Doorstop interview, Adelaide

EO&E…………………………………………………………

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Today Bill Shorten gave a 50 minute long speech at Labor’s campaign launch, but provided no detail of the costs of his policies, costs of his higher taxes, and the cost burden that would be worn by the Australian people. Labor has gone through a process of endless giveaways it seems, but not willing to tell the Australian people what they’re going to take away from them. Australians go to this election with the starkest choice in a generation, between a Liberal National Government that has created more than 1.3 million jobs, brought the Budget back to balance and into surplus, delivering tax cuts for hard working Australians, as well as small businesses and has strong plans for the future to keep our economy strong, to grow more than 1.25 million jobs and to ensure that young Australians, older Australians all continue to rely on services that are fully funded and fully paid for by a strong economy.

By contrast, Mr Shorten today revealed he has no plans to keep the economy strong and therefore has no plans in terms of how he’ll keep growing jobs, how it is he’ll manage to keep the Budget in surplus, how it is that he’ll manage to give Australians the services they need in a way that is fully paid for without digging into their pockets.  And of course we know that Mr Shorten in fact plans to dig into the pockets of hardworking Australian families, retirees, and those looking to get their business’s growing and creating jobs for Australians. He has plans for $387 billion in higher taxes, but he refused to mention that today.  He has plans to put higher taxes on retirees, on wage earners, on small businesses, on housing, on electricity, yet he refused to mention that today. What’s the point of having a campaign launch Mr Shorten if you won’t tell Australians where you’re going to tax them more, where you’re going to get the money from? Ultimately what we saw today was just another case of a big spending, reckless Labor Party, who we would expect once again, to have to keep upping taxes to maintain the revenue required for their spending binge. But also, he cannot be trusted to manage the Budget, having Paul Keating sitting there today was a vivid reminder that the last time the Labor Party brought down a surplus Budget was 1989. Now of course Mr Shorten, Mr Bowen, the Labor Party go to this election pretending they’re committed to surpluses, but the only thing we really know they’re committed to is the higher taxes they have, which they are now avoiding talking about.

JOURNALIST:

Has the Liberal Party really done enough in terms of the economic plan? When you look at the last five and half years national debt has doubled, you’re basing this on your economic performance, but is that really the case? Is that really the truth?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

We have slowly but surely brought the Budget back to the point where it is now, coming into surplus and that’s come as a result of keeping spending levels at 50-year lows in terms of spending growth. Making sure that the growth in spending is kept low, while most importantly, growing the economy and it’s through job creation that we have managed to get to a point where we have the Budget coming back in to surplus. And we have record numbers of Australians in jobs, record jobs growth for young Australians, and indeed record levels of participation by women in the Australian workforce. That’s the dividend of a strong economy, more jobs, more opportunities for more Australians, and that’s at risk from a higher taxing agenda of the Labor Party. The higher the taxes are, the more you know that is going to drive down economic growth in the future, fewer jobs will be available, the harder the pressure will be in terms of cost of living pressures on Australian households. Paying more taxes and as a result of that, you’ll end up in a vicious spiral which is where Labor have taken us in the past. Fewer jobs, weaker tax and revenue from higher taxes, putting pressure on that and ultimately of course, Budget deficits as a result.

JOURNALLIST:

Labor pledged a $1500 wage rise, you haven’t mentioned anything specific or a timing, is that a concern and the perception of voters, is that a concern as well?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

More jobs and higher wages come from having a stronger economy. If you have higher taxes you’ll have a weaker economy, fewer jobs and therefore less opportunities for Australians to earn. Labor seem to think they can tax and regulate a way into creating higher wages, but higher taxes and higher regulation just means fewer jobs, and less opportunities for Australians.

JOURNALIST:

When is the Liberal Party planning to do their official launch? We saw Kevin Rudd and  Julia Gillard together, do you think we’ll see Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull sitting there smiling together?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well our launch will be held next Sunday and our launch will be focused firmly on the future. Our launch will be about the 1.25 million jobs that we will create in the next few years in the Liberal National Government, about the 250,000 jobs that we’ll create for young Australians, about the 80,000 apprenticeships that we’ll deliver, about the extra support we’ll provide for mental health services, about our continued support for rural and regional Australia, and our record levels of investment in infrastructure to keep driving the economy in to the future. That’s what our launch will be looking at, the future under Scott Morrison, Michael McCormack and a strong team that has demonstrated we can deliver jobs and opportunities for Australian families.

JOURNALIST:

Without Abbott or Turnbull, can you present a united front as Labor has?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

We will be presenting a plan for the future that doesn’t rely on taxing Australians more, but depends upon giving them more opportunities to get ahead themselves.

JOURNALIST:

So they won’t appear?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

We will have our campaign launch next Sunday, and it will be about looking to the future. I don’t think anybody is fooled by the fact that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard were sitting there today because as Paul Kelly documented quite clearly in his very extensive book on the Labor years, the only thing that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard could agree upon was that they didn’t trust Bill Shorten.

JOURNALIST:

The Australia Institute put out some figures yesterday in polling, some marginal seats in SA particularly on climate…

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

The Australia Institute?

JOURNALIST: 

Yeah.

SIMON BIMRINGHAM:

Right, there you go, the polling arm of GetUp and the Labor Party.

JOURNALIST:

Particularly on climate, and that’s why I’m asking because is your climate policy strong enough to compete with Labors and that’s an issue here in South Australia especially with young voters?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well we have very clear plans in terms of meeting our 26 – 28 per cent reduction targets that we committed to as part of the Paris Accord. We’ve outlined $3.7 billion climate solutions package that will meet that target, but it will do so without imposing higher costs on electricity, higher costs on cars. The thing about Mr Shorten’s policy is he doesn’t explain what the cost of a near doubling of that emissions reduction target will be. Our emissions reduction target is by per-capita standards, by GDP per-capita standards, one of the strongest, highest targets in the world. Mr Shorten is just choosing to double that target nearly, but not allowing or explaining from the Labor Party side what they believe or understand the cost to that will be. We know billions of dollars will be spent buying international permits, we know that higher regulation will push the price of cars up by around $5,000 on average, we know that electricity wholesale prices will surge as a result of a 50 per cent renewable energy target. Why won’t Mr Shorten just be clean on the cost of his policies which would result in fewer job opportunities for many young South Australians and young Australians general?

JOURNALIST:

Labor are going to release their costings at the end of the coming week, does Liberal have a plan to release theirs any time soon, or will it be closer to the May 18 date?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

We released a Budget, a Budget just a month or so back now that had some 700 different policy measures outlined in it, all fully detailed, all fully costed and the pre-election fiscal outlook released at the start of the campaign independently by Treasury and the Department of Finance, verified the projections in our Budget.  Australians can have complete confidence that our costings will match up with our Budget, which was verified independently by PEFO.

JOURNALIST:

Brian Fisher says that you’re not being transparent though, are you not happy with the findings that were made by Cadence economics?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Look, we have made sure that our policies, which have been out there for a long time now, fully costed, fully detailed in the Budget, the cost of our climate solutions package, the cost of our support for purchasing more abatement is all outlined as part of that $3.7 billion package, could not be clearer.

JOURNALIST:

Can I ask you about your reaction to the announcement by Shorten to crack down on multinationals using royalties to avoid paying tax? As Trade Minister is that something that the Liberal Party should have worked harder?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well we have delivered many multiples of what Mr Shorten alleges he’ll somehow get, in terms of multinational tax reform already. So, we’ve clawed back many times from multinationals what Mr Shorten says he is going to do. We’ll have a look at the detail and see whether is stacks up, but Scott Morrison as Treasurer, as Prime Minister has delivered some $7 billion plus worth of additional taxes from multinationals as a result of working cooperatively globally, and clamping down on those who seek to avoid paying tax in Australia.

JOURNALIST:

Josh Frydenberg condemned extremist views this morning, but you’re still running a candidate in Scullin who has equated same sex marriage and paedophilia, is that a concern?

SIMON BIMRINGHAM:

I think people should look carefully at what that candidate said, but we are very strong in terms of the position we’ve taken consistently in this election, that extremists, extremists who take positions  in terms of race or in terms of sexuality, have no place as our candidates. That’s why some have bitten the dust as a result of decisions that have been made. We saw though just how Mr Shorten contorted throughout the day just on Friday, let alone through the course of last week, in relation to his candidate for Melbourne, and the appalling position that individual could take and in terms of women and rape allegations.

JOURNALIST:

Simon, the Greens and protesters this morning called for the Government to take action before the election and put towards the Equinor opposition, some kind of commitment that it won’t go ahead, will that happen?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Australia has the toughest environmental standards and processes that you could expect in the world that are independently expert-assessed by NOPSEMA. So far as far as I’m aware there’s a bipartisan position between the competing parties of government to back the independent expert process, and make the right decision in relation to any exploration in the Bight.

JOURNALIST:

But you also have to listen to constituents and there’s a large proportion of them who disagree with Equinor going ahead?

SIMON BIRINGHAM:

There are a large proportion of constituents who want to see jobs and opportunities created as long as there is no environmental harm.

JOURNALIST:

That’s not what I was asking.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

There are a large proportion of constituents who want to see jobs and opportunities created as long there is no environmental harm and as long as environmental risks are thoroughly managed. That’s why we have an independent expert process to analyse according to expert evidence these decisions, not that they would be taken in a rush by politicians.

JOURNALIST:

So would you like to see it go ahead, the drilling?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well I want to see the independent expert process go through, if it can occur with no environmental harm with all risks managed, well then we’ll let the experts make the decision.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Thanks guys

[ends]

Media Contact: Coalition Campaign Headquarters: T: (07) 3557 7533 / E: media@cchq.org.au