PETER STEFANOVIC:
Well, let's go to Canberra now. Joining us, the Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones. Stephen, before we get to money matters, got to talk to you about these new detainee laws. They've passed the Senate last night. Is it a formality now that it sails through the House?
STEPHEN JONES:
I hope so. We want to see them pass through the House today so that we can get the Governor-General and executive council’s assent to that, and that they’re law by the end of the week. We want to ensure, after we got the High Court decision, the final reasons for decision last week, that we've moved quickly. We need to ensure that the community safety is paramount. These preventative detention laws will enable the government to apply to a court and to have people who we believe are at serious risk and a serious threat to the community to be detained for periods of up to three years. And we think that's an appropriate response for people who present this risk to the community.
STEFANOVIC:
This all could have been put in place, though, before the detainees were even released. Hard to argue your government hasn't made a dog's breakfast of this.
JONES:
Actually, Peter, I've got to correct you on that, mate. We didn't get the reasons for decision until last week and it wasn't clear that the High Court was going to allow preventative detention. In fact, there was a lot of speculation based on the decision.
STEFANOVIC:
I think lawyers, lawyers, a good lawyer will be prepared for a decision either way, would it not?
JONES:
Look, I think the main thing here is that we've moved as soon as we got the reasons for decision, as soon it became clear that preventative detention would be permitted by the High Court. We introduced laws into the Parliament, very pleased that they passed through the Senate last night. They'll move through the House today, can and should be law by the end of the week. And that way we can move to ensure that any of these people who have been forced by the High Court to have been released from detention, if they pose a serious threat to the community, they can be re‑detained. And I think that's what Australians expect us to do.
STEFANOVIC:
On the federal state economic stoush. Is it as simple as you seeking more cash for the NDIS in exchange for a bigger slice of the GST?
JONES:
Look, there's a bunch of issues we've got to work through with the states. We want to do it in a cooperative way. We've got health and hospital agreement, we've got the NDIS issues, and containing cost blowouts in the NDIS. We've got GST, we've got infrastructure. In fact, there's a bunch of issues that we've got to work through. They're all important. We need to ensure that services, whether they're for disabilities, for healthcare or infrastructure services, are provided. And we've got sustainable funding arrangements in place. The NDIS is a standout. We've got unsustainable growth rates in that area. We want to ensure that the scheme is still standing in another ten years time. And that means making the right decisions now. We can't do that without the states.
STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Elsewhere, is big super holding you to ransom over your future, your super?
JONES:
Absolutely not. I'm actually at a bit of a loss at where that one's come from, Pete, in relation to superannuation, can I say just in relation to superannuation?
STEFANOVIC:
Looking at, yeah, I'm going from this point. Let me just give you some context for that. So, basically, big super saying they don't like these annual tests right. Now they're saying, well, there's no incentives for them to be able to help you with the energy transition. So, I'm wondering if there's a quid pro quo there.
JONES:
Let me unpack some of this stuff, mate. The good superannuation funds in the country, and the majority of them accept that having a performance benchmark, which holds trustees to account for both their fees and their investment outcomes, is a good thing for the system as a whole. It's been in place for four years now. I made some tweaks and adjustments to –
STEFANOVIC:
They say that's not enough.
JONES:
Outcomes. That was welcome. And I said at the time, this is never set and forget, we've got to ensure that, as we are holding trustees to account to get good returns, low fees. That we continually adjust things. And the Treasurer foreshadowed yesterday that we'll look at some of those measurements to ensure that we don't have perverse or unintended outcomes. And we'll do that. But nobody should be under any doubt, any doubt at all, that performance benchmarking will continue, and it will continue to be in place to ensure that funds are held to a high standard. That is a rock solid guarantee.
STEFANOVIC:
Okay, Stephen Jones, talk to you soon.