KIERAN GILBERT:
Good morning and welcome to the program. Today, some breaking news that Caltex is set to close its iconic Kurnell oil refinery. Some 800 jobs and contracted positions are at risk. I'm being told there will be 300 job losses but there are other contractor positions also at risk. Let's get some immediate reaction this morning, the Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury from Melbourne, David some bad news on the employment front.
DAVID BRADBURY:
Good morning Kieran. It certainly seems that way and obviously we're all waiting for some more details to come through in relation to Caltex, and an imminent announcement. But obviously from the Government's perspective, we never like to see anyone lose a job and clearly it appears as though there will be some people that will be in that position. This is something that we're obviously very much aware of the challenges right across the economy. There are some sectors that are doing it tougher than others and in those circumstances we are determined to try to make sure that we spread the wealth and spread the benefits of the resources boom that is benefitting so many parts of our economy, but in terms of the particular cases at hand, obviously the Government, our thoughts go out to those workers that may be affected by the announcements that it appears are going to be made.
GILBERT:
David it is an iconic refinery, this one, isn't it? It's been part of Sydney for so long, it reflects more than just a business decision doesn't it, as to the nature of that industry in this city and this country.
BRADBURY:
Well it certainly has been an iconic business within Sydney and Australia in the past. I think we do have to wait until we see further details of an announcement that is to be made, but obviously as I said earlier, we don't like to see any Australian losing their job. It appears there are Australians that will be losing their job as a result of this announcement and we want to make sure that the people involved know that our thoughts are with them.
GILBERT:
David let's move on now, the National Disability Insurance Scheme. David Bradbury, there will be a lot in the disability sector who are just outraged this morning that our leaders could not come to the table and secure a compromise when all the parties agree. It's ridiculous, over $110 million over three years. How can the Federal government allow that to happen?
BRADBURY:
I think most Australians suffering with a disability and their carers and those that know them would be devastated by the lack of agreement that has been reached. But let's just have a look at what has occurred here. We have a group of Liberal state Premiers out there, with all of the lip service in the world, mouthing the platitudes in support of the NDIS, but not prepared to shell up an additional dollar in order to make it happen. This is one of two things, it's either a case of those Liberal state Premiers putting politics ahead of people, the lives of those individuals across our country who, through no fault of their own, often it's the lottery of life, that has meant that they're living with disability. It is either a case of them putting politics ahead of those people, or this is something more simple than that. It's a case of if you vote for a Liberal government, you get a Liberal government and these are the sorts of heartless approaches that we see. People are prepared to mouth all of the platitudes in the world, Mr Newman, well his state has a disgraceful record when it comes to funding disability, and Mr O'Farrell frankly for all of the platitudes that he's been prepared to mouth, in the context of the NSW Budget the very small ask that has been requested of them...
GILBERT:
But if it is that small...
BRADBURY:
I think he should hang his head in shame.
GILBERT:
But if it is that small as the Prime Minister said yesterday and you've repeated that this morning, why doesn't the Commonwealth stump up the extra money? It's only $70 million across three years.
BRADBURY:
Well Kieran we're putting $1 billion on the table.
GILBERT:
But they've said no and if you want it to go ahead, it's not that much, you're putting pride ahead of a decision as well aren't you?
BRADBURY:
They either support it, or they don't. It's alright to have a big mouth in support, but you've got to put your money where your mouth is. Let's just examine the basis of what you've just said there. Are we suggesting, Mr Abbott is out there saying he supports the NDIS even though Mr Hockey has said it was a cruel hoax, let's just think about this for one moment, if you take the position that you've just put Kieran, then the only way an NDIS is going to happen is if the Commonwealth stumps up all of the cash. Is that what Mr Abbott is proposing? I don't think so.
GILBERT:
But that's what the Productivity Commission suggested isn't it? The Productivity Commission suggested that the Commonwealth fund the NDIS.
BRADBURY:
What is clear is that some states, even in terms of the baseline contributions that they are currently making, need to pull their socks up and Queensland is a perfect example of a state that has been underfunding disability for a long time. Now if Mr Newman says that he is not prepared to put his money where his mouth is and support the NDIS, and the default position is that the disabled people of Queensland continue to get the treatment and support they have been getting in the past, then the reality is they will be getting less support than the Productivity Commission had suggested.
GILBERT:
Yeah but the states say the Productivity Commission, they make a fair argument on that, that the Productivity Commission suggested that it is a Commonwealth initiative, should be Commonwealth funded.
BRADBURY:
Hang on one moment. We've got Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT, these are states and territories that have come along to the COAG meeting not just with lip service of support, but they've been prepared to make modest contributions, but in the context of their budgets, significant ones. Now, why is it that NSW and Victoria and Queensland, these larger states, they have the capacity to make a modest contribution, and they come along and say 'we want this; we just don't want to have to contribute anything'. If we want to deliver better services for people with disability, then there is going to have to be a contribution being made. If the point that you're making Kieran is that Coalition policy is you have an NDIS and the Commonwealth pays for it, well Mr Abbott should come out and explain exactly how he'd be prepared to fund all of that and Mr Hockey whose out there saying it's a cruel hoax, might have something else to say about it.
GILBERT:
David Bradbury the Prime Minister needs a win at this moment beyond the very important reform that all governments are supporting but they can't get a compromise on, she needed some good news, she didn't get it. When it comes to the leadership the Prime Minister was asked about it last night on the 7:30 report, let's play it for you.
*AUDIO PLAYS*
So much to do, but unable to achieve a compromise yesterday, follows some awful ongoing numbers in the opinion polls, 28% primary, how long can Prime Minister Gillard survive in the job?
BRADBURY:
Well if the test is whether or not the Prime Minister can reach support with the states and you've got Liberal state Premiers out there trying to do whatever they can to deny, as you say, the Prime Minister a win, well they weren't denying the Prime Minister a win what they were doing was denying people with a disability access to the funding and the support that they need. But on the question of leadership, the Prime Minister is right. These are difficult reforms we are in the business of implementing. We are doing it in difficult circumstances, we've got a minority government, yet we continue to get our program through. We've got a number of state Liberal governments out there putting politics ahead of the national interest and none of us should be surprised by that. These are difficult circumstances in which to mount a political case, but can I make this point, that notwithstanding all of that, the inflation figures yesterday continue to show that the Australian economy is a stand out performer among all of the advanced economies. The Prime Minister is delivering and leading our government...
GILBERT:
Yeah but its not translating is it? People aren't giving your government credit for it and certainly not the Prime Minister; there is this integrity issue that continues to dog people's perceptions of the government.
BRADBURY:
I'll let you engage in that sort of commentary Kieran, but can I say on the question of leadership, we resolved this matter in February decisively. I was out at a community forum in my electorate yesterday and there were some good people there who want to see Labor continue to govern, because they understand the importance of what we're delivering for people in communities such as mine. They sent a very clear message to me, they said to all members of the government, get in behind the Prime Minister, get on with the job of delivering these Labor reforms, and make sure that we are a united front to take on the next election, which will be a tough election, but one that so many people, like people with disability, are counting on us to win.
GILBERT:
David Bradbury we've got about a minute left I just want to get your thoughts on the Slipper case real quickly, hundreds of documents released last night by the court suggesting that James Ashby had sought to take part in the Parliamentary delegation with the Speaker only weeks before lodging the sexual harassment claim. What are your thoughts on these latest reports?
BRADBURY:
I'm not going to comment on the specifics of the legal case that is ongoing, but what I can say on the broader political debate around this issue is that the Coalition's position has been built upon one very big lie, and that lie, as each day goes by, is being exposed. And that lie is when Mr Abbott came out and said that no Coalition member had any knowledge of what was occurring. Each day we see more and more information that's suggesting there were multiple members of the Coalition, the Liberal/National party, that were in this up to their eye balls. Now Mr Abbott, hiding behind these weasel words of 'no specific knowledge', said that he didn't know anything about it. Some of these revelations in terms of the involvement of some of these figures on the Sunshine Coast, it raises more questions, in my mind, about the meeting that Mr Hockey had when he went up to the Sunshine Coast and met with Mr Brough and Mr Palmer, said that he spoke about Mr Slipper but denies that he discussed the question of Mr Ashby. I think there are real issues arising over the credibility of what Mr Hockey has had to say on this issue.
GILBERT:
David Bradbury we're out of time this morning, thank you for your time this morning. David Bradbury, Assistant Treasurer, I appreciate it.