HOST:
Good afternoon.
DAVID BRADBURY:
Good afternoon Ben.
HOST:
Thank you very much for your time. Let's go through a couple of things. I mean, lots to talk about, I know you've got limited time. Parents are being told to recycle cots and pram is they want to have more kids, this is after the baby bonus was cut from 5 grand to 3 grand for second and subsequent children. Desperate times desperate measures I suppose?
BRADBURY:
Look I think this firstly reflects the amount to paid to the subsequent children under this measure is very similar to what was the original amount that was being paid when the baby bonus was first announced. But I think it is a reasonable point. I know as a parent on my income I wouldn't be entitled to the baby bonus. But I know that the first couple of children – the first one in particular you get the pram the cot all of those of things.
HOST:
There would be plenty of people saying. Hey! Assistant Treasurer we do this already what do you think we are running out and buying new prams and new cots every time we have a child.
BRADBURY:
No, well that is right, the question is whether or not the full amount of a baby bonus is required for every child and we have taken the view that there are lots of other ways in which we provide support to families, particularly through family tax benefits both part A and part B. And you'd be aware that we have increased those as part of the carbon price arrangements but we have also announced a further increase in the Budget so there is additional support coming through to families. We've got Child Care Tax Rebate, there are a range of other ways that we are providing that assistance.
HOST:
OK, you have obviously got to save some money you've got the $1.1 billion increase spending in terms of immigration due to the blow out with boat people, company tax down $2.4 billion, $1.8 billion resource rent tax is down. You've got to make some money somewhere. In terms of large companies they seem to be hit quite heavily today the will be forced to company tax monthly rather than quarterly from 2014 and this will save, what, $8 billion to the bottom line over 3 years?
BRADBURY:
Across the Forward Estimates. But let's bear in mind none of that money starts to flow in the current year, so some of the suggestions that I have seen out there that this is surplus built upon that measure alone are just plainly wrong.
HOST:
OK, but in terms of large businesses how do explain that to them, the extra impulse on what they do every day?
BRADBURY:
Importantly they won't be paying any additional tax it is about the timing of when they pay their tax. At the moment they pay on a quarterly basis. To put that into some perspective – in the late 80's they used to actually pay on an annual basis after the year in which the tax was incurred – over time successive governments moved companies to a quarterly basis. What this proposal is about is starting with the largest companies, so about 350 companies will be effected but not for another 14 months and that will be about moving them on to a one month- monthly instalment basis.
HOST:
Ok, can we just go through private health insurance I know we are just touching on things here but a lot of the detail obviously only coming out in the last few hours or so. What are the changes to private health insurance rebates?
BRADBURY:
In terms of private health insurance rebates, the main change there is that the indexation arrangements that are in place, the increases that are available in terms of making sure the percentage flows on will be limited to the CPI or the increase in the premium cost, whichever of the two is the lower, whereas at the moment that is an unconstrained thing, so the more your private health insurance increases the more that the Government's contribution naturally rises with that. This is putting a bit of a restraint on the growth and amount that government has to contribute.
HOST:
People managing their own super how are they going to be worse off?
BRADBURY:
In terms of self-managed super funds, we are making various changes to the way in which the system will impact on them moving to towards a slightly different mechanism through which they have to pay those amounts. And there is also a slight increase in the fee that will be payable under that arrangement
HOST:
OK, let me give u the opposition's take on this today they say – ‘the changes announced today will mean Australians will pay more for private health insurance, pay more for having a baby, pay more for asylum seeker management and pay more for the management of self-managed superannuation funds'. You'd agree with all that?
BRADBURY:
Uh well no, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, but what I would also say to the Opposition is that if we want a budget that is operating in balance or is returned to surplus then we have to make decisions of this nature. [inaudible]
HOST:
Let's just go into one of those decisions just I mention on asylum seekers before. You were proudly standing alongside Julia Gillard as I remember it, shortly after she became Prime Minister, where she talked about the fact that she was going to fix up the borders and turn around some of those mistakes that Kevin Rudd had made. Many, many years on, what are we? Two or so years on, there is a $1.1 billion blow out on the cost of looking after asylum seekers, one of the measures you have introduced today is an increased cost for visas. So - what – so people coming here legally are going to pay more to clean up the mess of those who come here illegally?
BRADBURY:
Well, there's no direct connection between two, but obviously we have got some pressures in term of expenditure around asylum seekers – Blind Freddy can see that – we are trying to implement very effectively the Houston recommendations in full and we have given a commitment to do that and today's mid-year economic update provides the basis upon which we are going to fund the changes that that recommended. Now we have commenced offshore processing and we will continue to demonstrate all of the resolve that is necessary to send a very clear message that we will not be tolerating this mode of arrival. Now in terms of other increases, whether they be the visa charges or others, in a difficult economic environment we have to raise the funds. Now these are competing choices that we make and if people would rather see us increase other taxes or make other changes that impact on other families and other businesses. Then they are entitled to make those alternatives and surely we will see some of those alternatives from the Opposition. But we have taken some responsible decisions we they think they are responsible savings and we think that they are fair in terms of where the impact or where the burden falls.
HOST:
Ok, I know you have got to run David Bradbury – thanks for your time.
BRADBURY:
Good to talk to you