JOURNALIST:
Treasurer there's a view that Mark Latham won the debate last night. What do you think about that?
TREASURER:
Different people will have different views. Some people score debates on the colour of your tie, some people score it on what you look like. I think the important thing is content. And you are talking about the right to manage an $800 billion economy in very difficult terms, and I thought on content and ideas and record and experience Mr Howard performed the better of the two.
JOURNALIST:
What about (inaudible)?
TREASURER:
Well these things are set down at the beginning of the campaign. The rules, there's going to be one debate, and we have had it. So, there you are.
JOURNALIST:
Australian Idol gave it a flogging in the ratings. Does that surprise you?
TREASURER:
That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I always thought Australian Idol would out-rate the Great Debate. In fact I was tempted at one stage myself to switch over. But my two Australian Idols were on the Great Debate last night.
JOURNALIST:
Two of them?
JOURNALIST:
Are you tempted at all to debate Mr Latham?
TREASURER:
Oh I would love to debate whoever I can and if Mr Latham wants to have a debate about the economy and his tax package I will very willingly point out the flaws. Let me give you one example which just absolutely intrigues me – Mr Latham says that if Mum stays at home to look after the kids and Dad earns $60,000 he would like to give that family more money. But if Dad earns $30,000 he would like to take money away from that family. He would like to take money away from families where Dad has a lower income than families where Dad has a higher income. It is the most extraordinary thing. I have never heard of it before. Who would have thought if you were looking after three kids on $30,000 it would harder, to look after three kids on $60,000. Mr Latham says at $60,000 I will give you some more but at $30,000 I will take money away from you - $15 a week. So you tell me how, under Mr Latham, if Dad is earning $30,000 and Mum is looking after the three kids at home, tell me how they are going to afford $15 a week less? And tell me this, why has he targeted those families for punishment? It just defies logic. I assume it is just an error that he hasn't picked up yet. But if it is an error he had better start amending it pretty quickly.
JOURNALIST:
Is there nothing about the Labor Party's Tax and Family Package that you are attracted to?
TREASURER:
Well what is there? We punish lower income earners, we punish families where Mum stays at home, we take away superannuation entitlements, we increase the superannuation surcharge – a pretty unattractive package to me. And in the meantime Mr Latham got caught rigging his tables. See he took to you all tables that were weekly tables to try and show people who is better off. One problem, he had left out $600 per child from his weekly tables.
JOURNALIST:
There have been questions (inaudible) by people here today, one of them was when do you think you will become Prime Minister? What is the answer?
TREASURER:
Well that is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. At the moment I am focused on winning the election and ensuring that Australia keeps good economic management. And I hope if we are re-elected to continue to be part of that economic management.
JOURNALIST:
But it is clearly not the last thing on the electorate's mind. I mean, we had a few questions here today and one of them was that. It is something that has to be addressed isn't it?
TREASURER:
Well people come up to you with all sorts of questions and interests and queries and we deal with them as they arise. But that is not something that is on my agenda at the moment.
JOURNALIST:
But the issue of succession is on the agenda of the electorate.
TREASURER:
I don't think so. I think that people are focussed on who has the best team to run Australia and to manage the economy. And I think when you ask that question most people prefer the Howard-Costello Team.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer do you think that it is at all possible the terrorist risk to Australia has increased as a result of our Iraq commitment?
TREASURER:
No because Australians were targeted and killed by terrorists before any troops, any Australian troops, or any Coalition troops were engaged in Iraq.
JOURNALIST:
So was John Anderson wrong when he said that it was possible?
TREASURER:
Well Mr Anderson explained yesterday that he thought it was Australia's aggressive chasing of Jemaah Islamiah that might have led to threats against Australia. He didn't link it to Iraq. You see, let me make this point, Australians were killed in the bombing in Bali in October of 2002. No Australian troops were engaged in Iraq until later in 2003. So it wasn't Iraq that led to the Jemaah Islamiah attack on Australians.
JOURNALIST:
But why would increased aggression against Jemaah Islamiah raise the threat level if our involvement in Iraq wouldn't? That's illogical isn't it?
TREASURER:
Well look, I am not going through what does or what does not contribute but I will make this point. Australians were a target of the terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah in Bali in October of 2002 long before any Australian troops were in Iraq. So you can't draw a connection. Now Australia was the target of a bombing in Jakarta, quite possibly by Jemaah Islamiah, I can't confirm that, but that was the suspicion a couple of days ago. And the only point I am making is that the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah has been active in targeting in Indonesia for quite some time and it hasn't been related to Iraq.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think Mark Latham…
TREASURER:
Last question.
JOURNALIST:
…increased the risk to troops in Iraq with his promise to get them out by Christmas?
TREASURER:
Oh you know, it was a funny thing last night that Mark Latham was asked to reaffirm his pledge of troops home by Christmas – his 2UE Troops Pledge – the pledge he made on 2UE and he studiously avoided doing that. So as of today, I couldn't tell you what Mark Latham's policy was. He took great care not to elaborate on it during the debate last night. You will have to ask him what his 2UE, whether his 2UE trooping policy still stands or not. Thank you.