Subject: Federal Budget
E&OE
TOM CONNELL:
Queensland trying to get more police officers. They lost one a few years ago, Peter Dutton, who became a politician instead. He joins me now. That’s my segue into budget talk. Thanks very much for your time, though. I know it’s a busy morning.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks, Tom.
TOM CONNELL:
So, a big test you’ve laid for Labor is inflation. If you look at the budget forecast, inflation continues to fall basically in line with what it was going to do beforehand. So, if that plays out, has it been a responsible budget on that measure?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Tom, I think you’re better off to look to the independent commentary that’s taken place. Chris Richardson, for argument’s sake, a highly respected economist, he said that he thought the Reserve Bank Governor was done with the baseball bat, and he thinks that this budget will incline the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates again.
So, under this budget, at the very least, we know that interest rates will be higher and for longer, which is going to be a double whammy for Australian families. They’re already $25,000 worse off under this government. There was nothing for them in the budget last night.
This energy crisis, and this cost of living crisis, that’s been created by Mr Albanese and the Labor Party they, you know, it’s ok for the Prime Minister – he doesn’t feel the impact of this – but for families, they are struggling at the moment big time and there’s nothing at all for them in this budget.
TOM CONNELL:
So just focusing on the inflation aspect though, if this is the test you’re setting. If we do see interest rates – as predicted right now – level out at about 4 per cent and start to go down at the start of next year and that does happen, will you say, ‘okay, well, the economists like Chris Richardson were wrong? Fair enough. This budget hasn’t lit a fire under inflation.’?
PETER DUTTON:
Let’s get to that point and then make the analysis. But the point I’d make now is that we are higher than any G7 country in terms of our core inflation and that is not because of what’s happened in Ukraine. I mean, the Ukraine oil prices, energy crises anywhere in the world affect countries like ours in different ways. But we do know that Australia, because of what’s happened in Canberra over the course of the last 12 months, has added to inflationary pressure.
We know that the energy crisis is a making of the Labor Party policy and when the Prime Minister promised that energy prices, that your power bill would be reduced by $275, we find out in this budget that over the next 12 months your electricity bills are likely to go up by another almost $500. So, that is right between the eyes for a lot of Australian families.
I think the other point to make too out of this, Tom, is that over a five year period under this budget, the net overseas migration – that is the number of people coming into our country – will increase by 1.5 million people. Now that is more than any period since Federation and they don’t have any infrastructure, no extra money for public transport. Congestion’s already a huge problem in most cities in our country. You don’t have any planning for this, and 300,000 people a year on average, is going to contribute to the housing crisis and the rental crisis. I just think at a time when we don’t need an inflationary impact, that is going to be a very significant one. So, I think they’ve failed many tests out of this budget.
TOM CONNELL:
Ok, but if you’re going to set a test, Labor’s got to be able to pass it. So just to clarify, if inflation does moderate as expected and we don’t need the RBA to come in and hoick up rates, then Labor will have passed the inflation aspect of this budget test? Is that fair to say?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Tom, everyone would celebrate inflation coming down, but for a lot of families out there at the moment, they’re struggling to understand how – I mean people are in tears – as to how they’re going to pay their electricity or their gas bill. They don’t know how they’re going pay…
TOM CONNELL:
Well, they’ve got help for that. The people that are really struggling. The $500…
PETER DUTTON:
Well, no they don’t actually. I mean, for millions of Australians, an average family with a mortgage, three children – $25,000 worse off under Labor. Labor’s already spent $185 billion since they came to government, right? So, they are fuelling inflation. This is why there is no sense blaming the Reserve Bank Governor, because inflation hasn’t come out of Ukraine, it’s come out of Canberra, and I think Australian families are starting to understand that: the energy crisis that’s been created by Labor has forced up, has jacked up dramatically, the price of your electricity and gas bills but there’s no answer for those families or for those small businesses in this budget.
TOM CONNELL:
So, is that your criticism, in particular, around middle income Australians? Because lower income Australians have been targeted for assistance by Labor, is it the middle that’s missing that you would have liked to have seen?
PETER DUTTON:
There are millions of people who are with an average mortgage, three kids, they’re struggling to pay their bills now, they’re worse off under this budget.
TOM CONNELL:
What would you have liked to have seen for them?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I’d liked to have seen a government that 12 months ago started to implement an energy policy that didn’t drive your electricity bill through the roof.
TOM CONNELL:
But here we are now. We’re talking about this budget.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I’m just saying, the good news out of this budget is that they’ve achieved a surplus, but they’ve been bequeathed that by the Coalition government. When they’re out on their own over the next year, two, three, four, they’re projecting deep deficits for each year and growing because they won’t have the benefit of Coalition economic management to fall back to.
TOM CONNELL:
Will that be your focus on Thursday? Middle income Australians?
PETER DUTTON:
We’ll have a few points to make on Thursday, there’ll be some elements of the budget that we support. There’ll be some elements that we’ll critique and there’ll be some policies that we can announce.
TOM CONNELL:
But middle-income Australians, will they…
PETER DUTTON:
I’ll leave it until Thursday.
TOM CONNELL:
Couldn’t give us a little…
PETER DUTTON:
Look, I’d love to give you breaking news on Sky…
TOM CONNELL:
A morsel? We’ll get the red strap straight up.
PETER DUTTON:
On this, the highest rating program on Sky, but I’ll leave it for Thursday.
TOM CONNELL:
I’m only a part-time host, so I’ll say News Day is much better. What about when you say you’ll critique some policies? Because if you’re saying that this will contribute to inflationary pressure, you’ll have to oppose some spending measures, won’t you?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, we’ll make announcements tomorrow night, and obviously, we’ve just been in the budget lock-up yesterday, along with the media, we haven’t had months preparing the budget as the government has. So, we’ll do all of that analysis, which is well under way, has been overnight and we’ll make an announcement on Thursday night.
TOM CONNELL:
There would have to be, you’d have to be reducing the money in the economy, that makes sense, right?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, we’ll make those announcements. The fact is that the government is in power at the moment and the government has its hands on the levers. It’s like a huge windfall. It’s like getting an inheritance. This is what’s happened to the Labor Party, and they’ve spent every dollar and they’ve gone out and bought things that lock in recurrent expenditure. The structural problems that they’ve got in the budget are going to well outlast the temporary assistance that they’re providing, and I think a lot of families are going to go through a lot more pain, particularly if interest rates go up, or they stay higher for longer under Labor.
TOM CONNELL:
We’ll see. So that’s the test and I suppose we’ll only know over months and the year up to the next budget. Just finally, the PRRT, and raising some more money on gas. The industry seems to have basically accepted this. Do you?
PETER DUTTON:
We’ll again, we’ll have those discussions with the industry and have a look at what the impact is.
TOM CONNELL:
Doesn’t seem to be a wrecking ball, it’s fair to say?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, the point that I’d make, though, is that the golden goose that gave the rivers of gold to Labor to achieve a surplus. I mean, it’s always interesting, you’ve been around this place a long time as well, when you listen to the budget – it’s the figures that aren’t mentioned. So, the rivers of gold that have come out of coal royalties, out of gas royalties, out of minerals royalties, all these things that the Labor Party don’t like, that’s basically underpinned the surge of income into this budget.
TOM CONNELL:
Minerals, for sure, but gas is the one we actually don’t make that much money out of the royalties.
PETER DUTTON:
And the reality is that if you get decisions, which is what’s happening now, where people are refusing to invest into new projects, then we set ourselves up for a fall in revenues in the coming years, and that’s exactly what’s happening now.
TOM CONNELL:
We’ll wait until Thursday and get the breaking red straps up, we hope to talk to you down the track as well, but appreciate your time on this busy day. Peter Dutton, thank you.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks, Tom.
[ends]