5AA

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 5AA Mornings with Leon Byner Tuesday 20 January 2015 SUBJECT: Interview - 5AA Mornings with Leon Byner LEON BYNER:​Now yesterday we had a sweet caller who blew the whistle on the fact that the rebate for council rates applied by the feds was cut $27 million. We later heard that the Local Government Association - you might have remembered that David O'Lachlan who is the president rung in and they're running a campaign to encourage ratepayers to write to MPs about this cut. But I got a message from Christopher Pyne and of course he's a senior in the current federal government and he said that the South Australian Government has withdrawn $34 million from the pensioner concession rebates but the feds are being blamed for everything. They're saying the state's cutting it more but trying to blame it on someone else. Now other states have made up this shortfall as has South Australia but our contribution finishes on 1 July but continues elsewhere. Now according to Mr Pyne whom you'll meet in a moment, this appears to be another one of those misinformation campaigns where despite increases in spending and a GST increase the state is still trying to put it all on the Federal Government. This means that pensioner rate bills issued in the middle of the year will be much higher because the rebate will disappear. Add to this the fact that there's no pensioner rebate on gas bills in the state although we have an energy rebate which theoretically compensates for that but I'm sure everybody has a different view on that. But the withdrawal of this money by the Federal Government is in my view very unjust. The state can't take out more and then saying oh it's all the Federal Government's fault. Administering this state is very expensive and it's arguable whether the services we get delivered are anywhere near as good as what they are elsewhere. So let's have a look at this situation and remember this is on the heels of a story that we broke yesterday where utility prices and levies for those living in retirement villages could go up, up to 1600 per cent. So let's talk first of all to the Federal Liberal member Christopher Pyne. Chris what is it you want the South Australian public to know? CHRISTOPHER PYNE:​Well a couple of things Leon I think it's very important for people to know the facts. Now the State Labor Government are very good at creating smokescreens and misinformation campaigns but here are the facts. For some time the State Labor Government has funded the pensioner concessions and this year that would have cost $34 million. Some years ago the Federal Government decided to extend that to self-funded retirees and part-pensioners. And as you said that was $27 million. There's absolutely no reason at all why the State Labor Government would withdraw the $34 million for pensioners, that's a decision that they have made. But under the cover of doing that, they are trying to blame the Federal Government. Let's just take the $27 million from the Federal Government. Even if Labor wanted to do so, we have given them the GST increases over the next four years amounting to $1.2 billion, an increase of 27 per cent. We're increasing funding to South Australia by $1.8 billion, including the GST, 23 per cent increase to funds for South Australia. So if the State Labor Government wanted to they could easily replace that $27 million and they do not need to remove the $34 million that they are removing from pensioners. So the State Labor Government, under the guise of a Federal Liberal change, are short-changing the pensioners who the Federal Liberal Government never supported with these concessionary reductions. LEON BYNER:​Okay to clarify this and we'll get Mr Koutsantonis' view in a sec like we always do, so the $27 million the feds have withdrawn affected who? CHRISTOPHER PYNE:​Self-funded retirees and part-pensioners. The $34 million that Labor has withdrawn affected pensioners and Labor's trying to blame the Federal Government for the whole lot but I'm saying that if Labor really wanted to put the money back in for self-funded retirees and part pensioners they could do so because they've been given $1.2 billion more in GST revenue over the next four years. LEON BYNER:​Alright now I have in front of me a release from the Local Government Association which has gone out to ratepayers, it talks only about the $27 million. CHRISTOPHER PYNE:​That's right. David O'Lachlan who is the chairman of the LGA is a Labor candidate for the state seat of Adelaide, so unfortunately David O'Lachlan is not speaking entirely without his own biases and views when he speaks as president of the LGA and I think it's a pity that as president of the LGA he has put himself in that position where he's a Labor candidate because he's not speaking fairly about the issues, he's ignored the $34 million that's been cut by the State Labor Government, he's ignored the fact that the Federal Liberal Government is giving $1.2 billion more in GST revenue to the State Government and increasing spending, and I think he should make that clear when he comes on your show. LEON BYNER:​Alright stay on the line because as we always do we want to give the state treasurer the opportunity of answering, Tom happy New Year thanks for joining us. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Good morning Leon, Mr Pyne and all your listeners. LEON BYNER:​What's your reaction to what Chris has said, there's 27 million and there's 34, why do you take out the 34? TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Because the Commonwealth Government cut over the forward estimates nearly $120 million out of pensioner concessions and that money where the Government used to allocate for local government concessions, now the Government made a cut in Canberra, we passed on that cut this year but remembering last year because councils had already formulated their budgets we stepped in and used state taxpayers' money to fill the gap the Commonwealth left. Look Mr Pyne can rattle off as many numbers as he likes. The reality is this: they've made cuts to health, they've made cuts to education, and they're making cuts to pensioner concessions. Now, pensioner concessions are the one area that I think Mr Pyne cannot withstand, and I think that they must buckle on this. LEON BYNER:​Alright. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​South Australians deserve to have a Commonwealth Government that cares about the most vulnerable in our community. Mr Pyne is the most senior Liberal in the Cabinet from South Australia. In the last Howard Government, we had very senior Liberals: Nick Minchin; we had Robert Hill; we had Amanda Vanstone. They fought very hard for South Australia. It seems that Mr Pyne is just an apologist for Mr Abbott in South Australia. I’d rather he stood up for pensioners rather than trying to blame someone else. LEON BYNER:​Alright. Christopher Pyne, what do you say to that? CHRISTOPHER PYNE:​Well, Tom didn't answer your question, Leon. You asked him why they had removed the $34 million and he went on with a whole lot of political backtrack because he knows he can't tell the truth without explaining to the South Australian public that yes, South Australian Labor did pull out $34 million. They didn't need to do so. They have increased revenues and they're simply playing politics, and that's why he went on with a whole lot of gump (*) about the Howard Government and apologists for Tony Abbott, because he couldn't actually answer your question honestly. He also dishonestly spoke about the hospital and schools spending. The Coalition is increasing spending in hospitals in South Australia by $293 million going up every year for the next four years for schools, increasing by $274 million going up every year for the next four years. The problem for Labor, Leon, is that their rhetoric doesn't match the facts. Now I'd ask you to ask Tom to answer the question you put to him, which is why are they cutting the $34 million which never came from the Commonwealth Government? LEON BYNER:​Alright Tom, what's the answer to that? TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Well, it did come from the Commonwealth and we're just passing on the cut that the Commonwealth made. And I want to point out on your program, Leon, I have said many times that the Commonwealth's funding for health and education is increasing but not by as much as they had promised. They have not maintained the level of spending that they had promised they would. They've made cuts. So even though their funding is going up, it's not going up by as much as they had promised, which means it's a cut to our budget. And they are spending less in South Australia than they had promised that they would. LEON BYNER:​Yeah, but you see did not the Treasury documents show just after Christmas that that amount was $4 million? TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​No, Leon, that's… LEON BYNER:​Because, you see… TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​This is a myth perpetrated by Steven Marshall and Chris Pyne. What they're saying is we've given you extra tide money into roads funding, and therefore you should be able to move that across to health and education. Well, you know we can't. Tide grants can't be moved from one purpose to another. The reality is that the Commonwealth Government have made dramatic cuts to health and education. I refer you to the Commonwealth budget’s own budget papers, page seven of the budget overview, where Mr Hockey talks about $80 billion worth of cuts to health and education over the next 10 years. These are their own budget papers, Leon. LEON BYNER:​So you're arguing that that $34 million that you're cutting to pensioners is in fact federal money… TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Yes. LEON BYNER:​…not state money? TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Yes. We get a grant to spend on pensioner concessions. LEON BYNER:​Alright. How is it possible for the other states to keep these benefits but us not to? TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Well, they didn't. They didn't, Leon. They didn't. I'm not sure where your information is coming from. LEON BYNER:​Well, as far as… TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​The Queensland, Victorian, and New South Wales budgets stepped in for one year and one year only. Their budgets are coming up in this year's mid-financial year and we'll see their responses. LEON BYNER:​Well, at this point - there is no decision at this point that they will take that money away. We only have a different decision on ours. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​No. If you look at the Victorian budget, the New South Wales budget, the Queensland budget, those treasurers all said they would step in for one year and one year only. LEON BYNER:​Chris Pyne, what do you say to this? CHRISTOPHER PYNE:​Well, Tom isn't right and he knows he isn't right, and that's why he's spinning his wheels trying to get the subject off the $34 million. He knows that the Commonwealth's contribution was $27 million for self-funded retirees and part pensioners, as part of the National Partnership Agreement. He knows the state's contribution was $34 million. Under the guise of the Commonwealth no longer continuing that program, the state has withdrawn from the pensioner concessions. LEON BYNER:​Yep. CHRISTOPHER PYNE:​If pensioners want to write to a Member of Parliament to complain about that reduction, they should be writing to their state Labor members and complaining to them. Now, Tom has not answered that question. It's quite clear he hasn't answered the question about – it’s not the State Government's priority and he's tried to misinform your listeners about the Commonwealth's spending because over the next four years we are increasing spending to South Australia by $1.8 billion, a 23 per cent increase. We're increasing hospitals by 27 per cent - sorry, 30 per cent. Increasing schools by 27 per cent. And Tom Koutsantonis is good at playing politics, but as the treasurer, he needs to know his facts. LEON BYNER:​[Indistinct]. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Leon, can I just add…? LEON BYNER:​Sure. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Mr Pyne would have you believe that the Abbott Government has kept every election promise that they have made since they entered office. They've made cuts to pensions, they've made increased co-payments for GPs, they've removed rebates… LEON BYNER:​[Interrupts] Well, that's not happening. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Well, we'll see what the Senate does, Leon. LEON BYNER:​They're going to reject it. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Well, let's hope that they do and let's hope that the Senate makes them keep their promise. And so quite frankly when Mr Pyne comes on this program saying that, you know, they've kept all their commitments to pensioners I'd ask him to look at their record - their record since September 2013 - when they say there have been no changes to pensions. You know pensioners, Leon, have always had their pensions indexed to wage growth. LEON BYNER:​Yeah. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​And why? Because wages growth always exceeds inflation. LEON BYNER:​Yes, but Tom, I want to talk about these rebates for council. See, another point that's… TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​Sure. LEON BYNER:​…got to be made in all this is that John Olsen was the last premier to increase them. So their actual value has diminished anyway. So that's going to hit them heavy, as a [indistinct]. TOM KOUTSANTONIS:​It certainly is, Leon. That's why we stepped in last year and we stepped in, we filled the gap the Commonwealth had left after they had made their cuts to pensioner concession for council rates. But we can't afford to keep on doing that. The Commonwealth must step back into this place and refund this promise that they had made at the last election to not make any changes for pensioners. LEON BYNER:​Alright. Well, you've heard both Chris Pyne and Tom Koutsantonis. Who are you buying? You've heard them both; they've had their say. What do you think? 82230000. [ends]