Transcript: Interview with Triple M Riverina, 24 April 2019

E&OE:

LEIGH RYAN:
The Member for the Riverina and Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the National Party, Michael McCormack. Good morning.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Good morning Leigh.

LEIGH RYAN:
Now, it's been a very busy time for you, of course. Heavily on the campaign trail in the lead up to the election on the 18th. How's it all been going?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well it's been very busy but then again, I'm very busy all the time, but I'm taking my little wooden wombat which has been carried around on the wombat trail hustings by the National Party leaders right back to 1977. Doug Anthony started what is a bit of an institution and the wooden wombat goes along with us and gets to see plenty of Australia, let me tell you. Plenty of country regional Australia.

LEIGH RYAN:
I imagine it would do. Now look, one of the policies that peaked my interest yesterday was the Australian Business Growth Fund that the Coalition has announced. Talk to us about this.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well this is going to set up a business growth fund to enable funding for businesses which can't otherwise get finance. One of the problems that businesses have, particularly when they get started and get underway, is actually securing more finance in order to grow. So those businesses, up to a $50 million turnover. Look, there's 18,000 small businesses across the Riverina and Central West but once they get started, once they get a turnover and a cash-flow happening, they find it very difficult to secure more finance in order to buy more capital equipment. They can do that under the instant asset write-off but what we want to do is back them through a securitisation setup and enable them to be able to invest in themselves but to get more capital.

We'll be doing that in conjunction with financial institutions. We'll be doing that through various small business groups that we've already got. I know that any business that is looking for more information, they should always go to ASBFEO, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. If you Google that, A-S-B-F-E-O, it's the only thing that comes up. It'll be top of the pops on Google. It really gives small business a lot of information about what's out there available, as far as finance. As far as their rights. As far as ... the whole lot. The whole lot. The whole gamut.

LEIGH RYAN:
How will the fund work? How will businesses apply and be selected?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well they can apply, they'll be able to apply. They'll be able to apply through the various ways, and means that we have through our channels. Through our small business channels. They'll be able to apply through bank institutions. They'll be able to go to them and say, "Well look we've secured this funding from the Federal Government." The federal government will take a big interest in how they perform and we will back them. That's because we've backed them with the lowest tax rate since 1940.

They're already paying 27.5%, that's the lowest tax rate for 79 years. We've backed them through the instant asset write-off and we want to support them financially through low-interest loans, through this securitisation, through this growth fund. It's a good scheme. It's a good setup. We'll obviously roll out more details hopefully after we get elected but it's going to be a good setup to back small business.

LEIGH RYAN:
Yeah. Does it work as a loan or a grant?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
A loan but look, there are grants available for small businesses. There’s grants available through the State Coalition Government. There are lots of things for small business. Small business is the backbone of the economy. They provide ... well they've certainly helped us create 1.25 million jobs over the last five years. Through our good economic policies of course but we couldn't do it without small business and nor can the economy.

You only have to look up, drive up the main streets of Wagga Wagga, Gundagai, Ganmain, right throughout your readership area, your listening area, sorry, to see that the benefits that small business create and generate throughout the local area.

LEIGH RYAN:
And very quickly. Energy prices, obviously a concern for small businesses. Now since the ... What? Since around 2007 they've just spiked. There was a bit of a reprieve when the carbon tax was repealed but they've continued to kick on so they're well above the levels that they were around about 2013. When the Coalition was elected to office. What's the plans for electricity prices and bringing those down?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
We need to bring them down. We need to bring them down and we will bring them down. I know that Angus Taylor, the Member for Hume who's also the Energy Minister, is very much on the job. The fact is that it's been very difficult over recent months. When you've got a Parliament situation where you have to get everything through cross benchers. You have to get everything through the Senate. They don't always play fair and don't always play the game that you want them to, as far as making sure that small business and power needs and those sorts of things are looked after.

We absolutely need to get them down. We've got policies in place to back power generation through Snowy Hydro 2.0, appreciating that's going to take quite a few years to get online but that's certainly going to create jobs in the Snowy Mountains with benefit for Wagga Wagga. Benefit for Tumut. Benefit for Cabramurra, Talbingo etc. But more than that a power generation. We're going to be backing upgrades to power stations right throughout the eastern seaboard in particular and ensuring that we have more reliability, and supply, and affordability moreover in the grid.

LEIGH RYAN:
Okay. I know that one of the big passions of yours is Anzac Day. Every year you put out the booklet on Anzac Day. Talk to us a little bit about your passion for it.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well I've long been interested in World War 1 history particularly, but I think from my days at Saint Michael's Regional High. But what I do with this Anzac booklet is provide the school children of the Riverina the opportunity to write what their thoughts are on Anzac Day and particularly Anzac Day locally and many of them have got grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought in various conflicts. Indeed, some of them even fathers of course. So Wagga Wagga is the inland centre in Australia with all three arms of the Defence. Kapooka, of course. RAAF Forest Hill and even a Navy base.

And so I've been producing this booklet since 2011. Writing various stories. Putting various stories. I suppose my old journalism days coming out there but when I can meet those. It's a bit more difficult to do more writing than it was when I was just on the backbench but what we also do is we put the service times in because all the service times, right throughout the Riverina. There are dozens, and dozens, and dozens. Every small centre, rightly, acknowledges, and recognises, and respects Anzac Day. It's our most important National Day.

This year’s booklet has all the winning entries for the school children's competition. Every participant and there are many, many hundreds of them, will receive a signed certificate to commemorate putting in their entry but there's some ... some good stories as well. Particularly about that Alec O'Connor who was recommend for a VC, never received it for one reason or another.

It's quite an amazing story and for those people who get the opportunity, have a read. He came back home. Unfortunately climbed down from an electrical pole to pay his respects on Remembrance Day. November 11, 1929 and when he got back up on the pole, was sadly electrocuted. It's such a tragic tale but the fellow was from West Wyalong. An amazing story. It's a great Australian story. I recommend anybody who's got the 10 minutes to spare to read that article. Just see the bravery, and the courage, and the spirit that endures to this day. That long line of Khaki stretching back from Gallipoli right through to today and particularly through Kapooka.

LEIGH RYAN:
How are you spending Anzac Day tomorrow?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well I'm actually going to Sydney for the Dawn Service. I'll be there at 4:00 and coming back to the Wagga Wagga service at half past 10:00, 11:00. Then going out to Gundagai. Finishing up at Jugiong. It's going to be quite an eventful day, of course, for our veterans.

Only today we've announced our veteran's policy, which is going to provide for veteran's facilities. Local war memorial upgrades and particularly guideline changes for TPI recipients. Veterans have done such a grand job for Australia. They've looked after us in our times of need. We need to look after them more and more.

LEIGH RYAN:
Well, Michael, thank you so much for catching up with us this morning. We look forward to-

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Anytime at all, Leigh.  

LEIGH RYAN:
... to hearing from you as the campaign continues. Deputy Prime Minister and Member for the Riverina, Michael McCormack on the Riverina's Triple M.