PRESENTER:
Joe, good morning to you. Now, rather than support your comments, Tony Abbott has again thanked the Opposition for its bi-partisan support of our Iraq mission. Was it political point scoring to (inaudible) your Budget cuts with national security?
TREASURER:
No, Kochie and I thank the Opposition for their support for our Iraq mission. You know, you would expect – your viewers would expect, that we work together on national security issues. I want us to work together on all the issues that confront Australia, including the state of the Budget and ultimately, we have to pay for the defence initiatives. We don't want to go down the track of increasing taxes to pay for national security, so we want to do it out of existing resources and we would like the Labor Party to help us to do that.
PRESENTER:
Okay, but we are being told we are facing a Budget emergency, yet, we have now committed to, what is likely to be a very expensive mission; It's estimated $500 million a year at this stage. If this war drags on, which I imagine it will, can we afford it?
TREASURER:
Well, we have to, Sam. We have to spend whatever is necessary to protect our people and that's one of the reasons why when it comes to paying for these things, we have to find the money. Now, the Labor Party is currently holding up around $28 billion of savings. That just makes the task harder, not easier. We want to work with our political opponents to fix the Budget mess and if you've got a strong Budget, then it gives you more capacity to do even more on national security.
PRESENTER:
Okay, now you are in Washington meeting the G20 Finance Ministers before we host the Leaders’ Summit here in Brisbane in November. What do you hope to achieve out of the meeting? Are people positive over there?
TREASURER:
Well, Kochie, as I think you had a chat with Craig James a little bit earlier, the currents are moving in different directions around the world. The US is looking stronger than was expected, Europe is looking weaker but Germany, which is the dominant economic power in Europe, has capacity to help Europe to lift. I think there is a misunderstanding about China and Japan here in the United States and certainly, one of the things we are doing is spending many hours comparing notes about how to strengthen the world economy and deal with some of the challenges.
PRESENTER:
Okay. All right, you have just met with Janet Yellen, the boss of the Federal Reserve; she seems, by the sound of it, pretty positive about the US economy?
TREASURER:
Well, Janet Yellen is, she is a hugely impressive character and the fact is, she is controlling over $3 trillion of assets in the United States and as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, she is hugely influential in the global economy. I spent more than an hour with her this morning and it was a very good discussion. The fact is…
PRESENTER:
What did she say?
TREASURER:
I can't kiss and tell, Kochie, I’m not allowed to do that.
PRESENTER:
(Inaudible) Treasurer! Is she happy with Australia though?
TREASURER:
Well, she is very fond of Australia. She just came out to Cairns. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve has not been to Australia twice in a year and she came out twice this year and she recognised that we have done a great job running the G20 so far, this year. She offered her congratulations. She loves the positive way we are approaching the challenges in the global economy. She is very supportive of that and that is what we are doing.
PRESENTER:
Just quickly, are you going to give more money to the Bureau of Statistics, so we can believe their employment numbers?
TREASURER:
Well, there has been significant volatility. I asked the ABS about it a few weeks ago and they were confident in the data series. Obviously that changed in the last 48 hours to my surprise and I have asked the Secretary of the Treasury to investigate the matter. The challenge is, Kochie, we spend $400 million a year, on the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It's a massive organisation but its computer systems are not in good shape. I want us to have the best statistical collection service in the world and we are going to have to spend some money to deal with it. That's one of the many challenges.
PRESENTER:
(Inaudible) Safe travels.
PRESENTER:
Thanks, Treasurer.
TREASURER:
Thanks very much.