HOST:
I'm here at the Rooty Hill RSL with the Member for the seat of Lindsay, who is also the Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury. Thanks for being with us this morning.
BRADBURY:
Nice to be with you.
HOST:
Now, you're in one of the most marginal seats that Labor has in the seat of Lindsay. How are you going to be able to hang onto it come September 2013?
BRADBURY:
I often say to people I'm more focussed on the jobs of people in my community than I am on my job, but an important part of my job is working hard for my community – that's something that I've been doing for the 14 years I've represented my local community, including five years as the local Federal Member. It's important that as a party we're out there, not only listening to the concerns of people in this region but acting on them. I think that's why the Prime Minister's announcement, which she'll be making later today, on infrastructure investment, particularly on trying to bridge the gap between the M4 and the city is going to be so important to so many people in our community.
HOST:
And on that, because the commuting issues and traffic is a huge issue in this area, what kind of a commitment can we see from the Federal Government when it comes to infrastructure funding at a time when we know the Budget is very, very tight?
BRADBURY:
Well it certainly is a big issue. On Friday I drove into the city and it took me just over two and a half hours – that's from Penrith – so that's what people are confronting. If you want to understand why this is such a big issue, just think about that. In terms of the budgetary challenge, well you're right in that we're in difficult fiscal circumstances. That's a big call on the budget, but it's really critical that we make the investment if we get the plan right. That's what we want the New South Wales Government to be doing. The current plan doesn't address the problem of connecting the M4 up with the city; let's finish that link, let's take this motorway all the way to Botany and don't put tolls on people for driving on roads they're already driving on for free. If we can fix that, investment that the Federal Government can make and the productivity-enhancing benefits that would flow from that, it's not just having people stuck in what is effectively a car park, other than a motorway, will deliver a much bigger return to the budget in the longer term.
HOST:
Could this not have been addressed earlier? Could the Federal Government not have made this commitment before coming into the approaching period of an election?
BRADBURY:
Look, we're still a bit hamstrung in terms of the nature of the commitment we can make because the plan that has been brought forward by the State Government has all sorts of holes in it. What we're saying is we'll put serious money on the table to address one of the big infrastructure challenges for people in Western Sydney, but let's work with the State Government to get it right. Let's fix those three things so we have a real plan for people in Western Sydney.
HOST:
Tony Abbott has already said the Coalition is prepared to commit funding to these sorts of infrastructure projects, and WestConnex in particular, so what would it be about Labor's commitment that people should be looking at as opposed to the Coalition's commitment that they've already made?
BRADBURY:
See, the problem was Tony Abbott was all too quick to sign the cheque from Opposition. He didn't ask the question: does this proposal do what the people of Western Sydney need it to do? And it doesn't. If you are travelling in from places like Penrith or Blacktown or Parramatta, at the moment the M4 stops dead at Concord. In fact, my two and a half hour trip the other day, most of that trip was from Concord to the city. You don't fix these problems unless you provide a direct link from Concord into the city. WestConnex at the moment doesn't do that. We want to invest in this, but we want to make sure it's a plan that addresses people's problems. Frankly Tony Abbott can commit $10 billion if he wanted, but in the end, if you don't get the plan right it's just a mirage, it's not going to deliver for people.
HOST:
Now, obviously these local issues are going to be very important in getting support in the Western Sydney region, but to continue doing these things you need to continue staying in Government and that means winning support around the country. How do you combat the general sense, not only from polling, but the consensus that Labor is gone come the election? How do you turn that vision around?
BRADBURY:
We need to make sure people understand what's at stake here. Mr Abbott has said he'll rip away the compensation that we've provided that's attached to the carbon price and the mining tax. Now what that means, and people don't understand this, is that means taxes will go up. We have tripled the tax-free threshold, which means you don't pay any tax on your first $18,200. That'd be wound back; you'd be paying tax after $6,000 if Mr Abbott gets elected. He'd take money away from family payments and, wait for it, he'd even cut the pension. That's what he's talking about.
HOST:
Is that going to be enough to reengage the voters because we know they've stopped listening to Labor and when the question is 'how do you get them on board' it's negative attacks on Tony Abbott and that's likely to turn people off.
BRADBURY:
What this is all about is people need to understand is that if Tony Abbott gets elected, he will put his hand in your pocket and take that money away. We have been increasing pensions. Just think about this: has there ever been an Opposition Leader going to an election promising to cut people's pensions? I can't think of it but that's what's happening. Pensioners don't know that. It's important that we do what we can so that people know that if they don't understand that before the election, they'll have a terrible shock afterwards.
HOST:
And just finally, at the last election campaign we saw you get well beyond your electorate area – at one point we saw you up at Darwin with some Defence Force announcements and the like – are you going to be spending time going around the country during the election campaign later in the year, or will you be here day in, day out during the election campaign in September?
BRADBURY:
Look, as the Assistant Treasurer I've got responsibilities to contribute to the Government's message right around the country, but frankly, if you can't ride two horses at once, you shouldn't be in the circus and I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to serve my community here in Western Sydney, but also contribute to the national debate; that's what I think people in my local community expect of me.
HOST:
David Bradbury, thank you.