ABC 891

SUBJECTS: Preferences; PEFO; Election 2013; E&OE............................... (Greetings omitted) Presenter: And we’ll be doorknocking in your seat today, Chris Pyne. Christopher Pyne: Oh good. Presenter: In Klemzig. Pyne: What are you doing there? Presenter: We are looking for Abbott supporters in Abbott St but we don’t want you to do anything to stack it. Pyne: Now that you’ve told me… Presenter: No, no. Presenter: Well we couldn’t find any Rudd supporters in Rudd Place but that was in Jamie Briggs’ electorate, Kate Ellis. Kate Ellis, we’ll come to Chris Pyne in a moment. This question it’s leading our news bulletins this morning, not entirely unexpected from Tony Abbott given the signals he’s sent, but he is confirming today that the Coalition will place the Greens last in every, on preferences, in every one of every 150 House of Rep seats. Do you think there is merit in that plan? Kate Ellis: Oh look I think that’s entirely a matter for Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party and their party machinery who negotiates these deals. Presenter: But Abbott has challenged Labor to put Greens last, who do you have more in common with? Ellis: Look I’m not really interested in a popularity ranking contest, what I am interested in is winning first preference votes and getting out there and doing my job convincing people… Presenter: But is there a preference deal in Adelaide? Ellis: Well I would imagine but that isn’t something that I will be involved in. Presenter: No but what would that be… Ellis: You would have to talk to the party, the party spokespeople. Presenter: Kate Ellis, you must know where the preferences are going to flow in your seat… Ellis: Well no, I don’t David, and what I would say to you and what I would say to the listeners out there is it is absolutely my job to be focussed on the issues before the people of Adelaide, the solutions to the problems affecting their everyday lives, not the internal debates between political parties. Presenter: Well who do, this is a fair question surely, who do you have more in common with – the Greens or the Coalition? Ellis: Well I think that obviously I have most in common with the Labor Party, I have differences with both of them. Presenter: That wasn’t the options one of the options, that wasn’t the option. I gave you an option of the Greens or the Coalition. Who have you got most in common with? Ellis: Look, there are some policies that I have more in common with each of them but mainly what my policies are are the Labor policies and the policies which I believe are best for the people of Adelaide which is why I am interested in first preference votes. Presenter: But you have been in a Coalition with the Greens for the last three years so you must have more in common with the Greens otherwise you would have been in a coalition with Tony Abbott! Ellis: Look we have had many differences with the Greens. We have many many differences with the Coalition. Presenter: You have got more in common with the Greens. Ellis: That’s why I am interested in first preference votes for the Labor Party. Presenter: Although your seat – what if it goes to preferences? It’s a possibility, there was a big swing to you at the last election… Anthony Green saying in seats like yours there could be big swings back, probably still hold it. Greens preferences may be important to you, correct? Ellis: Well obviously that is up to Greens voters and I mean another thing I know that Tom was just saying this but what we do know is that people make up their own decisions and that is particularly true in the seat of Adelaide. We have seen, I have secured the seat of Adelaide both with and without Greens preferences. And my focus is absolutely on getting out there and winning first preference votes for the Labor Party. Presenter: Chris Pyne, is the Coalition being too clever by half here? What if it comes down to a lineball decision and you may need the Greens vote to form government? You are saying that really you are not interested in serving the people of Australia to that extent. You are not going to compromise on it, that you would rather abandon, as you see it, the people of Australia, to a dysfunctional government. Pyne: Well Matt, what we have said is the time for instability, chaos, dysfunction, disunity that we have had for the last three years is over. We must have a clear choice at this election and we want the public to know that the Coalition wants to form a government its own right. It does not want to be in a coalition with the Greens and we will not seek to do so. And in fact we feel so strongly about it that we would preference Labor, our arch enemy, ahead of the Greens because of the damage the Greens has done to the Australian economy over the last three years in concert with the Labor Party. What we have heard from Kate Ellis unfortunately is more of the slithering and sliding around the issues – that is what the Labor Party has done for the last three years and that is why the Australian public is thoroughly sick of this chaotic government. Presenter: Although you would form, I don’t think Tony Abbott has ruled out forming a government of some description with the support, if it came to this, of a Bob Katter candidate and Clive Palmer candidates, correct? Pyne: Well we have said we won’t sought to form government in a hung Parliament with independents, crossbenchers, Greens or whatever you might end up there. We want to form a government in our own right because the public deserve, stable, adult and secure government – they haven’t had that for the last three years. And does anybody really want more of the last three years if Labor gets elected with their Greens ally. And of course Kate can’t say whether she won’t put the Gerens below the Liberal Party is because she wants the Greens to vote for her, she wants Green preferences. She would do a deal with the Greens and in fact of course she has a great deal more in common with the Greens than she does with the Labor Party – with the Liberal Party. Maybe even with the Labor Party! Presenter: Chris Pyne, if you are so confident about your costings, why not release them? Pyne: Well the PEFO was handed down yesterday, so Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb will go through that methodically. We are also relying on information to come back from the Parliamentary Budget Office which Labor won’t even give information to, about the contingency reserve in the budget, and once we have done that, we will release our costings. Presenter: But there was no surprises in the figures released yesterday, they basically mirrored what the Federal Government released just before the election, so you must have been factoring that in. If you are so confident about being good managers, why not release your costings? Pyne: Well David there was one surprise in the budget – in the PEFO - in the last 11 days treasury has increased the estimate of carbon tax revenue by $250 million at a time when Mr Rudd has said he terminated the carbon tax. So somehow Mr Rudd says he has ended the carbon tax, PEFO, the Treasury, says that the revenue from the carbon tax is going up and they confirm that the carbon tax will rise to $38 a tonne. So I don’t know how Mr Rudd can claim one thing and Treasury say the other. But that’s the inconsistency we have become used to with Mr Rudd. Presenter: So you will, you will give the Australian people what the Labor Party gave the Australian people in terms of economic notice and that is what a minute before midnight before Election Day. Is that your new way? Pyne: Well I certainly, I confirmed on Q&A on Monday night that in fact we won’t do what Labor did in 2007 which was to release their policy costings document at 5 o’clock on the Friday night before polling day which opened at 8.00am the next morning – that’s how seriously they took costings. And that’s why we won’t be lectured by the Labor Party on economic responsibility. Presenter: Well, do you both agree, do you both agree on this much that the Budget has a structural problem which has to be addressed either by new taxes or by removing locked in spending. Kate Ellis? Ellis: Well I absolutely believe that we need to be up front with the Australian people about the position of the Budget and that means outlining the areas where we will find savings before an election and not surprising people afterwards. Which is why this process is so important and why now is the time after the economic statement has been issued, that Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne need to outline where they are finding their $70 billion worth of cuts. Presenter: Chris Pyne, do you agree on, the points that David has just put to Kate Ellis, and that is… Pyne: No I don’t. Presenter: …that there is a structural problem with the economy and it’s not just going to fix itself? Pyne: There’s a structural problem with the Labor Party’s fiscal management of the country, there’s no doubt about that. But I don’t think believe is a structural problem with the Budget. There is a structural problem with this government. Because in fact revenue is increasing by 0.4% this year and spending has been increasing by 1%. So the problem isn’t a revenue problem; the problem is a spending problem. And Kate Ellis knows that. Labor has run up almost $400 billion of Commonwealth debt in six years. It has accelerated debt faster than any government since federation, in 113 years. They are addicted to spending… Presenter: Right. Pyne: And you can’t tax an economy into prosperity… Presenter: Alright, now, Chris Pyne, do you think Tony Abbott is revealing the true Tony Abbott when he refers to the attractions that the attributes of a candidate and one of them being the candidates’ sex appeal? Pyne: Look I don’t think we should elevate an exuberant remark from Tony Abbott to anything other than what it was, it certainly is not an embarrassment to anyone. I was on Q&A on Monday night and a girl came to the show because she thought I was Chris Pine from Star Trek and when she discovered that I wasn’t she wasn’t deeply disappointed so these types of events happen every day. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Presenter: Kate Ellis? Ellis: Oh well look I think Tony Abbott can explain his comments yesterday, what I do think is that if a leader is asked what are the traits that would make a good Member of Parliament, then I would hope that those traits is their ability to work hard, their ability to get results for their local community, their ability to advocate strongly. And I just think it is really strange comments to say sex appeal is the trait that comes to mind, but I really…. Presenter: Do you think parties tend to prefer attractive candidates, particularly women? Ellis: Well I most think most people would say if they looked at the Parliament they might question that. I think they call us show business for ugly people. Presenter: I don’t think anyone has ever used the term ugly in reference to you… Ellis: Well you should not look at my twitter feed then Matt. Presenter: Well what’s wrong with sex appeal? Ellis: I’m not saying there is anything wrong with sex appeal, I’m just saying that seriously the Australian people out there want us to focus on the issues they are seeing in their day to day lives, they want us to focus on solutions for them. I don’t think they care two hoots about somebody’s sex appeal or otherwise and Tony Abbott’s view of it. And I think we should really focus on the issues that are important to them and rather than… I don’t even want to jump on these gotcha moments on each side. I just think enough of, enough of the poiticking, let’s get on with solutions for the Australian public. Presenter: Is it an advantage, however, to be presentable, for men and women, in politics? Ellis: Well I think it is probably similar in politics than in any other field in Australia… Presenter: Well how much time do you spend on your presentation? Ellis: I really did not prep for these questions. Not very long at all this morning, David. And I am a bit worried that Matt has already just taken a photo to be able to prove to your listeners. Pyne: I spend hours on mine and it makes no difference at all. Ellis: That doesn’t surprise any of us Christopher. Pyne: Thank you Kate. Presenter: And we spend no time because we get up at a ridiculous hour of the morning. Presenter: Can you have too much sex appeal, Matt and I will not get another photo taken with Hugh Jackman because we look like hobbits? Presenter: No, that’s it. Presenter: People can find it intimidating if you are too good looking. Ellis: Look I wouldn’t know, I don’t claim to be an expert on sex appeal, I claim to be an expert in representing the people of Adelaide and I might stick to that topic I think. Presenter: Chris Pyne, nobody has ever accused you of being too good looking? Pyne: No, that’s quite the opposite in fact. Presenter: Oh, well I don’t know. Presenter: Well how did you get preselected? Pyne: The numbers, I had the numbers. Presenter: It’s all about the numbers. Presenter: A beautiful set of numbers as Paul Keating once said. Presenter: Chris Pyne, thank you very much. Pyne: It’s a pleasure. Presenter: And Kate Ellis. Ellis: Thank you. Presenter: And I should point out, in case anyone gets the wrong idea, we often take photos of whoever is in the studio and bang them up on twitter, but Kate Ellis thank you very much. Ellis: Thank you. ENDS