians in a cost of living crisis like we’re facing right now.

SALLY SARA:

Angus Taylor, thank you for your time.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Glad to be with you Sally.

 

ENDS.