Today Show

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Interview – Today Show with Lisa Wilkinson and Anthony Albanese
Friday 13 November 2015

SUBJECT: Multinational tax;

LISA WILKINSON: Here in the studio shadow industry minister Anthony Albanese, goodmorning to you gentlemen.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Good morning Lisa, good morning Anthony.

LISA WILKINSON: Christopher I’m going to start with you, and in Macolm Turnbull‘s own words taxation needs to be fair, but whats fair about a company like Apple paying just 1.3% in tax?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well its not fair and that‘s why Australia has been leading the world in the G20 to try and make sure that big multinational organisations pay their tax where they earn it. We have a piece of legislation in the senate that has been knocked back by Labor and the cross-benchers over something that had nothing to do with the actual bill, it was a different bill from two months ago that Labor played silly politics with the cross benchers on this week and stopped a piece of legislation that would have started the process of closing loopholes to stop people like Google or Apple or Microsoft not paying their tax where they earn it. Now Labor says they want to make multinationals pay their fair share, we do as well. So why play politics over something that had nothing to do with this bill?

LISA WILKINSON: Anthony?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well that‘s duplicity worthy of Julie Bishop talking about a leadership change frankly, what occured this week was we passed the legislation with amendments making sure that there had to be transparency, the government wants to change the existing system so there will be no transparency for multinationals so they can avoid providing the proper information and its just not on that we have a government thats prepared to say a free for all with regard for multinationals paying their fair share of tax, at the same time they want pensioners and low wage earners to pay 15% on fresh food and vegetables...

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: You’re talking about a diffferent bill altogether Anthony, because that’s just not right...

ANTHONY ALBANESE: That is absolutely right Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: As you know we don’t have a policy to increase the GST so now you’re running a not very scary, scare campaign.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: You said you want a debate on the GST and as soon as there’s actually, a debate consists of Malcolm Turnbull talking and the rest of Australia listening...

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Stop making things up...

ANTHONY ALBANESE: You actually have to have a debate, you’ve said you wanted to have a debate about the 15% GST and as soon as we start to give you one you say oh it’s nothing to do with us...

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well that‘s the opposite of what we’re doing, we’re actually trying to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax where they earn it.You and Sam Dastyari from your party, your party in the senate led by Sam Dastyari from New South Wales added an amendment that had nothing to do with this bill because you lost a ballot about a month or so ago in the senate and you couldn’t take the fact that you lost...

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well we won in the senate this week with Nick Xenaphon.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: That’s right, and now you’re allowing multinationals to get off...

LISA WILKINSON: So Christopher at the moment the multinational giants are allowed to use so called special purpose reporting where they’re not required to provide as much information as Australian conmpanies...

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: And we’re trying to fix that, but Labor, this week Labor sided with the multinationals against the Australian tax payer, thats what happened.

LISA WILKINSON: Alright, alright, well you brought up Julie Bishop lets go to that now. It‘s the issue which just wont go away for the Liberal party, the knifing of Tony Abbott, now we’ve got these accusations levelled against Julie Bishop that she was more involved than previously thought, Christopher this is the wound which just won’t heal, now apparently Julie Bishop’s chief of staff was at a meeting on the Sunday night before Tony Abbott was rolled, if Julie Bishop wasn‘t complicit as the deputy leader then shes lying to somebody.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well Lisa I think thats a bit rough, Julie Bishop’s Chief of Staff was a friend of Peter Hendy’s and he was at Peter Hendy’s house to catch up for a drink. Thats what i understand it to be, but Julie Bishop has handled this matter, she‘s dealt with it, she‘s made the point that between the time that the chief of staff was at Peter Hendy‘s and the next day her position never changed. She acted entirely appropriately as a deputy leader should, she warned the leader at the time, Tony Abbot that there were difficulties, there was a ballot called that night and it was all over in 24 hours. Quite frankly I think the Australian public has moved on and the party has moved on, we are obviously putting the policies that will reduce taxes that will support the Australian people, jobs and growth forward and i think these issues are very much inside the belt weight.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well the suggestion is that he was at Peter Hendy’s house with the rest of the plotters for what 60 minutes and had a glass of wine i mean how absurd. The fact is that Tony Abbott went to Adelaide to make the announcement on the Monday morning, on the Monday morning. Christopher as leader of the house has to enter when he knew this coup was coming...

LISA WILKINSON: Christopher when did you know a spill was on?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: On the Monday after Question Time when the Prime Minister announced that there would be a ballot because Malcolm Turnbull had told him he was going to challenge him.

LISA WILKINSON: Well if that‘s true you‘re going to have to hand in your fitzer badge,

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well I’m not a part of this story nice try Anthony, very nice try, you had more to do with the spill than I did I can tell you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: ...She been loyal to Brendon Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, and now Malcolm Turnbull again. It fails the laugh test that the chief of staff was there for a glass of wine with Wyatt Roy and all of the plotters that were there, it was a meeting to knock off the Prime Minister.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: I think the Australian people are more concerned with how we’re going to create jobs and growth which is what we’re doing.

LISA WILKINSON: Alright...

LISA WILKINSON: Thank you Christopher, thank you Anthony.

[ends]