BEN FORDHAM:
Michael Sukkar is the Assistant Treasurer. He’s on the line. Michael Sukkar, good morning to you.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Good day, Ben. Great to be with you.
BEN FORDHAM:
First of all, let’s do petrol because that’s probably the big one for a lot of people. This sounds like it’s locked in. How do we know that the companies are going to pass on the savings?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, Ben, obviously the detail will be in the Treasurer’s Budget speech tomorrow night so I don’t want to speculate any further than has already been speculated other than to say that the Treasurer has been very clear that cost of living relief will be a part of the Budget. Obviously, fuel is a significant portion of those costs for your average household. But you’ll see all the detail tomorrow night in relation to what we have to say to reduce the cost of living for Australians and to assist them through what is a difficult time particularly in light of the political unrest in Ukraine, the invasion…interrupted.
BEN FORDHAM:
Let me just jump in there and put this to you. If there is a cut tomorrow night – we’re not pre‑empting what the Treasurer is going to do – what message will you then send to the fuel companies about making sure that they’re not going to pocket the savings?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, look I can assure you, Ben, if we go down the path of making any changes to reduce the cost of living to Australians, that we’ll do everything that we have to do to make sure that those savings ultimately get through to the people that we want it to get to. We’ve shown very clearly over a period of time that we’ll use any means at our disposal to make sure that those savings are passed through if we were to go down that path.
BEN FORDHAM:
Okay we know the other big one is the cost of the Australian dream – owning your own home. Tomorrow’s Budget will double the number of spots in the new home guarantee scheme – this is for first home buyers – to 50,000 a year. Can you give us some understanding of how popular this was last time around and why you’re expanding it?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Yeah well, this was a scheme that the Morrison government took to the last election. We implemented it in 2020. It’s been in place now; this was its third year, and this is a major expansion of the scheme. At present it sits a bit above 20,000 a year, we’re now raising it to 50,000 places a year. In essence – for your listeners, Ben – it enables first home buyers to buy a home with a deposit of just 5 per cent as opposed to saving a full 20 per cent deposit which is what the banks are requiring. So not only does it allow them to get into their first home must sooner, they also don’t have to pay for lenders mortgage insurance. We also have as part of that, 5,000 places for single parents called the Family Home Guarantee which enables them to buy a home with a deposit of just 2 per cent. We’ve also created a new category of guarantees – 10,000 places – a regional home guarantee which will just be for the regions to assist people to purchase or build a new home in a regional area, again with a deposit of just 5 per cent because as you know Ben, in our major capital cities, the biggest hurdle to getting into your home is saving that deposit. An expansion of the home guarantee scheme to 50,000 places is going to make a huge difference to Australians.
BEN FORDHAM:
We’re talking to the Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, ahead of the Budget tomorrow night. Michael Sukkar, I’m guessing that you won’t be bragging tomorrow about this funding that’s been handed out by the Australian Council for the Arts. They’ve handed out $10 million to so‑called artists including $50,000 to a performer, Harriet Gillies, who gets up on stage naked and – I don’t know how to tell this to you, Assistant Treasurer – she puts something up her backside on stage. So, why does she get $50,000 from us?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, you’re right, Ben. I won’t be bragging about that. Look to be frank, Ben, I don’t know what planet these people are from.
BEN FORDHAM:
Well, you’re giving the money?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
These sorts of things should be shut down, Ben. Quit frankly. There are a myriad of things that we should be spending money on but as I said, these weird and wonderful artistic endeavours, if you want to do it – in my view – go and do it in your own time and with your own money and not with taxpayers’ money. I’ve just become aware of it now, Ben but I can assure you that you and I are on the same page as far as the use of those taxpayer funds.
BEN FORDHAM:
I mean why aren’t the checks and balances in place beforehand because we’ve raised this before with the Minister. Harriet’s performance says expect a TED‑talk on acid, a lecture on mushrooms and storytelling while popping nangs. Now nangs are these small canisters containing nitrous oxide. They’ve caused a number of kids to die when they’ve taken them. Why are you giving money to these people?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, Ben, I don’t know. It’s a disgrace just by what you’ve described, and I don’t think there’s any really good explanation. There’s no reason.
BEN FORDHAM:
Well, you know what I mean? I mean we can laugh about it because parts of it you kind of think ‘oh this is amusing, is this an April fools’ joke?’ But this is fair dinkum. This is at a time that your government’s saying we all need to tighten our belts and you’re giving $50,000 to this person? There’s been $80,000 to a performer called Yana Alana who paints Scott Morrison’s face on her backside and then uses the PM as a puppet.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Ben, there’s no good explanation for why any taxpayers’ funds would be going to anything like that. You’re not going to be getting any disagreement from me. Those sorts of things should be shut down.
BEN FORDHAM:
So, the Australia Council for the Arts should be shut down until it can explain to New South Wales taxpayers the criteria for handing out this money?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well, that will be ultimately calls for the responsible Minister so I’m not going to make that call necessarily because I don’t know enough about the process by which the funding has been provided. These sorts of projects, if you want to do it, do it in your own time, do not do it with taxpayers’ money. That’s me very, very simple position.
BEN FORDHAM:
Can you please raise this with the Minister for the Arts today because last time he was sidestepping it every time we brought it up? You know, you should see the messages I’m getting through at the moment, Michael Sukkar, from people who are battling to make ends meet and they’re waiting on the Budget announcements tomorrow night and then you hear about a girl who shoves stuff her bum on stage. Presumably our money – $50,000 worth of taxpayer’s money, up her bum?
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Well Ben I think 95 per cent of Australians will be with you on this one so I’m very happy to do that and as I said, I prefer these things never happen but if so‑called artists are going to do it – as I said – let them do it their own time on whatever planet they’re from because I can’t identify with it at all.
BEN FORDHAM:
We appreciate you time.
MINISTER SUKKAR:
Good on you, Ben.