Transcript: Breakfast ABC Radio National Interview with Fran Kelly, 12 April 2019
EO&E
Subjects: Election, tax, coal, Adani, electric vehicles
FRAN KELLY:
Michael McCormack, welcome back to Breakfast.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Thanks Fran.
FRAN KELLY:
Before we get to tax and this tax scare that the Government's kicking off today, the Government is asking for six years in power to be extended to nine years in power. Labor says you’re tired, negative and divided.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Sounds like a good plan.
FRAN KELLY:
Well you certainly have plenty of division in the Nats lately, how will you convince voters that you've got the energy and the unity and the positivity to be a good government, because I haven't seen much of that on display over the last few years.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well people only needed to listen to Josh Frydenberg's marvellous budget address last week to see how often and how many times regions were mentioned, and the fact is we've got a plan, a policy for all Australians, but particularly, specifically for regional Australians. And that includes Roads of Strategic Importance - we've increased that by a billion dollars to four and a half billion dollars. We've got a plan for more mobile phone towers. Wherever I go that's something that people want and demand, expect and deserve.
We've got obviously a plan for future proofing our drought-stricken areas, making sure that they've got the water infrastructure they need, with half a billion dollars of dams and extending weirs and doing business cases and the like for those projects which need to have water storage infrastructure put in place.
We're there for regional Australians. We always have been. Yes, yes the naysayers have been saying terrible things about the country party- The National Party- since we started but-
FRAN KELLY:
Well the naysayers say The Nationals are the weakest link for the Coalition's campaign.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well that's not true. Fact is we've been out there, we've delivered and people in regional Australia, particularly those regional small businesses, which are now paying their lowest tax rate for 79 years, and that came in when I was the Small Business Minister. So we've delivered for regional Australia. We will continue to do that and-
FRAN KELLY:
Okay so where are you going to reap the benefits? The Government has to win seats to win this election to survive. What seats will you pick up to get the Coalition over the line?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well indeed and I'm down here- Well I'd certainly like to think Indi would be one of them. I'm down here campaigning with Mark Byatt this morning. We've got a business breakfast. We've got 40 or 50 business people waiting to hear about how advantageous the instant asset write-off and those sorts of things are going to be for them. Certainly I know Anne Webster, I was with her yesterday in Mallee. We want to retain that seat obviously, but there are going to be a number of seats. I'd like to think that Phillip Thompson will pick up the seat of Herbert. He's doing an outstanding job there and Cathy O'Toole has gone missing and certainly in the coal debate.
The fact is we have been out there making sure people know we've delivered, and you only have to look at the infrastructure that we've already delivered right, right across Australia.
FRAN KELLY:
I'm going to get to the coal debate but then I'll go first to the Government tax attack on Labor today. The Coalition using treasury costings to warn Australians of a $387 billion dollar burden from Labor tax hikes. How do you get to that figure?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, that's the treasury costings and-
FRAN KELLY:
What's it made up of?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well you're going to have to look at some of the things that Bill Shorten’s promising, and that doesn't even include the electricity hike that people will be paying.
FRAN KELLY:
Labor's policies and tax concessions and tax increases come to under $200 billion dollars over 10 years. Where do you get to $387 billion?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
But have a look at how poorly thought through the franking credits debacle is.
FRAN KELLY:
No, no, no, that's not what I'm asking you, this is a big scare campaign to kick off this campaign. $387 billion dollar tax burden is what the Coalition is saying. What is that made up of?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well it's made up of all the promises that Labor made that they won't be able to keep. It's made up of all the areas that they're going to take a big stick to, and that is for people's electricity. It's made up of people's, well actually it doesn't include their electricity. It includes the franking credits, it includes the retiree savings, as far as franking credits, the negative gearing. It includes the fact that they're just going to be charging people more to get to work through their electric cars, that nonsensical policy that they've put in place suggesting that. And the big ticket item, the big ticket item is their 45% emissions reductions targets.
FRAN KELLY:
We don’t even have a costing for that one yet. The $387 billion dollars, you know, I mean, Labor's, as I said to you before, Labor's stated policies of tax concessions and increased taxes come up to something under $200 billion dollars over 10 years. $387 billion dollars seems to be predicated on the negative, the 'Never Never' if you like- which is Labor not matching the Coalition tax cuts for high income earners over the decade, the five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 years out.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
But what ordinary every day Australians don't believe, that what should happen is that when you actually give tax cuts but when you actually give a tax cut you shouldn't be penalising another sector of the economy. You shouldn't be imposing businesses with the sorts of things Labor are going to charge people for. The fact is Labor are going to hike up taxes as far as businesses are concerned, they're going to hike up taxes as far as households are concerned, they're going to hike up taxes as far as electricity is concerned, and their 50% renewables target is unrealistic. And that is-
FRAN KELLY:
It's fair to say though that this $387 billion dollar tax cut, which is the lead policy it seems to me- well certainly the lead scare campaign from the Coalition- you can't actually explain it?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well the fact is treasury have costed it out. They have said that there is going to be $387 billion. We already know $200 billion. And it's not a matter for me to explain, it's actually a matter for Chris Bowen to explain. And Australians deserve to know the truth about where Labor is going to-
FRAN KELLY:
Okay, let's move on to that. We'll be talking to Penny Wong about that in a moment. You're listening to RN Breakfast. It is 19 minutes to 8. Can I ask you about that Adani Carmichael Mine decision? It's one step closer that mine. But there's no denying is there that the Environment Minister, Minister Price, was pressured by some Nats, James McGrath for instance, to approve Adani’s groundwater.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well James McGrath is not a Nat - James McGrath sits with the Liberal Party Room.
FRAN KELLY:
But also Matt Canavan who is in your Party Room. Did you sign off on any of your own MPs lobbying the Minister to give Adani the green light?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
No I didn't sign off on anything at all. Fact is Melissa Price went through the normal procedures. She asked for more advice from Geoscience Australia, and the CSIRO as a good Environment Minister would. She took her time to read the detailed reports. She actually asked for more information. That more information was given. She took her time. She did the right thing as a responsible Minister would. But people also need to know-
FRAN KELLY:
So you’re confident of this decision that it wouldn't be challengeable under the notions that somehow the Environment Minister was pressured?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
She did the right thing. She did the right thing as the Minister. But what people also need to realise is that the traditional owners of that area voted 294 to 1 to make sure that that mining project was given the green light by them 294 to 1. Now I know that people get all uptight and exacerbated when indigenous owners have their rights not followed through on, and 294 to 1 is fairly comprehensive. The fact is this is also going to provide thousands of jobs for people in and around central Queensland. There's already 14,000 applications for the 1,400 or 1,500 jobs on offer. This is going to provide exports to build on the $66 billion dollar coal exports that help pay for a lot of state hospitals and a lot of state schools let me tell you and underpins the Queensland economy. So now the pressure is in on Annastacia Palaszczuk and Jackie Trad to do the right thing, and to make sure that they, like Melissa Price, follow up on the science and make sure that this approval is given.
FRAN KELLY:
Alright. Federal Labor is calling for the Government to release any correspondence or records of contact between MPs or senators in particular Matt Canavan and Barnaby Joyce with the Minister Melissa Price. Will you do that?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
That's Federal Labor calling for something in a federal election campaign. I mean, you don't believe what Labor says. Believe what Labor does.
FRAN KELLY:
No, they're calling for you to provide that. Will you provide it?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, that's a matter for the individuals you asked for. That would be a matter for if they wanted to provide any information but I don't think there is any information. The fact is Melissa Price made the decision based on science and that's what people should expect her to have done, and she did it.
FRAN KELLY:
Okay. The CSIRO was supposed to be questioned at estimates yesterday on its advice to the mine. Estimates was of course cancelled because the PM called the election. The CSIRO later released a statement saying there were still some issues that need to be addressed particularly confirming the source of the ecologically important Doongmabulla Springs. Was the Government trying to avoid scrutiny on that?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well the Prime Minister called the election. He phoned me the night before and said he was going to call the election- that was the day he had in his mind, he called the election - that is his prerogative, as past Prime Ministers have done - Labor or Liberal. They call the election when they feel they need to. He did that. He followed normal process and protocol.
FRAN KELLY:
You're listening to Breakfast with Michael McCormack, he's the Deputy Prime Minister. Deputy PM, you mentioned earlier Labor's electric vehicles policy. The coalition was going hard on that. The Prime Minister said Labor's declared war on the weekend, coming after tradies' utes. The Prime Minister then later said he has nothing against electric vehicles, if fact [inaudible]
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well no. of course we haven't, but the fact is we don't want to force or make people have to, well 50% of them, make sure they have to have electric vehicles by 2030. There's not too many electric vehicles that will pull a caravan. There's not too many electric vehicles that will do the job the tradies need to do, and that our heavy vehicle industry wants them to do. The fact is…
FRAN KELLY:
But that’s not yet, but all the car makers say that they will. They’re going to bring out utes.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, sure, they're going to, but that's not the here and now. And whilst electric vehicles and charging stations are well and good for the future, what we don't want to do is start insisting on people having to do things that they either can't afford or won't have a want to do.
FRAN KELLY:
Michael McCormack thank you very much for joining us.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Thanks Fran.