Subjects: US Army Black Hawk helicopters crash; Labor’s planned tax on gas producers; Aston by-election; Roshena Campbell; cost of living pressures; the Prime Minister’s broken promise on a $275 cut to your power bills.
E&OE.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Well, two Black Hawk helicopters have crashed in a deadly US military accident, killing nine personnel on board. It comes less than three months after Australia spent $2 billion buying 40 of our own Black Hawk choppers from the US. Let’s bring in Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles in Geelong in Victoria and Opposition Leader in Victoria, I was going to say victorious – at the by-election this weekend – he’s hoping. There he is in Melbourne, Peter Dutton. ‘Morning guys. Richard, good morning to you.
First up, is there any reason to be concerned about the helicopters we’ve just bought?
RICHARD MARLES:
No, there’s not. I mean, we’ve got a long history with the Black Hawks. We’re very familiar with what they can do, how reliable they are, and they’re a fantastic platform and we’re really confident about the future. I mean, obviously what’s happened in America is just a tragedy. No doubt they’ll go through their process of investigating that, there are always learnings from this and we will take those learnings, but I just think what this highlights is that our servicemen and women and those in America, even in what they do in training, is dangerous because they train for a dangerous environment. It’s just another reminder to me of how important, significant and how difficult is the work that our servicemen and women do.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay, well said. Back home, a sizeable budget leak in the Fin Review this morning. Are you going to slug gas producers with a new tax in the budget?
RICHARD MARLES:
No, I mean, this is a review of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax which was commissioned by the former government. I mean, they undertook this review. We haven’t got the result of the review yet. When we do, we’ll have a look at it.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Sounds like you’re moving towards it?
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, at the end of the day, what this story is about is a review that the Peter’s government undertook and we’re waiting for that review. I mean, we’re not going to go into what’s in the budget. Jim will talk about that – the Treasurer will talk about that in May. What you can be assured of is that the budget will focus on the cost of living as our last budget did, because we know the pressures that Australians are facing.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Pete, would you support a tax on gas producers?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Karl, I just think families at the moment, the last thing they need is another tax increase under Labor. People are already struggling to pay their power bills and there’s talk now about disruption to supply, particularly in relation to gas, a withdrawal of investment in our country, which means those royalties won’t be coming in that go to fund schools and roads. So, I think the government should rule it out. But as sure as night follows day, there will always be higher taxes in a Labor budget because they have a spending problem and that’s, I think, what we’ll see in the budget, come May.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Richard, regardless of whether you do it or not, I’m not sure it’s going to bring down prices. Where’s that 300 bucks gone?
RICHARD MARLES:
Look, we are really focussed on the pressures that Australians are facing because of global inflation. You look at everything we’ve done since we’ve come to government; cheaper medicines are in place, more affordable childcare is literally now about to happen, we’ve got fee-free TAFE. We took steps in December to ease the pressure on energy prices, which has actually had an impact and when Peter was given the opportunity to support that, to support household budgets, he voted against that. I mean, when you look at everything we have done, we have been focusing on easing the cost of living pressures. We’ve been doing that in the face of the opposition of Peter and his opposition and when it comes to taxes, Peter was in a government which was the second highest taxing government in our country’s history. The only higher one was the Howard government. So, I mean all this talk about taxes is complete rubbish. Peter was in a high taxing government. We are actually doing something about the cost of living now and Peter’s busily opposing it.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Pete, how much should the minimum wage go up?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, just come back to this for a second, Karl. I mean, Richard, name one suburb in Australia where power prices have gone down. I mean, you keep talking about power prices going down, just name a suburb, I mean, a single household of where power prices have gone down.
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, I mean, that’s a really, a really easy point. Every suburb in this country and every suburb in the electorate of Aston would be facing higher power prices right now if you would have had your way in December…
PETER DUTTON:
Honestly.
RICHARD MARLES:
…And the measures that we put in place to reduce the pressure on power prices were defeated. And that’s what you sought to do in December. When you actually look at action here, we took action in December. You were given an opportunity to take it with us and you didn’t. You opposed it.
PETER DUTTON:
I’d just love to see one family, Karl, on your show, hold up a power bill that is cheaper now than when Labor came in 10 months ago…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Well, you’re not going to find one.
PETER DUTTON:
Of course you’re not. It’s a nonsense.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay, just in terms of Aston, Richard raised it and I raised it in the intro. How are you going to go, do you think?
PETER DUTTON:
Look, I think it’s tight, but I think we get there. We’ve got Roshena Campbell, who’s a great candidate. She’s experienced, she’s a really strong voice on the ground, really well-received by the locals. She’s a mum of three, a barrister, a councillor, so she’s got a track record of delivering for her community. Labor’s first act in their budget last year was to cut road funding and locals here, you know, who are starting to bank up in traffic now on their way to work, understand that Labor had the opportunity to provide support to Aston and instead they cut funding from here and put it elsewhere across the country. So, I think we get there, but it’s a tight race – as by-elections always are.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
There’s a fair bit riding on it for you personally?
PETER DUTTON:
Oh, well, I want to see Roshena become the local member because as people realise, you don’t change the government in a by-election like this, you’re voting for a really strong local candidate and member of Parliament and Roshena Campbell is that person. She’s the strongest candidate in the field and I think she’ll be a great MP. As I say, she’s a mum of three, she brings, as a working mum, a real experience to Parliament that we want, and I really believe that she will do a great job.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Ok, over to you, Richard, finally.
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, Mary Doyle is a great candidate. She’s actually from Aston (sic). She was our candidate at the last election. But this is, you know, a high mountain for us to climb and this is an absolutely rolled gold safe Liberal seat. We want to give people the opportunity to have their voice, to vote for Labor and as I say, Mary is a great local candidate who has spent her life in this community, but this is going to be a big hill to climb.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright, we’re all in Melbourne for the weekend. Your shout, Richard.
RICHARD MARLES:
Where are we going?
PETER DUTTON:
He wouldn’t shout if a shark bit him, Karl! You know that.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Just the usual, just go to Crown. What could go wrong?
RICHARD MARLES:
That’s where we’re going. All right.
PETER DUTTON:
We’ll take Dicky with us, Karl!
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Yes. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
[ends]