SUBJECTS: Debt, United States, Barnaby Joyce, banks, competition policy, foreign investment.
TONY EASTLEY: As well as what he told AM, Senator Joyce has also said to newspapers that some Australian states, particularly Queensland, may not have the capacity to repay their debts.
The Financial Services Minister Chris Bowen says those sort of comments and Senator Joyce's other statements are grossly irresponsible.
Mr Bowen is speaking here with Sabra Lane.
CHRIS BOWEN:
Mr Joyce has shown no understanding of the debt levels in the Australian economy. Australia has been regarded as the nation with the lowest risk of sovereign debt meltdown in the world and the fact that Mr Joyce shows no understanding of Australian debt levels means that his comments on the United States also need to be taken with a grain of salt.
SABRA LANE:
Is he right; is there a risk that the United States will default on its debt?
BOWEN:
The United States has a very significant debt, but the vast majority of economic commentators think that with prudent economic management it's very manageable and that is by far the most likely outcome.
LANE:
He says it's only sensible to raise these issues, what's the problem in doing that?
BOWEN:
Mr Joyce is now the second most senior economic spokesperson for the Opposition, so when he goes around saying Australian states might not be able to repay their debt, people both in Australia and internationally take note of what he's saying. And he's engaged in a series of irresponsible thought bubbles and they are unbecoming for a senior economic spokesperson from either the Government or the Opposition.
LANE:
The Senator says your Government resorts to calling him an extremist as that's the only way the Labor Government knows how to respond to these kinds of policy discussions.
BOWEN:
Well if something talks like a duck and walks like duck it is a duck. Mr Joyce adopts pretty extreme positions, he is an extremist.
LANE:
The Senator says the Government isn't doing a good enough job with the banks, that you criticise them for being uncompetitive and do nothing else. And he says there's a need for stronger divestiture powers, is he right?
BOWEN:
Mr Joyce has long had an irresponsible and populist competition policy, he's long had the view that it's fine for Australian governments to go in and break up existing businesses. We have a different view, and the difference is again that he's now a senior economic spokesperson so he now determines economic policy for the Coalition.
We have the view, that competition policy needs to be strong and robust and we strengthen competition policy, something the previous government didn't do, but he has the view that governments should be able to just put on, as he would say, put on the table that we will force you to break up your business.
Now that is a highly irresponsible policy for Australian business. Mr Joyce seems to think its okay for the Government to reduce the certainty levels for Australian business but not okay for example for the Government to put a price on carbon, I mean he's erratic and irresponsible.
LANE:
He's also called for a ban on Chinese sovereign investment in Australia saying that there's, there's too much confusion, that you, Australia's really dealing with another government not a company or a business and he cites the detention of Stern Hu as a reason why Australia should be having this discussion.
BOWEN:
Well up until recently it's been a bipartisan policy in Australia of both the right and the left that foreign investment is a good thing, that foreign investment creates jobs, that foreign investment provides capital for Australian business in what is a country which has trouble attracting capital. Now the ascension of Mr Abbott and Senator Joyce means that that bipartisan policy is under threat as is underlined by the irresponsible comments that Mr Joyce has made.