E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Topics: MYEFO; Government spending; Peter Dutton’s cuts to pensions; Election timing; Shorts in the office.
DAN ANSTEY, HOST: Welcome back. Thanks for your company this morning. Federal Government departments are under pressure this morning to defer spending as the Treasurer prepares to reveal Australia is back in a deficit. The budget blowout reigniting claims we will be heading to an early election. Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth and Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie. I've seen this segment unfold many times before. Ladies, please take it easy on me, I am but a mere weekend weatherman. I'm like a lamb to the slaughter here. Amanda, let's start with you. How did it get this bad? Two surpluses and now a deficit?
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Firstly I'd say that we've been taking an incredibly responsible approach to budgets. We've banked $92 billion in Budget savings over [our] budgets. But MYEFO will highlight that there is some unavoidable spending. Things like Veterans’ payments, things like an increase in the usage of childcare subsidies, things like indexation to pensions and family payments. These are really important cost of living support and other important measures that help everyday Australians and so they will be reflected in the MYEFO. But quite frankly, it is irresponsible to hear the opposition say they would cut this type of spending because this is cost of living support people rely on like the indexation of the pension. So, I know I'm going to hear a lot of rhetoric from Bridget but her challenge will be what would she cut? Which of the indexation of the pension would it be? Support for childcare? Would it be Medicare? Which of these things would the coalition cut. So, that's the situation we're in. Obviously it's difficult, difficult global times. But we've taken a responsible approach to budget management and we'll keep doing that.
DAN ANSTEY: Alright, Amanda. Come on, Bridget. Look, we can't really blame the Government, can we? A lot of these additional costs have been linked to cost of living relief. How would you have handled things differently? Would you like to respond?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE, NATIONALS SENATOR: Yeah, Dan, I think Australians have a right to be incredibly angry at the Labor Government right now. They've acted as if they've been passengers on the train wreck that they're actually driving. Economists, the RBA, the International Monetary Fund has been warning this Government for months and months and months to rein in their spending. Instead, they've refused to do it and now we're seeing a train wreck of figures before us this week. Australians right now are struggling to get their own household budgets under control as they face Christmas. They're having to make very tough decisions. And what we're seeing from the Labor Government that Amanda has so valiantly attempted to cover for is that they've failed to make the tough decisions every single budget opportunity they've had. And now we're seeing Australians hurting. So, inflation is long higher than longer than it needs because…
AMANDA RISHWORTH: What are you going to cut Bridget? What are you going to cut?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: Jim Chalmers hasn’t made the tough decisions, Amanda. Governing is tough. You do have to prioritise. So, right now, the reason the childcare receipts are up is because people are having to work harder to keep their mortgages, to actually pay essential bills. They're prioritising what they're going to spend on Christmas, they're prioritising their mortgage over going out to dinner on the weekend. They are the tough decisions Australians are making right now. And they have a right to be angry at a Treasurer who can't make the tough decisions on his own budget. And that's the case.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well of course we haven't really heard Bridget say what she is going to cut.
DAN ANSTEY: Allow me to interject here. This worked in America recently. The question are you better off than you were three or four years ago? Amanda, is it making you nervous? Are we going to the polls early?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, of course there will be an election in the first half of next year. But I am not going to accept Bridget with a whole lot of rhetoric and not saying whether she will cut indexation to the pension, whether she will cut childcare subsidies. Of course we know that they voted again and again to stop more housing being built, to stop cost of living relief, which is actually helping people. Of course we know that people are doing it tough and that is why we prioritise cost of living. That is why we're prioritising helping people with cheaper medicines, for example. These are all the things that Bridget is effectively criticising and saying that they will cut if they come to government. We'll keep working for the Australian people and there'll be an election sometime in the first half of next year. It's above my pay grade, so we'll see when the Prime Minister calls it. There's no double dissolution. There's no double dissolution, so the Prime Minister will call it when he's ready.
DAN ANSTEY: Now, finally this morning, temperatures soaring across the country. It seems an increasing number of Aussie. Aussie blokes in particular are doing away with suit pants. They're opting to wear shorts to work. Bridget, yes or no to shorts in the office?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: I'm a fan of a tailored short in the office. Just don't bring back those really long socks. With the safari suits. It sort of kind of missed the point of cooling off.
DAN ANSTEY: I think I may have made an enormous error this morning. Bridget, I'm not sure if you can see this, Amanda. That may be for better or for worse. I do have these socks pulled up full bus driver style. Toot toot, all aboard. Amanda, can I get a review? They are tailored.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I don't mind a neat tailored short in the office. I can't see the long socks.
DAN ANSTEY: That's good for you.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: I think I'm with Bridget on this. A unity ticket. A nice tailored short, but no long socks.
DAN ANSTEY: Oh, look at that. We finally came around full circle. And we're agreeing. How wonderful to wrap it up. Thank you, ladies. Appreciate your time. Talk to you soon.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: Merry Christmas.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Thank you.