KIERAN GILBERT:
Welcome back to AM Agenda, this morning with me I have the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury and Liberal frontbencher Bruce Billson. Gentlemen good morning to you both. I want to go to Bruce first if I can and get your thoughts on what the Government's doing in response in support of Australians caught up in the Japan disaster. You in a former role in the Howard Government had a fair bit to do with the Government response to natural disasters. Is this Government doing enough, do you think?
BRUCE BILLSON:
I think the Government is doing all that could be expected of it, the Opposition supports the effort of the Government. Not only in this important recovery and rescue phase after a natural disaster but the work that is still ahead, Kieran. What you're seeing is DFAT, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as the Ambassador mentioned, augmented with very committed people on the ground in the disaster zone, working closely with foreign affairs officials in Australia to collate whatever information is available to do all that can be done in this extraordinary circumstance to try and assist Australians in need. Something that is probably not easily appreciated is how little normal is going on in these disaster areas, communications aren't available, normal authorities that you might contact aren't in their normal posture, transport is incredibly difficult, normal points of contact such as where people might be staying in accommodation and the like, all those normal processes aren't available and therefore the incredibly selfless and resourceful Consular staff and Embassy officials are moving within the local areas and gaining all the information they can to give comfort to Australians back home and hopefully we're getting any information families and loved ones and work colleagues may have about those that aren't accounted for and ensuring that that's being fed in through the Consular centre in Canberra.
GILBERT:
David Bradbury, we've seen some frustrations expressed The Daily Telegraph as such is reporting. You can understand why there would be frustrations if people are caught up and not getting through due to those communication breakdowns that Bruce was referring to.
DAVID BRADBURY:
Yeah, absolutely. I think we can all understand if you're in that situation and you are trying to either make contact with loved ones that were in Japan at the moment or to seek advice about their whereabouts or even in fact be seeking assistance to try and have them flown out of Japan and have them returned home safely. Obviously people would be very concerned and I can appreciate that concern. I think the point that Bruce made, we certainly welcome the Opposition's bipartisanship in this effort to do what I think all Australian Governments would do in this circumstance and that is to do all that is within our power and that is to ensure the safety of Australian citizens. Bruce made the very good point that when it comes to infrastructure, transport and communication links, many of these vital elements of infrastructure are down. So, that presents challenges. Not just for the Australian Government trying to assist our nationals in Japan, but of course all of the Japanese people and indeed all of the countries around the world that have nationals that are in Japan at the moment. So, we're doing everything that we can but obviously you've had some words from the Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister and I think they've spoken in great detail about what the Government is doing.
GILBERT:
We'll move onto some domestic politics if we could just briefly, the Prime Minister gave a speech last night in Adelaide and I want to play a bit of it to you and get your response.
*Audio* JULIA GILLARD: The Coalition has surrendered itself to fear mongering and denying the power of markets. The Greens are not a party of Government and have no tradition of striking the balance required to deliver major reform. Like the economic transformation of the 1980s, this is a reform that can only be handled in the progressive Labor tradition.
GILBERT:
David Bradbury, that's about the Prime Minister trying to distance herself from The Greens isn't it?
BRADBURY:
I think it's about recognising the reality of this debate. It's a reality that I certainly believed in for some time and that is that if we are to make the transformational changes that are required to try and ensure that our economy gets on a pathway towards a lower carbon future, that we are going to have to take the Australian people with us. Ultimately, the best way to implement real and long term economic reform in this country is to articulate and advocate your case in the public domain and we're doing that very aggressively and will continue to do that…
GILBERT:
You know that the Prime Minister has been accused of being dictated to by The Greens and there she says that they've never been up to Government, so really trying to put a bit of room between herself and her Government and Bob Brown.
BRADBURY:
Well clearly we are committed, in a minority Government, to work with all the parties and representatives that are within the Parliament and in fact we extended the offer to Bruce and his colleagues to join us in the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee to try and work through the impasse that had developed in Australian politics and try to do what all sides in recent times, back in the 2007 election agreed was necessary in the nation's interest and that was to put a price on carbon. We will work with all interests within the Government but just because it is a minority Government doesn't mean that we will have a situation where the tail is wagging the dog. The Prime Minister I believe has been showing considerable leadership in this debate and that is what the debate requires. We are needing to set the agenda and bring the Australian people with us and I think the debate we have embarked upon is one that is needed in the national interest.
GILBERT:
Alright, Bruce Billson does Tony Abbott risk being portrayed as being at one end of the extremes as Julia Gillard is obviously trying to do there?
BILLSON:
Well it's an interesting line that the Prime Minister is running, Kieran. I think she's hoping that everyone has no memory. I mean, it was just on Monday that the Prime Minister was running around saying yes I've broken explicit promises and commitments to the Australian public but saying that The Greens made me do it. So, these extremists that the Prime Minister characterised last night were setting the agenda for the Government. Now, either it's an extreme Government or a Government controlled by extremists. It's an incredible change of rhetoric where the Prime Minister's trying to explain some completely unacceptable behaviour and is trying to find some line of argument that might actually sit comfortably with the Australian public that knows they've been stooged by the Prime Minister. Now, either The Greens made her do it on Monday or there's this new story that The Greens are extremists and the Government's more sensible than that. Yet, we know that it just reinforces the point that Labor might be in office but The Greens are in power. We've been saying this point over and over again and it's not about, as David would say, the tail wagging the dog, Labor doesn't know if it's allowed to be a dog and it doesn't know if it's a dog that sits on the porch or a dog that chases the ball because they've got to wait and see what their instructions are from The Greens. It's a really unedifying moment where a Prime Minister, not certain about what she believed in with climate change, telling Rudd to dump the very policy instrument she's now out to there, putting her hand on her heart saying she's always believed in and having to go back and check her lines off with Bob Brown it's a very ugly moment.
BRADBURY:
I just want to make the point that the Prime Minister did not say that The Greens made her do anything and the reality is is that this Parliament not only requires the support of The Greens to get it through the Parliament but also the support of the Independents.
GILBERT:
Gents, I've got to wrap it up we will chat again in a week, thank you for your time this morning. Have a good day, that's all we've got time for on AM Agenda.