The Hon. Joe Hockey :: Shadow Treasurer

Transcripts

3AW 693 MELBOURNE INTERVIEW WITH NEIL MITCHELL

13th May 2009

E&OE …………………………………………………………..

NEIL MITCHELL:

Joe Hockey Good Morning

JOE HOCKEY:

Well thanks, Neil, Malcolm’s working on his speech for tomorrow night and we’re still working our way through the budget.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Are you going to pass at all? I asked the PM if it was all or nothing today, and he indicated it had to all go through. Are you going to block any of it??

JOE HOCKEY:

We’re going to be very reasonable about it. I’m simply stunned at the size of the debt and the deficit, I really am. It is the biggest debt in Australian history, the biggest deficit in modern Australian history, $9,000 for every man, every woman and every child, and this time last year we were in surplus.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Well how much would you have gone into debt, you agree it’s right to go into debt you have to go into debt.

JOE HOCKEY:

Well, I think what you saw was a lot of the government revenue have been wiped out, which wiped out all the surpluses. But of the $188 billion of net debt that this budget reveals, nearly two thirds of it is new expenditure by the Rudd Government over the last 18 months.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Well you wouldn’t have had the stimulus package, you’ve said that, but what else would you have not spent?

JOE HOCKEY:

Well, I think that’s important because a lot of that stimulus package still hasn’t been spent yet. A lot of the, they’re still rolling out $3 billion of pink bats, the cheques, I understand, are still going out for $900, how ironic it is that they’re trying to talk about it being a tough budget and at the same time they are paying out checks for $900.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Is it possible this is an election budget and they want you to try and block it and we’ll end up with an election before the end of the year?

JOE HOCKEY:

I think everything you look at with the Rudd government has to be framed with that. I think they are trying to avoid the hard newss and the hard decisions.

NEIL MITCHELL:

What would you do, I mean access economics tell me we need to cut $25 billion a year out of spending. How would you do it?

JOE HOCKEY:

Well I think that’s a great challenge, we’ve shown in the past we are prepared to make the hard decisions. The focus has to be on, the money that you spend, needs to be about growing the pie. This is a big issue. This recovery will be generated out of small business, in my view. Small business is the engine room of the Australian economic recovery, nearly 2.5 million small businesses out there. If each of them, or fewer, take 1 in 5 - if 1 in 5 small business say they’re going to take on a new employee or employees, that is our recovery. And what you have to do is make it cheaper, and as Malcolm Turnbull said we’ll reduce the

superannuation guarantee levy for small business, so that they actually have better cash flows, we’ll give them the chance to claim today’s losses against yesterday’s profits, so that they can improve their cash flow. We will focus on growing the pie.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Ok let’s talk about some specifics, so you’re happy with the superannuation changes?

JOE HOCKEY:

I think we need to look at the modelling behind it to see what they impact is on the flows into superannuation, I think that’s very important.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Are you happy with pensioner couples only getting $10 dollars?

JOE HOCKEY:

Well, we have to live with that. And I can understand that lady that spoke to you a little bit earlier, but the government’s running out of money. And you know, that’s the sad thing, the truth is all these pension increases are being paid with borrowed money.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Are you happy with the PM adding 65 staff to his office?

JOE HOCKEY:

Is that right?

NEIL MITCHELL:

Well the department – hang on I’ve got the figures here: Budget Paper No.1, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet add an increase of $13mn to their budget and 65 extra staff from 530-595. Are you happy with that?

JOE HOCKEY:

Well it says everything doesn’t it.

NEIL M ITCHELL:

Well what does it say?

JOE HOCKEY:

Well it actually says that the Prime Minister is about spending. You know he’s the biggest spending Prime Minister in modern history.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Yeah but these are unprecedented times.

JOE HOCKEY:

You know the interesting thing is Neil, everyone says that, but last Friday the Reserve Bank said this recession would not be as bad for Australia as the 1990 recession. There are a lot of people out there that saying “I remember 1990 and gee this doesn’t feel like 1990”. If you believe all this rhetoric from the government, all this spin, where they say “it’s a global crisis, it’s the worst ever”, you’d think “gee whiz it’s going to be horrendous”. But, in fact, what they’re banking on in this budget is that there its a moderate downturn, moderate economic growth, and they’re going to have a surge on an almost unprecedented scale over the next 6 years.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Is it reasonable that promises have been broken, I mean the Prime Minister talks about policies changing but it’s broken promises - but specifically on the superannuation tax laws and the private health rebate?

JOE HOCKEY:

No I’ll tell you why, because, unlike us – I know you’re going to get to this, core and noncore promises – unlike us when we went to that point, we had no money in the can. There was nothing that’s why we had to choose which promises we could keep because there was no money. This time Kevin Rudd inherited bucket loads of money, he never promised at the next election to give out cash splashes or $3 billion on pink batts or $14 billion on school halls, what he’s done is he’s dumped his election promises and he’s made bad decisions on the way.

NEIL MITCHELL:

You know these superannuation changes, and I happen think they’re going to catch more people than they say, and I take your point that you have to look at the more carefully, but politician’s super won’t change.

JOE HOCKEY:

Politician super is affected, I imagine.

NEIL MITCHELL:

No it’s not, it hasn’t been affected.

JOE HOCKEY:

Well politicians I think, are now on the same superannuation scheme as everyone else.

NEIL MITCHELL:

A few are not most are.

JOE HOCKEY:

All new members of parliament are. Can I tell you Neil, I never look at my super. I’m a bit superstitious about these things, I don’t want to tempt fate. From my perspective, I’m in itand I hope most politicians are, I think most politicians are - Liberal and Labor - are in it to make it a better world.

NEIL MITCHELL:

Worried about super? You own half of North Queensland don’t you? I read about you having a farm in Northern Queensland?

JOE HOCKEY:

You’ve got to be kidding!

NEIL MITCHELL:

How big is it?

JOE HOCKEY:

Not that big

NEIL MITCHELL:

How big?

JOE HOCKEY:

Farmers never like to talk about how big their properties are, but it’s not as big as you might imagine Neil

NEIL MITCHELL:

Not all of Northern Queensland then. Ok thank you for talking to us, bottom line is you may want things but you don’t know yet.

JOE HOCKEY:

We’re going to be very reasonable, we’re shocked at the size of the deficit and we will be very ,very reasonable about the initiatives, which I must say they weren’t when we were in government, they opposed privatisation and tax reform and all those hard decision we had to make. We will be far more reasonable than they were.

[ends]

Updates

Transcripts

3AW 693 MELBOURNE INTERVIEW WITH NEIL MITCHELL

13th May 2009