Today Show

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Interview – Today Show with Lisa Wilkinson and Anthony Albanese
Friday 8 May 2015

SUBJECTS: Budget 2015; Greens Leadership; Mother’s Day.

LISA WILKINSON: For more, we are joined by Education Minister Christopher Pyne and Shadow Transport Minister Anthony Albanese. Good morning to you gentlemen.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Good morning, Lisa.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good morning.

LISA WILKINSON: Which one of you is playing the role of Bart and which one is Homer this morning?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No, I don't think either of those would be good for a Cabinet Minister…

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I think he plays a character in Parliament quite often in terms of being a bit naughty.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You have been throwing out as many times as I have Anthony.

LISA WILKINSON: The Prime Minister said yesterday that after last year's perceived tough budget that he has listened and he has learned and he has already promised dull, so we know that, which is exactly what Christopher Richardson is warning against. How much of next Tuesday is about fixing the budget deficit and how much is about having your eye on next year's election?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, theIntergeneration Report, Lisa, showed that we had halved the debt and deficit project that would have occurred if Labor had stayed in office. So we have made enormous gains with just last year's budget. But there is a difference between being an armchair economist and an armchair commentator and actually being in the Cabinet as Anthony was and as I am now and having to make decisions that affect people. So next Tuesday, we will be having a budget that is about getting families back to work, supporting jobs, creating economic activity, and that is very important for the economy.

LISA WILKINSON: To be fair, Chris Richardson is respected, highly respected…

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Very respected. Sure.

LISA WILKINSON: …by both sides of politics and it sounds like you're only comparing yourself to Labor rather than the job that needs to be done?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, we are getting on with the job; we have halved Labor's debt and deficit. We are going to have a budget next Tuesday that will restore confidence, that will support the economy, create jobs, support the economy, create jobs, support families, help with childcare. We see in the papers this morning: support disadvantaged families with disabled children. That is what governments should be about. It should be about looking after our families and creating jobs. It shouldn't just be about the budget bottom line.

LISA WILKINSON: Anthony, Chris Richardson was not kind to either side of politics saying no-one is taking - standing up and taking the initiative.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, what Chris Richardson also has done, of course, is during our period of government, acknowledged the work that we did to get through the Global Financial Crisis. It is no wonder, though, that he is confused by this government's narrative. I mean, the only job that is of concern to Tony Abbott is his own. This budget is all being driven by their internals, over whether Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey survive and get through next week, after their shocker of a budget in 2014. First, they doubled the budget deficit when they came into government. Then they said there was a budget emergency. Now they say they have fixed the budget emergency, that never was, and now they are moving on...

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: That is just politics, Anthony...

ANTHONY ALBANESE: …with a whole new narrative and no wonder the Australian public are confused.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: That is just politics, Lisa. I mean, the truth is budgets should be about jobs, they should be about families, they should be about supporting Australians. And all Anthony is doing is giving a political diatribe.

LISA WILKINSON: So you are saying you didn't do that last time…

ANTHONY ALBANESE: You are just giving clichés, Christopher. What the next week's budget next week is about creating jobs, given the unemployment rate is at 6.3%, we have interest rates at 2%. What that says is that the Reserve Bank knows that there is real problems with a sluggish economy because the last budget hit confidence because it was unfair to its core and it damaged the Australian economy. We need a repair job on last year's budget next Tuesday.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, we had a mess that we inherited from Labor, Lisa, and we are fixing it and next Tuesday, we will see the benefits of the good work we did last year, 300 out of our 400 measures passed the Senate. 100 didn't. Labor voted against $5 billion of their own savings that they had proposed in government. Now, the electorate voted for us to fix Labor's mess. We have been getting on with the job of doing that. Next Tuesday we will confirm that we know exactly what we are doing and that is supporting families and supporting jobs.

LISA WILKINSON: We saw a change in the leadership of the Greens this week. Christine Milne generally seen as fairly hard lined. Anthony, does Labor have something to fear with that change from Christine Milne to a more moderate leader in Richard Di Natale? It sounds like they are going to side with the government a bit more?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, I don't think there is anything more moderate about Richard Di Natale. The problem is that the Greens fundamentally don't have an economic strategy at all for jobs and for economic growth. And that's the fundamental job of government. If you can't do that, then you can't fund the social policies that you want to put in place. When you examine the details of the Greens’ policies, for example, I had a piece this week about Sydney Airport, whereby there is agreement across the Parliament and people who have looked at it for the last 40 years getting on with the job of a second Sydney Airport, they say close Kingsford Smith Airport but they oppose Badgerys Creek also. I don't know how you would get into Sydney – perhaps parachuting in. I don't know how you would get out. That is the problem with the Greens. When you look at the detail, they simply don't stack up as a credible political party or an alternative government.

LISA WILKINSON: All right. We will wait and see. Just finally, Christopher, I have to ask you, this week Scott Morrison has been very visible, he has done 16 interviews in a week and Joe Hockey has only done four. What is going on there?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, families and childcare and universal access in my own area, for example, are big parts of next week's budget. So Scott Morrison has had a lot to say about the reforms that we will be bringing in next Tuesdayaround pensions. He is the Social Services Minister. You would expect him to be out there prosecuting that case and he is doing a very, very good job.

LISA WILKINSON: Not jockeying for position in any way?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He is just doing his job. The thing about the politics in Australia is rather than worrying about people jockeying, we should recognise when someone is doing a good job and Scott is out there, prosecuting the case around social services reform, around pensions and families and childcare. And I think he is a star of the government.

LISA WILKINSON: OK. You both are doing the right thing on Mother's Day?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Oh, absolutely. I'm heading to Port Macquarie for my in-laws 60^thwedding anniversary.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Which is an amazing achievement.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: For Mr and Mrs Tebbutt, on Port Macquarie on Saturday night. It will be a great occasion where the family has come over from around the world, literally - a brother from London and one from Perth to spend the time with the family.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Let’s hope we both make it to 60 years with both of our respective spouses.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: If they’ll put up with us. It's a miracle we have lasted as long as we have.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Exactly. 60 years is a long time. Well both my mother and mother-in-law are alive so we will be catching up with all of them on Sunday.

LISA WILKINSON: Fantastic.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Happy Mother's Day to all the mums.

LISA WILKINSON: Absolutely, well said.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He is a charmer.

LISA WILKINSON: Christopher and Anthony… only just works on you. Thanks guys. We will see you next week.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Thank you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: See you then.

[ends]