HOST:
First though, the Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury is here with me in the Canberra studio. Mr Bradbury, thanks for your time.
BRADBURY:
Good morning Kieran.
HOST:
An increase in the Newspoll; this must be a bit encouraging?
BRADBURY:
Look, I think what it does show is that there's been an hysterical response that we've seen from the media over the last couple of weeks, particularly around the Prime Minister's visit to Western Sydney. I think there is a danger here for many in the commentariat, that they're out there writing the script before things actually happen. I think what we saw was we saw the Prime Minister return to Western Sydney, a place she has visited on many occasions, but return talking about some of the issues that really do matter to people. And if you talk about infrastructure and the challenges of congestion on our roads, the Prime Minister set out a plan to invest more money in an infrastructure project with a difference. It's different to what Mr O'Farrell and Mr Abbott have signed up to because importantly this is one that will connect the M4 up to the city and connect the M5 up to the ports. On top of that it won't be a proposal that will put new tollways on existing roads. A lot of the commentary has talked about tollways; let's be clear about this, that WestConnex proposal would reintroduce a toll on the M4 at Parramatta and that toll would be up to about $7 per trip.
HOST:
Okay. You're talking obviously this infrastructure and the other things that the Prime Minister announced last week in Western Sydney. You obviously think that that is responsible for this boost?
BRADBURY:
I'm not going to analyse the polls but what I do know is that it's a very brave person that's already written the script for what's going to happen over the next few months. The Prime Minister, she has a steely determination about her. She was out there talking to people in Western Sydney, out there listening to many of the issues that representatives like myself and others have been bringing to her attention for a period of time, and making some announcements about plans that will improve the lives of people in our community. If you think about what it is that the next election will be fought on, it's going to be fought around the question of jobs. No one has a better record than us when it comes to job creation and job security.
HOST:
The Prime Minister, as you say, she's tough and determined but the primary vote is still only 34 per cent. This is something that has been described as a boost for Labor – 34 per cent primary – and the Caucus and those within the Labor Party would have expected by now, six months out from an election, surely that that primary vote would have been a bit better than that.
BRADBURY:
Well, it does matter where we are in September. The polls we can look at today tell a particular story but look at the policy. I believe we can win the election on policy. Why can we win the next election? Firstly it's about jobs. We've created jobs, we've helped make jobs more secure for people. Secondly, it's about providing support for families, pensions and households. We've done that. We priced carbon – difficult reform – we did it in a way to put more money in people's pockets. And thirdly, significantly, the next election is going to be about the future. It's not just going to be about whether or not people want to support someone who wants to go into the past, repeal, repeal, repeal, it's about who has a plan for the future.
HOST:
Why don't voters believe the Government? They clearly have a trust issue with the Prime Minister and the internal polling from within the Labor Party, the front page of the Financial Review today shows the level of anger towards the Prime Minister, saying that one in five undecided in Western Australia could have been shifted on the basis of the performance of the Gillard Government.
BRADBURY:
It's never been a popularity contest, but I'd make the point that Tony Abbott's not the most popular man in town either. The next election will be about policy. I made the point, it's about jobs, it's about support for families and importantly it's about the future. We have a plan for the future.
HOST:
But the bottom line is you won't be able to implement the plan given where these numbers are. It looks like a landslide and you put Rudd in and this comparison would see Labor's primary vote surge by 10 points.
BRADBURY:
Kieran, before you start killing the plan off, let me tell you what it is. It's a plan for the future that resonates with people when they get the opportunity to hear it. It's a plan about investing in skills and education, giving every Australian the opportunity to realise their potential. It's a plan that will roll out the National Broadband Network to give us the opportunities to create the jobs of the future. It is a plan that will help us use the Asian Century and the economic opportunities that come with that as a platform for the future. It's a plan for providing and putting in place a National Disabilities Insurance Scheme.
HOST:
Which is obviously this week, I want to ask you about that a bit later, the NDIS to go through the Parliament. I think it was Geoff Gallop who said on Sunday on Sky News that policy's great but you've got to enter through the first door of trust, believability, first, and if they don't believe you that it's just impossible to get people across the line. Now, you look at the Rudd component here it shows that, this Newspoll analysis suggests that the Labor primary vote would surge by more than 10 per cent. Why is there such a paradox between his popularity in the electorate and this quite intense hatred of him among some quarters of the Labor Caucus?
BRADBURY:
Well look, I'm not going to speculate on those issues but you could throw Mr Turnbull in the mix and you'd probably end up finding that he looked a whole lot more popular than Mr Abbott. Let's not deal with – this is kind of like the fantasy NRL – let's deal with the reality of what we've got. We have Mr Abbott who is out there with a plan, he says, to repeal the carbon price and let's not forget that means ripping money away from people. That means cutting family assistance we've given. It means cutting pensions! I've never heard of an Opposition Leader going to an election with a plan to cut pensions. That's what we have. In addition to that, he wants to unwind the tripling of the tax-free threshold.
HOST:
The scrutiny of Tony Abbott is obviously something which will intensify in the months leading up to the election but the point is at the moment the Labor infighting is taking all the attention off the Coalition. As I said, the front page of the Financial Review, 'Gillard lost votes in WA'. Internal polling, ALP polling, a couple of days later on the front of the Financial Review – what does that say about internal stability?
BRADBURY:
Clearly none of that is helpful but we all have an obligation to hold Tony Abbott to account. Over the last week or two, now it's all good and well to focus in on these questions that you point to Kieran; over the last week, Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey made numerous gaffes of policy significance and policy consequence, whether it be not knowing whether they are going to compensate the big polluters when they unwind the carbon price, not knowing whether or not they're going to rip away money from pensioners, from families, to jack up taxes in order to fund the repeal of the carbon price. All of these things occurred and frankly more of the media attention was on issues of much less consequence out in Rooty Hill and Western Sydney in the way in which that was covered and portrayed by the media that showed a complete lack of willingness to hold Mr Abbott to account. Of course, we need to make sure that we are a united Government that holds him to account, but it is important that all Australians get the opportunity, and the media has an important obligation and responsibility here to make sure that when it comes to key questions of policy, that some genuine accountability is put out in Mr Abbott's direction.
HOST:
Last thing on the politics of the Labor Party at the moment, the WA election. Stephen Smith says the Labor brand, Federal Labor, was a drag on the vote. Others are not so sure; Peter Garrett saying he's not convinced about the State-Federal cross over – what do you think?
BRADBURY:
I don't pretend to be an expert on West Australian politics and I'm not going to be offering commentary in that regard. But what I do know, I do profess to know something about politics in a place like Western Sydney, which has been much of the focus of the media's attention over the last week or so, I make the point that there are a lot of people whose votes are still up for grabs and the important thing for us is to make the contrast between us and our opponents as clear as possible.
HOST:
Finally, the disability insurance scheme. That is going to pass the Parliament this week. Some positive reform despite all the distraction.
BRADBURY:
Some positive reform to add to what we've done in rolling out the National Broadband Network; what we've done to price carbon, Governments before have tried and failed; what we've done to increase pensions; what we've done to deliver Paid Parental Leave; what we've done to build our way through the GFC and into the future by investing in infrastructure – road, rail, ports. These are the things we've done as a Government, it's a proud record. We stand by that record and that's not something you get with the Liberals, it's something you got under a Labor Government and we want to keep that into the future.
HOST:
David Bradbury appreciate your time, thanks.