Australian jobs, carbon tax, private health insurance rebate, banking, Cabinet, mining tax, Fair Work Australia, ABCC: Tony Abbott Doorstop

10/02/12

TRANSCRIPT OF THE HON. TONY ABBOTT MHR

DOORSTOP INTERVIEW,

CHIRNSIDE PARK, VICTORIA

Subjects: Australian jobs, carbon tax, private health insurance rebate, banking, Cabinet, mining tax, Fair Work Australia, ABCC.

EO&E..............................................................................................................................................................

TONY ABBOTT:

Look, this is a difficult day for the workers of Victoria. Six hundred jobs are at risk at Alcoa’s Point Henry smelter. It’s a difficult day for the workers of Australia. Five hundred jobs are at risk at Kell & Rigby in Sydney on top of the 1,800 job losses that have already been announced since the start of the year. Unfortunately, we have a divided and directionless and dysfunctional Government. My message to the workers of Australia is; the Prime Minister is more interested in saving her job, than she is in saving your job.

The problems of manufacturing, in particular, are somewhat to do with the high dollar. I accept that, but even there, the Government can help by getting its spending down, because if it gets its spending down, it gets its borrowing down, it takes the upward pressure off interest rates and that takes the upward pressure off the Australian Dollar. But when things are tough, what Government should do is avoid making a bad situation worse and that’s the problem with the carbon tax. This is the worst possible time to hit our economy with the world’s biggest carbon tax. The carbon tax will make the problems of every manufacturing sector worse. It will particularly exacerbate the problems in aluminium. With this carbon tax, what the Government is essentially saying is, aluminium has no future in this country. With the carbon tax, the aluminium industry is essentially dead in this country. So, the best thing the Government can do to help the workers of Point Henry and Portland and all the other aluminium facilities in this country is drop the carbon tax.

Finally on private health insurance, I should just say that the Government’s proposal is not just yet another flagrant broken promise, it is a direct hit on the cost of living of 2.5 million Australians. Two and half million Australians will face an increase in their annual budgets of $1,000 because of the means test on private health insurance. This is a hit on health, this is a hit on families, which is not only dishonest, but it’s very, very damaging to the forgotten families of Australia and I call on independent Members of Parliament – keep the Government honest, keep the Government honest. Both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd swore till they were black and blue that they supported the Private Health Insurance Rebate in its entirety. They swore until they were black and blue that there would be no means test on private health insurance. Now, there is a means test coming through and that will mean a hit on 2.5 million Australians of up to $1,000 a year.

QUESTION:

Would you reinstate it and if so, where would you find those $2.4 billion?

TONY ABBOTT:

We’re going to fight it. We’re going to fight it, that’s what we’re going to do and I say even now at the 11th hour, the independent Members of this Parliament should listen to their electorates and what their electorates will be saying is – don’t put up our health costs.

QUESTION:

Would you reinstate it?

TONY ABBOTT:

We’re going to fight it. We’re going to fight it. Ask me that question if we come to that situation. We are going to fight this. We are going to fight it every step of the way and I say to the independent Members of Parliament: keep this Government honest. What is the point of having independent Members of Parliament, if they connive at dishonesty from a dishonest Prime Minister?

QUESTION:

What’s your message to the banks who are considering lifting interest rates?

TONY ABBOTT:

Well, I think it’s not so much a message to the banks, but a message to the public. No bank takes Wayne Swan seriously. Wayne Swan is constantly jawboning the banks and they are constantly ignoring him and they will continue to ignore him until he demonstrates that he is a competent economic manager.

QUESTION:

The Prime Minister has reportedly moved where her Ministers sit. Do you think she’s being petty or genuinely concerned about Kevin Rudd?

TONY ABBOTT:

I think this is a Prime Minister who has lost control of her Cabinet. She has lost control of a divided and dysfunctional Government. Now, this is a Prime Minister who is more interested in where her Cabinet Ministers sit than she is in protecting the jobs of Australian workers.

QUESTION:

How secure is Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb in their jobs then?

TONY ABBOTT:

Look, I am very happy with the performance of all of my Shadow Cabinet. This has been a remarkably effective Opposition and that is a tribute and a credit to all the members of my Shadow Cabinet.

QUESTION:

Mr Abbott, [inaudible] mining tax numbers wrong [inaudible]

TONY ABBOTT:

The Government’s got the mining tax numbers wrong. I mean let’s get real. This is a Government which has got the mining tax numbers wrong, time and time and time again. I mean, don’t listen to the Labor spin, look at the facts. The facts are Treasury has made numerous revisions to the costings of its mining tax and still they won’t give us all of the figures on which their mining tax is based. The Senate has passed a resolution requiring the Treasurer to release all the modeling and the Treasurer is in defiance of the Senate.

QUESTION:

Mr Abbott, you were quite critical of Fair Work Australia in there and quite complimentary of the ABCC. Haven’t we seen a court case this week which has been embarrassing for the ABCC?

TONY ABBOTT:

Look, at least the ABCC brings its investigations to conclusions. Actions result from the ABCC’s work. I mean, no-one can take Fair Work Australia seriously when its investigation into one union – and what look like open and shut cases of misuse, flagrant, unconscionable misuse of union money – when its investigation is now into its fourth year. I mean, this does look like an institutional go-slow for the benefit of a Labor Government, and I say to the decent honest people – there must be decent honest people, there must be people of integrity in Fair Work Australia – fight for your good name, bring this investigation to a close and then prosecute the people who have done the wrong thing.