SUBJECTS: Budget, Senate, petrol, opinion polls, Department of Foreign Affairs
The Federal Government can expect a rough time as it tries to get its Budget bills through the Senate over the next fortnight – the last few weeks when the Coalition will have the numbers in the Upper House. The Opposition is promising to use those numbers to establish committees to give maximum exposure to government tax hikes, including the increase in the luxury vehicle tax and the government's much criticised Fuelwatch legislation can also look forward to some lengthy scrutiny. For a government view of the slow road ahead for its first budget Marius Benson is speaking to the Assistant Treasurer Chris Bowen.
MARIUS BENSON:
Chris Bowen, good morning. It must be irritating for an impatient government to see these delays to its first budget. Is it anything more than an irritation?
CHRIS BOWEN:
Well the important point Marius is, we are more than happy to have our plans examined in any forum obviously; but if the Opposition wants to be taken seriously as the alternative economic managers of this nation for any cut they oppose they need to produce alternatives. I mean they have indicated they will oppose, at some point or another, $22 billion worth of our savings or tax measures over the forward estimates.
Now we've seen this morning reports that every Finance Minister and Treasurer around the world is concerned about inflation yet the Opposition is playing politics with our contractionary and responsible budget, so they need to produce their alternatives. If they want to oppose our plans that's their right but they need to produce their alternatives as to where they would raise the money, where they would make the cuts to keep our budget surplus very healthy.
MARIUS BENSON:
And will you be listening to what the Opposition and the smaller parties say; or are your savings and tax plans non-negotiable?
CHRIS BOWEN:
Well, we have a budget and it's a good budget and we'll stand by that Budget. Of course there are always discussions with the minor parties in the Senate but these are good sensible measures which stand up to scrutiny and we'd be very happy to argue for them.
MARIUS BENSON:
The luxury car tax is one that is apparently going to come under particular scrutiny; is there any prospect of the government amending that?
CHRIS BOWEN:
We knew that some of these measures would be controversial when we considered them in the Expenditure Review Committee process; but government is about making tough decisions and not every decision you can make can always be popular. You need to make those decisions and follow them through and that is what we're doing.
MARIUS BENSON:
Looking at a Nielson poll in the Fairfax papers this morning, one decision that would be popular from the Government would be if it can do something about petrol prices 78% of people polled said they would like to see the government intervene to reduce petrol prices.
CHRIS BOWEN:
That is particularly unsurprising – that matches the response we get around the community that people are concerned about cost of living pressures and petrol, in particular. We made that a particular focus since the election with the appointment of the Petrol Commissioner, the increased powers of the ACCC and the moves to introduce Fuelwatch and also the family tax package, which comes into force on 1 July, which does provide some relief to families, particular at the lower and middle income of the income spectrum. Of course government's are always expected by the people to do more and that's as it should be and that's what we're focused on doing.
MARIUS BENSON:
You will be doing more?
CHRIS BOWEN:
We're always interested in doing more and always examining anything which might be able to produce more relief for people who are doing it tough in the community that's our job.
MARIUS BENSON:
Are you examining anything at the moment, beyond what you've just outlined, that might bring some relief to petrol prices?
CHRIS BOWEN:
As I say we've announced the Petrol Commissioner, we've appointed a Commissioner; we've announced Fuelwatch; and Fuelwatch needs to get through the Senate and that will provide some assistance to people; and it's 86% of people in Western Australia where it has been operating have said it's helped them to save money on fuel. These are the measures that we're committed to implementing and would be very helpful for the Australian people if the Opposition would get behind Fuelwatch, and get it up and running before Christmas when so many people are travelling.
MARIUS BENSON:
That poll also looked at the standings of the parties and the leaders and it looks like the Opposition is making a bit of ground on you?
CHRIS BOWEN:
Look polls go up and down, we've just got to be focused on the job that's what people expect us to do. They'll be days when we're down a bit and days when we're up a bit but we've been elected for 3 years to do a job and that's what we're committed to doing.
MARIUS BENSON:
Do you think you might have permanently farewelled the stratospheric levels of support that Kevin Rudd particularly, and the government more generally, enjoyed after the election?
CHRIS BOWEN:
Look you always see a honeymoon and I think we are regarded as a serious government getting on with the job. That means that people will sometimes give us a tick, sometimes give us a cross; and as I say not every decision we make can always be popular. We knew that in the budgetary context, we know that going forward and that means occasionally you will go up and down but Australian people don't want us to be focused on the polls, they want us to be focused on the job at hand and that's what we're doing.
MARIUS BENSON:
Can I get you to respond to a story in the Australian this morning which has Richard Woolcott, the diplomat chosen by Kevin Rudd for his Asian Pacific initiative, saying that foreign affairs is dangerously under funded. Is that the effect of your budget?
CHRIS BOWEN:
I think that Mr Woolcott was at pains to point out that these changes have been made over a period of years, and that since he left the Secretaryship of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the staff has reduced substantially and that was in 1992 I think. Look every department has had to make its contribution to our budgetary savings, in the form of the 2 percent efficiency dividend. There a lots of departments who are driving the dollar further and DFAT is no different. There's no doubt that DFAT is doing a good job with limited resources but so are many other government departments; and if there is a case for more resources going in the future, in future budgets, of course we'd examine that against the claims of every other government department and agency that also puts those claims to us.
MARIUS BENSON:
I'll leave it there. Chris Bowen, thank you very much.