Transcript - Radio National - 21 August 2009

SUBJECTS: Parliamentary Sitting Week, Labor's relationship with China, Labor's spending, Malcolm Turnbull's leadership

Fran KELLY:

We have here with us the Manager of Opposition Business in the House. He says that the Coalition has ended the Parliamentary Sitting Week on a high, and he rejects the weak polling position of Liberal Leader Malcolm Turnbull. He says the Party is focussed and tight. I caught up with Christopher Pyne early this morning from Canberra Airport.

Hon Christopher PYNE MP:

Good morning Fran, it's good to be with you.

KELLY:

Christopher Pyne, can I start with China? I'm wondering if you think that granting a VISA to Uyghur Leader, Rebiya Kadeer was a misjudgement on the part of the Government?

PYNE:

Well whether it was a misjudgement or not is really a matter for Julie Bishop, the Shadow Foreign Minister to cover. Labor has mishandled our entire relationship with China from the beginning. Kevin Rudd wanted people to believe that he had a special relationship with China and I think from the start, when he spoke Mandarin at the Beijing University, he became far too familiar with a Government that is essentially a very important trading partner but still a totalitarian regime. And therefore, in dealing with China, you have to be extremely careful to not cross or transgress the boundaries of what Australians would regard as acceptable and I think, unfortunately, that China is now believing that it can influence activities in Australia whether they're film festivals, whether they're who the National Press Club have speaking at one of their lectures...who we should grant VISAs to and in common (unclear), flexing their muscles in Australia. I think that is an unwelcome development and I think it flows on from this familiarity that this Government believed that it had with China and perhaps the long-standing relationships that it had been built up with Ministers who were former Shadow Ministers and the Prime Minister who was the former Leader of the Opposition who have spent a great deal of time in China with Chinese business people and with the Chinese Government.

KELLY:

It's a little confusing, isn't it? Because your Shadow in this area, Julie Bishop, as you mentioned, said yesterday that it was a bumbling of the handling of the VISAs with the Uyghur Leader which suggests that perhaps she thinks that it shouldn't have been afforded. So on the one hand you're saying that the problem with Labor's policy is their attitude in they're too familiar with China. On the other hand the Opposition seems to be saying perhaps they're not sensitive enough to raise China's concerns about things like the Uyghur Leader.

PYNE: 

Well I think they need to be consistent and you need to deal with...a country needs to deal with other countries that have not been allies of our nation with great carefulness and diplomacy. They are still a Communist-run dictatorship and that means we have to be very careful with our familiarity which in these circumstances is not, I think, appropriate.

KELLY:

Christopher Pyne, the Opposition has been trying all week to turn the attack onto the Government onto its tax intentions. What's the point of that strategy given the Henry Tax Review won't be released until the end of the year. The Government doesn't know what it will rule in and rule out because it doesn't have the options yet from the Henry Review.

PYNE:

Well there are two very important aspects to it. Number one, the Government, or the Treasurer quite apart from the Henry Tax Review, took a submission to Cabinet early this year for an increase in Income Tax. So that had nothing whatsoever to do with the Henry Review. And in fact the Henry Review is simply a smokescreen to try and cover the Treasurer's embarrassment about the fact the Opposition knows that he took a submission to Cabinet to increase Income Tax before the Budget. So it's quite apart from the Henry Tax Review. Secondly...

KELLY:

How do you know that? Did Godwin Greech tell you that?

PYNE:

We have that information because we've been asking about it this week. The Treasurer has not and claims that is not the case...not failed to rule that out. The Government has ruled out a number of taxes. They can't on the one hand say we can't rule anything in or rule anything out when the Henry Tax Review is finished. They already have ruled out taxes.  They've ruled out an increase in the Goods and Services Tax and they've ruled out a change to Superannuation Taxes, so in fact it's not true that they can't rule anything out until the Henry Tax Review is over. We've asked them to rule out a tax on the family home and they have failed to do that all week. Every day for four days.

KELLY:

The Opposition is also calling on the Government to stop spending. To wind back the stimulus package as the economy starts to recover if, in fact, that's what's happening. What spending would you recommend we stop? What specifically...name a program...should go? Should it be the spending on schools, pink batts, should it be the Broadband spending? What should it be?

PYNE:

Well there is apparently $40 billion of the Stimulus package not to be...not available to be spent until July 1^st next year.

KELLY:

A lot of that presumably might be on roads and ports and things like that.

PYNE:

well the Government has to make a decision about whether it intends to plough on on with getting the country further into debt and deficit. Or whether it simply wants to pork barrel between now and the next election, try and win sears from the Opposition. This Government is now at a very important fork in the roads. Hey can either choose because there are apparently green shoots in the economy, to wind back the potential for debt and deficit or they can choose to simply, like children in a lolly shop to spend up between now and the next election with great excitement because they think it will help them get re-elected. Building the Eduction Revolution spending, to start with, could easily be delayed and relaxed. The way it's being run out is in absolute shambles. The Auditor-General's is inquiring into it because it's such a shambles and there would be nothing to stop the Government announcing today that that could be delayed until they get it right rather than wasting and mismanaging taxpayer's money.

KELLY:

Now just finally, we started off this sitting fortnight with a big cloud over Malcolm Turnbull's leadership and murmurings from within your Party Room...of alternate names to take over the leadership. At the end of the end of this sitting fortnight, is Malcolm Turnbull's leadership more secure in your view?

PYNE:

Well there's no doubt...

KELLY:

...despite the polling numbers?

PYNE:

Well apart from polling numbers which...of course...as you know before I've said, they come and go Fran. The important poll is the one on Election Day. As each week passes it's quite clear that Malcolm Turnbull's position is getting stronger and stronger. We've ended this week on a high. We've highlighted the Government's failure to rule out a tax...a Capital Gains Tax on the family home. We've highlighted the Treasurer's secret plan to introduce increased income taxes in this year's Budget. In the Budget in May. The ETS is now behind us, the Renewable Energy Targets Bill has been passed. The Opposition has been focussed and tight and we will go from strength to strength.

KELLY:

Christopher Pyne thank you very much for your time.

PYNE:

It's a pleasure.

(end)