ABC Newsradio

SUBJECTS: School funding

E&OE………

(Greetings omitted)

Marius Benson: Christopher Pyne, the battlelines did seem to be drawn in parliament this week with the Labor Party accusing you of being the party of slashing public spending, and you accusing Labor of being wasteful and big spenders. Are you happy with that sort of argument over the next twelve months to the next election?

Christopher Pyne: Well Labor does need to explain where it is getting the money from for all its promises. There is $120 billion. That is an enormous amount of money. $120 billion of Labor unfunded promises and every Australian knows that you have to live within your means. Or you can borrow on the credit card or go into debt. Labor has said it is very happy to keep borrowing on the credit card. The Coalition is saying we need to live within our means.

Benson: Now the Labor Party is saying however, Mr Pyne, we are simply seeing this week in Queensland and NSW just a dress rehearsal for the cuts ahead under a federal Coalition. Is that accurate?

Pyne: Well Labor is trying to distract people from the carbon tax, from the boat arrivals, from the Prime Minister’s integrity, from its $120 billion black hole.

Benson: But I am wondering if I can take you to the Coalition rather than Labor and ask you is that the Coalition intention to have substantial cuts?

Pyne: Well Marius I am explaining why Labor is talking about every other issue besides their own government. Now I thought it was unusual this week that Labor has talked about Queensland and NSW Parliaments rather than their own. I think it is bizarre that Labor has spent the week talking about everything else but their own government.

Benson: But can I ask you about the Coalition’s plans – does the Coalition have a very large axe as Labor is claiming?

Pyne: Of course it doesn’t. The Liberal Party, if elected, will do exactly as Liberal governments always do which is find out exactly what the situation is with the books because Labor never tells the truth about their budget failures. And then we will try and grow the economy and cut tax so that we can get revenue back into the Commonwealth budget through increasing economic growth rather than what Labor has done which is allowed for the unions to run industrial relations in this country, allowed for the unions to go on a spree of union militancy to make demands from business which has forced business out of work.

Benson: But if the Coalition does find that these circumstances are different when, and if, it gains power next year – could there be cuts in areas like your own, education?

Pyne: Well Marius we will live within our means and that means that we will have to do the things that need to be done to ensure that we are growing the economy. And that means getting government out of the way of business, cutting regulation, cutting green tape and red tape. And we have said that we will save a $1 billion a year just on cutting red tape alone. I think that will be a welcome relief to Australian business and I think households will be glad with a government in Canberra trying to get out of the way of business and grow the economy rather than heaping more and more red tape on them.

Benson: But what is the voter going to make on the claim and counterclaim this week in your narrow, large but narrow in this context, area of education? Will there be cuts or will there be any increasing in spending?

Pyne: Well I wouldn’t believe anything the Labor Party says about the Coalition’s policies.

Benson: Well don’t worry about the Labor Party, what is the Coalition’s intention?

Pyne: Well I have announced that we will increase spending in education by $4.2 billion at least which is 6% indexation on top of the current quantum.

Benson: And that is not dependent on the circumstances of the economy when you come into power?

Pyne: No. Absolutely not. That is an absolute commitment. We have said that we will increase spending on top of the current quantum by 6% indexation each year. That we will have a capital infrastructure fund, we will have a relentless focus on teacher quality, a robust curriculum and principal autonomy and we will stop the discrimination against disabled children at school between non-government and government schools by allowing their funding to be portable.

Benson: That is Christopher Pyne, the opposition’s spokesperson on education.

ENDS