Today Show

SUBJECTS: Omnibus Savings Bill; Pauline Hanson's maiden speech

LISA WILKINSON: It was a late one for the Senate last night with the government finally passing their $6 billion budget savings bill with the support of the Labor Party, it wasn’t all smooth sailing though, the victory came at the expense of Malcolm Turnbull’s previously iron clad superannuation policy, for more we’re joined now by Defence Industry Minster Christopher Pyne here in the studio for a first time in a long time, and Shadow Transport and Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese, I can’t help noticing has run away, he’s in Canberra.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I haven’t run away…

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He knew I was coming.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I’m still here making sure that nothing happened in the Parliament at the last minute like the last week.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He knew I was going to be here and he’s scurried back to Canberra to avoid me.

LISA WILKINSON: Alright well let’s get on with it, now Christopher your super policy has been passed as we said, but this is not the one that Malcolm Turnbull took to the election and said he had a mandate for, the one that he said was going to be his greatest achievement.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well Lisa two things about that, the only thing - well the significant thing that’s changed is that rather than having a $500,000 lifetime cap dating back to 2007, we’re having $100,000 a year from now on, so that’s basically consultation, there’s still going to be…

LISA WILKINSON: But it was iron clad, that’s not iron clad.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well people want a government that’s prepared to consult with people and get the right policy, I mean consultation’s not weakness, consultation is strength, Malcolm said he would run a cabinet government where everybody was included and people felt they owned the decision, the government now entirely owns this decision because everyone’s on board and I think it’s a better policy now than it was three of four months ago, so it should be a win.

LISA WILKINSON: So how are you deciding which policies you have a mandate for and which ones you don’t?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: We consulted everybody…

LISA WILKINSON: it’s a bit rubbery at the moment.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No it’s not at all…

LISA WILKINSON: A little bit.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: We have a mandate for superannuation reform, fairer super, more flexible super, we’ve managed to achieve $6 billion worth of savings around superannuation but we’ve made it fairer so we can bring back the low income superannuation tax offset that people on very high incomes pay 15% tax on their super over $1.6 million worth of assets, so it’s fairer, it’s easier to understand and it delivers the savings the government wanted.

LISA WILKINSON: Well Albo Labor came on board helping to pass both the super policy and the omnibus changes…

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well no, no, the super policy hasn’t passed; all that’s happened is that they’ve changed because of the pressure from people like George Christensen and Eric Abetz who appear to be now running the government. Mr Turnbull’s happy to break his election promises on superannuation in order to placate the right but he’s not prepared to break he says his election promise on his absurd plebiscite on marriage equality, this is a government that has to deal with its own internals before anything actually happens in terms of the Parliament.

LISA WILKINSON: Well Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Labor is becoming a bunch of policy lap dogs because you are helping them pass a lot of policy at the moment.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Look we are being constructive, we’re not like they were when they were the opposition just saying no to everything, what we did was ensure that we protected all of the poorest people, the people who were targeted for cuts, people on Newstart, single parents, disability support pensioners, carers, we ensured that they won’t get a real cut. Yes there’ll be some pain for some people further up the income scale but that’s consistent with Labor values, I think this week saw the Parliament function well as it should in terms of deliver savings but deliver savings that were fair.

LISA WILKINSON: You’d have to say the PM is racking a few wins at the moment wouldn’t you Albo?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well this is a win for the country, we do need because the government ahs tripled the deficit, we do need some budget repair, but we need to make sure that it doesn’t trash the economy. One of that problems of targeting the poorest people is that they’re the people who spend money, that’s why the reserve bank are cutting interest rates to stimulate demand, to keep that growth growing, now we also need to make sure that we’re consistent in terms of fiscal policy that we don’t hurt people through unfair cuts, but at the same time hurting people at the bottom end is also bad economic policy.

LISA WILKINSON: Alright

ANTHONY ALBANESE: The government recognised that.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: It’s like some Shakespearian soliloquy, how long are you going to go on for?

LISA WILKINSON: Let’s move on this morning.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Like the opening scenes of The Tempest or something.

LISA WILKINSON: Pauline Hanson has delivered her much anticipated maiden speech to the Senate giving flash backs to her maiden speech in the Lower House back in ’96, let’s get a reminder

Video clip begins

PAULINE HANSON: Now we are in danger of being swamped by Muslims who bare a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own.

Video clip ends

LISA WILKINSON: Well as it happens you can’t see it there but the Greens walked out although we are finding out this morning that it was all planned beforehand on a whiteboard in Richard Di Natale’s office, you’re a fan of the political stunt Albo, was that a good one?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well look I think it probably – all it did was help give Pauline Hanson more publicity, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. Look we have a bipartisan policy of support for multiculturalism, respect for every individual, you know what happened to the commitment of 20 years ago we were being swamped by one group, by Asians according to Pauline Hanson, this week it was a different group. I think what we need is more harmony and politicians to bring people together, not try and divide us.

LISA WILKINSON: Christopher the Greens didn’t like it but everyone else swarmed around Pauline Hanson, she’s a very popular woman at the moment, what did you think of the speech?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well obviously I didn’t agree with most of the elements of her speech but I guess the point is she has a right to say those things. I don’t know why the Greens wanted to give her so much publicity, that seems a very counterintuitive measure, I agree with Anthony about that. But she has 500,000 votes across Australia so you can’t reject that fact that half a million Australians thought that she represented their views so what Anthony and I have to do and others have to do…

LISA WILKINSON: Is to keep her sweet?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Is convince, no convince those people that actually we have the better solutions for the things that they think are problems and…

LISA WILKINSON: Who have you got looking after her in the Senate?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Look I don’t know I don’t think we have anybody particularly looking after her, she can look after herself, she’s got three colleagues of her own as well.

LISA WILKINSON: Certainly got some power behind her.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well obviously we need her support one bills and things and we’ll try and gain that, doesn’t mean we’re going to change our values, sure Labor’s not going to change theirs either and at the next election we will try and convince those half a million Australians they should be supporting us rather than Pauline Hanson.

LISA WILKINSON: Alright we’re going to have to leave it there but our mission next week is to get you both in the studio at the same time, can we have an agreement gentleman?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: I think you’d have to come to Adelaide.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I’ll be in London.

LISA WILKINSON: Like star crossed lovers you two.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Go the Crows.

LISA WILKINSON: Yes indeed, thanks Christopher, thanks Albo, good to see you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: See you.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Thank you.