Sky News AM Agenda with Kieran Gilbert and the Hon. Dr Andrew Leigh MP
E&OE
KIERAN GILBERT:
Let me ask you about the issues that are being looked at. It seems that the Prime Minister’s paid parental leave still remains unpopular and the budget issues, while the numbers have improved, they remain still I guess a lingering issue for the Government.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Well Kieran I think Phil made a really good point there. And that is that we’re a Government that isn’t governing with an eye to the polls. We’re setting about and putting in place the agenda that we took to the election. We said that we’d abolish the carbon tax. We said we’d abolish the mining tax. We said we’d put a direct action plan in place. We said we’d set about building the infrastructure of the 21st century and repairing the budget. Now, we’re doing that. It’s ultimately up to the public to judge our performance in those areas, and we’ll see their verdict at the next election. But we’re really not paying much attention to polls and I’m glad that Phil’s noticed.
KIERAN GILBERT:
The Premier in your state is to hold a news conference at 10:15 is your state at Treasury Place in Melbourne and then the Premier will visit Government House at 11am to deliver the writs ahead of the Victorian Election, that’s been confirmed this morning. Mitch Fifield again, it’s going to be hard to draw you on the actual polling numbers but just on the challenge ahead of your Liberal Premier there in Victoria its certainly ahead of him isn’t it?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Kieran when we won the last Victorian State Election it was a close run thing. We haven’t been in a minority Parliament but it’s felt like it. With the movements of Mr Shaw for a period of time it’s actually tipped over in effect into a minority Parliament. So it’s been a difficult environment for Denis to govern it. But he has kept his focus. He has worked hard to ensure that the state has maintained its AAA credit rating. The Victorian state budget is in the best position of any government in Australia. So they’ve got a good strong track record and Denis does deserve to be re-elected and I’m confident he will be.
KIERAN GILBERT:
We’ll know soon enough as on November 29 and with me here in the Canberra studio is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh. Mr Leigh I want to ask you about another issue now and I’ll get to Senator Fifield on this. This is the negotiations on the free trade agreement with China. It looks like they are in their final stages. With the Trade Minister to have some pivotal talks on Friday in Beijing. You would welcome the conclusion of course of this free trade agreement with our largest trading partner.
ANDREW LEIGH:
Kieran, Labor is ultimately the party of free trade. We’re the party that brought down Australian tariffs first in 1973, 1988 and then 1981. Ideally of course you do that through world trade organisation doing a multilateral deal across the board, but a second best is to do bilateral deals, but they’ve got to be good ones. With Japan we’re concerned that the Government struck a deal that seemed to satisfy no party of Australian industry. With Korea we’re concerned that the deal allows Korean firms to sue the Australian Government through investor state dispute clauses. And in China we’re worries that what the Government has done is to tie its own hands effectively setting this deadline of saying that it wants the deal done by the end of the year. If you’re negotiating to sell your house the last thing you want to do is to tell the other party well I’ve got to have it done by this particular time. And that risks not getting a great deal. Labor reckons we need what New Zealand got plus a better deal. The New Zealand – China free trade agreement should be our starting point, Australia should be able to better that.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Senator Fifield, is there any prospect of that happening? I know that the agricultural groups, the Farmers Federation and others are in Beijing this week for these last minute talks but on the prospects of bettering the New Zealand deal. Is there any chance of that you think?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Well look it’s not really for me to comment on specific elements of free trade negotiations. But Andrew Robb is hopeful that we will be able to conclude the free trade agreement with China by the end of the year. You’ve got to acknowledge Kieran, and I think Andrew would as well, that Andrew Robb has been phenomenally successful as Trade Minister, securing the free trade agreements with Japan, with South Korea. We’ve just got to work purposefully with our Chinese partners. They want something that is in their national interest. We want something that is in our national interest. And we’re hopeful that there will be enough common ground that we can conclude that deal.
KIERAN GILBERT:
And not just by the end of the year but possibly within weeks when Xi Jinping visits Australia and to address the Parliament here in Canberra. Anyway we’ll have more on those issues after the break. As well as, we’re going to be joined by John Connor from the Climate Institute on the UN Report which was released overnight.
John Connor – Climate Institute interview
KIERAN GILBERT:
John Connor thanks for your time this morning. Let’s go back to our panel this Monday and the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh and the Assistant Social Services Minister Mitch Fifield. Senator Fifield first to you on this UN report and what you just hear there from John Connor your reaction?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Kieran the Government is doing exactly what it said it would do before the election. We said that we were committed to a 5 per cent reduction in emissions over 2000 levels by 2020. That is our commitment. We said that we would abolish the carbon tax because we thought that was penalising unnecessarily Australian businesses and families and not necessarily for any decent environmental outcome. And we said that we would put in place a direct action plan to help achieve that emissions reductions target. Which is exactly what we’ve done. So we’ve been very clear. We laid out our plan. We put it in place. What is completely unclear at the moment is what Labor’s plan is for the future. We all accept that man does make a contribution to emissions and to global warming and climate change.
KIERAN GILBERT:
We don’t all accept it though do we? There is quite a fair chunk of the Coalition Party Room that doesn’t.
MITCH FIFIELD:
I’m talking about both sides of politics and their policies. We accept that and we’re all committed to a 5 per cent reduction in emissions. Where we differ is on what is the best way to achieve that. We have a plan on that, Labor don’t.
KIERAN GILBERT:
That’s the point isn’t it? The Government not only has a plan, they’ve been able to get it through the Parliament very swiftly, and the Environment Minister who is obviously committed to this issue and believes Australia should do its bit. He thinks it will work and not only that thinks it might even achieve more than a 5 per cent reduction.
ANDREW LEIGH:
Well if he does he’d be just about the only one Kieran. I mean I don’t think there’s a single credible economist that believes that a pay the polluters scheme will get us there. The global green economy index just ranked Australia last out of 60 countries for leadership on climate change, because we’re the only country in the world that’s scrapped the carbon price at a time in which other countries are moving towards pricing carbon pollution. So you’ve got us falling from top 4 for places to invest in renewable energy, down to 10th.
KIERAN GILBERT:
But is this because economists are spooked by the campaign or the lobby around environmental issues that they don’t want to be seen as climate deniers if they say anything other than a carbon price should be adopted? Because as I say, Mr Hunt is adamant that this is going to work. Why don’t you think it will work? Specifics.
ANDREW LEIGH:
Simply Kieran, paying people in the hope that they will reduce emissions is far less efficient than putting a price on carbon pollution. It’s an across the board approach, standard textbook tax reform. What an emissions trading scheme with household assistance does, is it gets you least cost abatement. What Greg Hunt won’t tell you is that his scheme is effectively a carbon tax. As Milton Friedman said to spend it to tax, as he spends to polluters he has to tax households and for every tonne of carbon that he takes out of the atmosphere, the cost is going to be far higher than it would be under an emissions trading scheme. Reputech says that he’ll get at best a fifth of way to meeting those emissions reductions targets. The time for childish things has passed Kieran. We need to take serious action on climate change. Australia as the highest emitter per head in the developed world, needs the most efficient and effective way of tackling carbon pollution. And that’s an emissions trading scheme.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Let’s finish now, only a minute or so left. But Mitch Fifield to you on the speculation that continues that the Federal Police are going to be the lead agency in a new Homeland Security Department. It’s not the first we’ve heard of this sort of speculation but it seems this is very much the direction the Prime Minister is heading with Scott Morrison likely to take over that position.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Well Kieran there is a review underway of our domestic security arrangements. That review hasn’t been completed. Any decisions that are taken in relation to that will only happen after the review is completed. But let me make clear there have been no decisions taken as yet to alter domestic security arrangements, but there is a review taking place.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Okay, Mitch Fifield we’ll wrap it up there. Andrew Leigh any final comments on that I guess to this point Labor has largely been on unity ticket with the Government. What is your view on this idea of a broader Homeland Security Department?
ANDREW LEIGH:
Look we’re always open to sensible proposals from the Government Kieran but certainly this does look a lot like a Scott Morrison land grab for his colleagues portfolios and as has been reported in the Parliament and in the press there has been little support for that from a number of senior colleagues.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Andrew Leigh and Senator Mitch Fifield. Thank you gentlemen that’s all we’ve got time for this morning. Thank you for your contributions this morning.