DAVID LIPSON:
Welcome back, joining me now the Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury and the Shadow Small Business Minister Bruce Billson. Thanks very much for your time. Firstly to pokies, David Bradbury what's your response to Nick Xenophon's claims that the reforms that will go into the Parliament today are piss weak.
DAVID BRADBURY:
I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that Nick Xenophon has some pretty strong views on these matters but what I think he should acknowledge and what Andrew Wilkie certainly has acknowledged, is what we're bringing before the Parliament is the most significant package of reforms at a national level to tackle problem gambling. This is something that has not been a problem that has manifested itself within the last few weeks or months or years; this has been a growing challenge right across the country and we are taking leadership to tackle the scourge of problem gambling and the reality of what is occurring and what exists in communities right around this country, is something often brought home to us in very real terms as local members and frankly I think governments have failed to take action for too long.
LIPSON:
Bruce Billson the Coalition was pushing for voluntary pre-commitment technology for some time so I take it you'll support this through the Parliament?
BRUCE BILLSON:
Well we believe in voluntary pre-commitment and you see the industry acting responsibly in that way right across the country. But what's interesting here is that this legislation is described as being very mild in terms of Nick Xenophon's assessment, David's describing it as land breaking, the Greens are saying we've got some coin out of it but gee we've got this mandatory pre-commitment undertaking embedded in it. This will be a measure where there will be different messages going to different constituencies...
LIPSON:
Will you support it though?
BILLSON:
Well that's why we need to see the legislation because you've got the book ends of analysis that have arisen out of the government slipping into the ‘slippersphere' for its existence, turning its back on its commitment to Wilkie, now we've got this shandy where we're not quite sure what it is and those talking about it either say it's incredibly weak or incredibly powerful. So you can see why we're careful about that. We're clear, we support voluntary pre-commitment, we believe you need to focus on the individual having the problem with gambling, and not just on one technology. Let's not ignore what's happening in the interactive gambling space, you can't avoid it, it's exploding, you can lose your shirt without putting one on, we need to focus on that as well if we're serious about it.
LIPSON:
Another issue going through the Parliament is the deregulation of the wheat market, this is something that has caused some division in the Coalition. We saw two MPs abstain yesterday, Tony Crook crossed the floor, is that a problem of discipline within the Coalition at all?
BILLSON:
No, no unlike the Labor Party, we're not handcuffed to whatever the executive decides. In our party, you're entitled to put different views forward and the views that were within our team, under the umbrella of all of us believing in deregulation, was the need to look at how we implemented that policy commitment. In Western Australia where the growers own the infrastructure and have all the marketing information and claim they can tackle one of their own who might be shipping off wheat that's not to the quality that they say it is, *inaudible* pretty happy with leaving it to them. But in other states, multinationals own the infrastructure, there's a concern about where the market intelligence is and there's concern about how do you maintain quality if someone is shipping off premium wheat to key markets and it's found not to be that, the whole Australian wheat brand is damaged and that's where the differences are. So we thought there were important steps to make sure this deregulation process was done thoughtfully. Some of our friends in the west thought they were good to go, that's okay it's a national Parliament, we need to look at national responses to these measures.
LIPSON:
What about some of those concerns raised by the opposition, what guarantees does the government have in this legislation?
BRADBURY:
I think the point that needs to be made and there are a range of protections that are put in place in this legislation and they were definitely sufficient to persuade Dennis Jensen and Mal Washer that this was something worth going through and I make the point that Bruce says that we don't handcuff our people, I'd like to know what was going on out in the vestibule area when the vote took place when neither Dennis Jensen or Mal Washer got into the Parliament to vote according to their publicly stated position. I think what this does show though, is that the cracks are really starting to emerge in Tony Abbott's leadership. We've not just got divisions on wheat, we've got divisions on water, we've got divisions on asylum seekers and you've got to ask yourself why is it that these divisions are starting to be exposed? I think what we've seen over the last couple of years has been the strength of the vicious negativity of the scare campaign on carbon has papered over some of these divisions. But as the puff is starting to come out of that campaign, we're seeing these divisions exposed and the reason why these divisions exist is because people are beginning to realise Tony Abbott doesn't reflect the views of many within the Liberal Party when it comes to market principles.
LIPSON:
But are they divisions or are they democracy in action?
BRADBURY:
Well let's have a look at some of the market based principles that most people within the Liberal Party join the party to implement; let's have a look at a couple of measures where they've walked away from them. Wheat deregulation; we've seen them walk away from a market-based mechanism on tackling climate change; and significantly we've seen support to pay for social expenditure programs, support for a $12 billion, monster parental leave tax that will jack up the price of the cost of living for Australians, because it will hit them at the super market, it will hit them at the petrol station...
LIPSON:
Okay, okay just a quick response.
BILLSON:
I'm celiac, I can't eat wheat, but David can't talk about wheat policy because it was never about wheat policy it was all about politics and that's the way the government operates, it's why they're untrustworthy, it's why they don't pursue the national interest. On this fiction about this monster tax they call, they're getting that one wrong as well. The issue was about company tax reductions and those able to contribute to a fair dinkum paid parental leave scheme...
LIPSON:
I want to ask you about Craig Thomson. He has labelled those in the Labor Party as hypocrites and accused them of pandering to the redneck vote for the decision to excise the mainland for asylum seekers. What's your response to that attack from someone who was within your party, is still a member of the Labor Party.
BRADBURY:
I totally reject that, I think what needs to be understood in the context of the decision that the government has taken here is that this was one of the recommendations of the Houston Panel and collectively as a party, we took the judgement that recommendations made by the Houston Panel should be adopted. You can't start cherry picking and pulling out recommendations and saying this is the particular one we have a problem with. What you need to consider is that this was part of a package. Yes it did involve embracing offshore processing, it did involve increasing our humanitarian intake to 20,000 people. If we were trying to appeal to the redneck vote as some are suggesting, why would we be increasing our humanitarian intake? Which I might note, is a commitment that we've made that Bruce and his colleagues are refusing to accept and endorse.
LIPSON:
Bruce Billson I'll give you a chance to respond to that.
BILLSON:
What it tells you is you only really know what the Labor Party and Parliamentarians think when they leave the place, I mean some of our leading front benchers, Chris Bowen a stain on our national character, Tony Burke undermines our sovereignty, Simon Crean shameful xenophobic, I mean the only thing collective going on is the collective amnesia that you need to have to take these guys at their word. You only find out what they really believe after they leave the place, or leave the Labor party, ask Maxine McKew, ask Lindsay Tanner, ask Craig Thomson and then you get a true take on what's going on. So, an enormous about face, what's really needed is to implement the Howard Government package of measures. Offshore processing, turning around the boats where it is safe to do so, and temporary protection visas. We've had the highest number of boat arrivals this month ever, ever.
LIPSON:
Okay, one minute to go I just want to ask about the surplus. Andrew Wilkie the latest independent to say he's not inclined to support superannuation saving, that's worth $760 million, can you give a hell or high water guarantee as Wayne Swan did in 2010, that you'll get a surplus this financial year?
BRADBURY:
We are doing everything we can to achieve that. Can I address the point that Andrew Wilkie made because I think that there was a suggestion somehow that this is some kind of budget fiddle. Do not be misled into believing that. This is a genuine reform that will make sure that people's lost superannuation, superannuation that's not being applied for their retirement purposes will be...
LIPSON:
No hell or high water guarantee from you?
BRADBURY :
I'm not going to get into the forms of words you're trying to put into my mouth, but we are doing everything we can. We have handed down not only a budget, but a midyear economic statement, that charts a path to return to surplus and we'll do everything we can to do that.
LIPSON:
Bruce Billson, 20 seconds left.
BILLSON:
Surplus gone, surplus gone. The Labor Party has promised over and over again a surplus and they'll never deliver one. Even if they did deliver a surplus, to get back the $147 billion of record deficits, they'd need a century of these wafer thin fudged and fiction surpluses. It'll never happen, they'll just let the spending spree begin.
LIPSON :
Bruce Billson, David Bradbury thanks so much for your time this morning.