PRESENTER:
Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey is keen to get involved. Treasurer, good morning.
TREASURER:
Good morning Patrick. Happy New Year.
PRESENTER:
Happy New Year to you - although we are in February so that may get a little long in the tooth! It is your first time on the show, so we will cut you a bit of slack.
TREASURER:
Thank you for being so forgiving!
PRESENTER:
Barnaby Joyce wants a $7 billion relief package for farmers. Is that a good idea?
TREASURER:
I spoke with Barnaby and the report this morning is not accurate. As I understand it, he is coming to the Government with a review of where agricultural funding is at - that is perfectly understandable. There are vast parts of Australia that are now facing very significant drought and, as every Government does, we will step up to the plate to help farmers during these difficult and challenging times.
PRESENTER:
What sort of money are you prepared to put on the table to help them?
TREASURER:
There is a tried and tested formula - an exceptional circumstances formula - that has been in place for many years. That will kick in before the 1st of July, if it is properly declared farmland. After the 1st of July there is a new formula that applies [inaudible] which includes paying farmers the equivalent of Newstart but it is more focused. After an agreement between States and the Commonwealth it is more focused on helping farmers to restructure to cope with the ups and downs.
PRESENTER:
So nothing additional to that then?
TREASURER:
Not additional at this stage but let's see how it pans out. We are still hoping for rains, I know in various parts of Australia there has been some rain but it has been patchy at the moment.
PRESENTER:
Just in terms of - obviously you're up campaigning in Griffith - why does the Abbott Government need another seat?
TREASURER:
It is not a case of needing another seat; it is a case of having the best person possible to represent the people. Bill Glasson is a man of immense integrity and to be credible in Canberra, you need to have a credible representative. I can't think of a more credible representative for the people of Griffith than Bill Glasson. He is someone who I have a tremendous amount of respect for and it's not just me, I think most people do. He has dedicated his life to service of others and he is a very decent and well-known man. The people of Griffith deserve a strong voice in the Government and that's what Bill Glasson will give them.
PRESENTER:
You blokes are certainly chucking a lot of resources at it - you have yourself up here. Julie Bishop and Tony Abbott were up here on the weekend.
TREASURER:
Well we like him!
PRESENTER:
You like Bill Glasson. Which members of your own party don't you like then?
TREASURER:
That is a leading question. It is not just about liking him, the truth is, he is someone who would add real value to the team.
PRESENTER:
A front bencher? A potential minister?
TREASURER:
Yes. Of course, of course.
PRESENTER:
At the next reshuffle do you think?
TREASURER:
He has got to get there first, that is the starting point. He's the sort of talent that we desire to have in politics. I mean many people complain about the quality of their representatives, well I say to the people of Griffith, now is your chance to have someone of immense integrity, who really does care about the community. I mean he could have run in some safe Liberal seat somewhere, but instead he said 'No, I want to run the place where I live, where I grew up and where I work with people, my community'. He's not only run once, he's running again in a by-election. A lot of people after a general election walk away and say 'I gave that a shot' but he is running again.
PRESENTER:
He is a stayer. Now we've got campaigning out of the way, we might move onto other issues.
TREASURER:
Yes. It is an issue of substance though.
PRESENTER:
No one is denying that.
TREASURER:
I knew the former member of Griffith well; I think this potential member for Griffith is an outstanding person.
PRESENTER:
According to some Labor insiders he is well ahead on the primary votes. That must give you some heart.
TREASURER:
It is a compulsory preferential system Patrick and it is unprecedented…since 1920 no government has won a by-election in these circumstances. It's going to be very hard but it would be such a shame if a guy like Bill Glasson didn't get up.
PRESENTER:
Now you spoke before the Federal Election about a budget emergency. Taxpayers, it has emerged today, are spending $30 000 a day on taxi fares from various government departments. Is that something that could be reined in? $30 000 a day seems a lot.
TREASURER:
It does seem a lot although there is a lot of public servants. There are over 300 000 public servants and I actively encourage public servants to get out of Canberra and go and see people.
PRESENTER:
But surely they don't all take taxis out of Canberra?
TREASURER:
I suspect our aviation bill is much larger. Where there is a waste we are trying to track it down and get rid of it; eliminate it. We need to look at it in the context of whether people are using it properly or whether it is being rorted. We will be having a look at that.
PRESENTER:
How will you rein it in then?
TREASURER:
We have a Commission of Audit that is underway at the moment that is looking through the government. I suspect that work won't be complete when we get it to report and there is still much work to be done. I think we all have a responsibility - everyone that is using taxpayers' money or spending taxpayers' money [has a responsibility]. We all have a responsibly to make sure that there is no waste. Accountability and transparency are part of it but it just needs to be the case that you develop a culture that you're not using your own money, you're not using money that belongs to some oblique body called the government, you're actually using someone else's hard earned money when you use taxpayers' money. You have to be very careful and prudent with it.
PRESENTER:
Speaking of waste, our sister station in Sydney - 2UE's The Whisper segment - this morning, has heard that one of the schools in your electorate, the Mowbray Public School at Lane Cove in Sydney's north, received more than $2 million in BER funding to build a library and new classroom facilities. They were completed in 2010. Apparently they are going to be demolished to make way for a completely new school. Are you aware of that? Is it true?
TREASURER:
That is interesting. I'd be surprised if it were true. Gee, I'd be surprised. They have quite a bit of land there and they've had a massive increase in demand for services. But, gee, I'd be upset about it because I certainly encouraged my principals when they were told they had to have a new school hall or another school hall, I encouraged them to fight for what they actually needed not what they actually were told they had to have. Certainly in the case of Mowbray Public I helped them to get those classrooms, so I'd be pretty upset if they were demolishing them for some other purpose.
PRESENTER:
It was something that was put to our sister station in Sydney, you might want to track that down and get back to them.
TREASURER:
It's a shame that I have to come up to Brisbane to find about it.
PRESENTER:
We've got our finger on the pulse up here.
TREASURER:
You sure do.
PRESENTER:
Make no mistake!
TREASURER:
You don't miss a thing Patrick! That's no surprise.
PRESENTER:
Can I ask you one quick question about the national broadcaster? Do you support cutting funding to the national broadcaster?
TREASURER:
Well again, I was just challenged on the ABC about this and I said 'Can you put your hand on your heart and say there is no waste in the ABC?' On Q&A before the election I was asked the same question by Tony Jones and I said 'Well Tony can you put your hand on your heart?' and he couldn't. The fact is, in an organisation that receives enormous money, not just the ABC but SBS and NITV receive close to $1.5 billion a year in funding from taxpayers, there will be waste. We have an obligation to ensure that there is no waste.
PRESENTER:
Mr Hockey, we've got to leave it there. Thank you for your time this morning. Maybe next time we can get you in the studio for a face-to-face encounter.
TREASURER:
Absolutely.
PRESENTER:
We need photos with all our famous people so it would be good to get you in the studio. We have to do with a cardboard cut-out at the moment.
TREASURER:
Well I'm sure I'm pale compared to all the famous people that have been in there so I better make sure.
PRESENTER:
No. You are at the top of our A-list Mr Hockey!
TREASURER:
Thank you.
PRESENTER:
Good on you. That was Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey.