PVO News Day

23 Nov 2015 Transcipt

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Interview - Sky News Live – PVO News Day

Monday 23 November 2015

SUBJECTS: National Security and Terrorism in Iraq; National Innovation and Science Agenda.

Peter Van Onselen: Alright, as promised we go live now to Parliament House to the office of the Manager of Government Business, he’s also the Minister for Innovation, Christopher Pyne. He joins me now. Thanks very much for your company.

Christopher Pyne: Good afternoon Peter.

Peter Van Onselen: Now, we have a booking every Monday of a sitting week at 12:30 sharp – you’re running late. What could possibly be so important that you wouldn’t be here on time to be talking to my viewers here on Sky News?

Christopher Pyne: Well, your viewers are the most important thing to me in my day of course Peter, but the Prime Minister returned from overseas this morning and I’ve been catching up with him at our daily midday meeting. So I’m sorry.

Peter Van Onselen: Alright, not a bad excuse. Let’s talk about some of the issues I suppose around national security before moving into what you’re expecting this week and indeed this fortnight – the final fortnight of parliamentary sittings before the recess over summer, which I’m sure everyone is well looking forward to. In the national security space though, this is something that looks set to dominate not just this year, but you’d think next year, and next year is an election year. Is there a concern in Government ranks that whether you like it or not so much energy will need to go into this when there is so much else that the Government is looking to do, whether it’s tax reform or innovation reform for example?

Christopher Pyne: Well the two most important things that any Government can do, Peter, are to secure the country and to create the environment that helps the economy to grow with the jobs that that entails and the wealth that that entails. And so therefore we would always have national security and the economy as our two highest priorities. We, and I’m sure all Australians, would wish that national security wasn’t quite as sobering as it is at the moment. But Governments are elected to deal with events as they unfold, and so far I think the National Security Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet, the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, are doing all the necessary things. The Immigration Minister and Justice Minister, from a point of view of counter-terrorism, are doing all the things that are required to protect Australians from the scourge of terrorism that we saw in Paris and right now in Europe.

Peter Van Onselen: What about the argument coming from the former Defence Minister and also the former Prime Minister that boots on the ground in Syria, vis-a-vis special forces in particular, need to be looked at? So far it seems to be being dismissed by members of the executive within the Government. Is it something that could be on the horizon though do you think?

Christopher Pyne: Well Peter, we’re in lockstep with the rest of the international community. Australia is the second largest contributor to the international forces working in the Middle East against ISIL. We are in lockstep with the United States, with our allies across Europe. And the Prime Minister’s meetings in the G20, at APEC and elsewhere, ASEAN, over the last two weeks have proven that we are a model international citizen. We haven’t been asked to provide boots on the ground, and of course there are already boots on the ground – Iraq has their army present, and the Peshmergas representing the Kurds are there. And the international community, through our airborne warfare, are making an enormous dent on ISIL’s capacity to strike at their targets. So we have a coordinated approach. Now, I don’t think that we should be getting ahead of the international alliance, and the international alliance has not asked Australia or any other country to put boots on the ground.

Peter Van Onselen: But does that mean, do you think- I mean, I’m just interested in the sort of- the logical consequences of this. Does it mean that if we still had a Tony Abbott Prime Ministership or a Kevin Andrews Defence Minister position that we would actually be seeing special forces troops on the ground? Or is this something that, to your knowledge, they probably held as views when they were in those executive positions but simply were in a position where they had to keep them to themselves. Whereas once you become a backbencher you’re free to let personal opinions out.

Christopher Pyne: Well, what’s in their minds is not a matter for me, Peter, I don’t know. But I don’t recall, as a Member of the Cabinet now for over two years, a proposal coming forward to put boots on the ground in the Middle East. We have, of course, got special forces in the Middle East supporting those who are there training the Iraqi forces – these number in the several hundreds in terms of trainers and special force personnel. We have six F/A 18s that are operating in this theatre of war. We are making a substantial contribution and we’ll continue to do so. But suggesting that we should get ahead of the international alliance is not something the Australian Government will be doing. But if we’re asked to, if the United States asks us, then we’ll certainly consider it. But it would have to be done carefully and also in a legal way, and we have an arrangement with the Iraqi Government that allows us to operate in the way we are operating. If we were to change that by introducing special forces, obviously we’d need to renegotiate that with the Iraqi Government. So there’s a lot of- a lot more complicated than just saying let’s put boots on the ground. I also don’t think there would be a great deal of public support for such an action, especially not in isolation from the rest of the world.

Peter Van Onselen: I suppose this is- I’ll watch that space as far as the US presidential election campaign plays out. We’ll see down the track. But certainly, most defence analysts in this country seem to agree with your position on that. Christopher Pyne, can I ask you for a view on something that none other than Andrew Bolt as said? He has likened the way that the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is dealing with ISIS to a Chamberlain way with dealing with the Nazis. What’s your reaction?

Christopher Pyne: Well it’s wrong, and I’m not sure what evidence Andrew Bolt has adduced for that position. It’s just a false position.

Peter Van Onselen: Alright, well I’m happy to move on from it. Let’s do that. What is likely to happen in the next parliamentary fortnight? You’ve only got the fortnight before we’re in an election year when everyone returns from a well-earned break over the summer. What are the Government’s key priorities, not just this week but next week as well?

Christopher Pyne: Well Peter, obviously we want to have the citizenship bills passed through the House of Representatives in the Senate in this sitting fortnight. We’ll be beginning that debate later this evening, and we expect that to take some time. That is an important priority and comes at a crucial time when we consider the activities that are occurring around the world. There are other pieces of legislation around higher education, vocational education and training, and some taxation and corporate bills that we’d like to see passed as well. And of course we still have bills in the Senate to do with welfare reform that we would like to see wrapped up by the end of the year. So there’s always a full agenda, and at the moment the Government is focusing on both the economic benefits of the free trade agreement and how to increase those. And I am working individually on the National Innovation and Science Agenda, which we expect to have released before Christmas.

Peter Van Onselen: Well I want to come back to that in a moment in your portfolio area. But just a quick question I suppose on tactics, or correct me if I’m wrong if it’s not tactics. Once upon a time MYEFO used to be delivered before the end of the parliamentary year, whereas more recently it has started to come out much closer to Christmas rather than while Parliament is still sitting. Is that something that the Government would consider, moving back to the ways of old? Even just to allow the debate in the Parliament around what those figures throw up for us?

Christopher Pyne: It’s a long time sine MYEFO was released before the Parliament rose, so I can’t see any political party changing the current dynamic. MYEFO is usually released in December, and I think we’re on track to do that.

Peter Van Onselen: Alright, fair enough. I was hoping you wouldn’t know your history well enough to know how long it had been since it was during the parliamentary period. But what am I …

Christopher Pyne: It’s a long time.

Peter Van Onselen: Who was I kidding? You’ve been in Parliament since the early 1990s. Your space though of innovation is a new policy area really and it’s something that, might I say, is a new focus of the Government since the change of Prime Minister, certainly in terms of a specific ministerial focus. You’ve talked about some of what’s coming up in that space. How tangible are the policies in the innovation space likely to be as we count down to next year’s election?

Christopher Pyne: Well I think people will be very, very enervated but by the National Innovation and Science Agenda. There are many measures, all of which are very substantial changes to the corporate law, the tax law, the way the way we deal with venture capital and capital raising, the commercialisation of research, talents and skills the Government as an exemplar. I think that people will be really optimistic and positive about this development in pushing Australia towards a new economy future. It will go hand in hand with mining, tourism, agriculture, international education. Other areas of the economy that are providing jobs and growth and it will become a key driver of economic growth in Australia. So I’m very much looking forward to it.

We have a whole of Government approach to innovation and science which will be revealed in this statement towards the end of the year, and I think it will give everybody great heart in this part of the economy. But I think all Australians will see that we have a modern, forward looking agenda for the economy, for our Government, and that the people will be able to embrace it.

Peter Van Onselen: One quick final one on this, because when I’ve spoken to senior people in sort of chief risk officer type roles what they say is so important in this space is changed taxation treatment of the way, for example, people are provided with equity in businesses as a substitute for early start ups, for example that aren’t really in a position to pay larger salaries. They say that that is an important area that requires change. Is that on the agenda in the tax reform debate?

Christopher Pyne: There will be all sorts of aspects to the innovation agenda that will deal with taxation, the taxation treatment of a number of different things, and also the way we deal with insolvency in Australia in order to encourage the kind of enabling of risk that we want to see. We are a pretty risk-averse economy, and we need to be prepared to enable risk more, and we can use the tax system and the corporate law to do that. Obviously we don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but when the analysts look at the package I think they’ll be very impressed.

Peter Van Onselen: Christopher Pyne as always thanks for your company we’ll talk again next Monday.

Christopher Pyne: I look forward to it, thanks Peter.

[Ends]