Subjects: Candidates, Liberal Campaign Launch, Labor Campaign Launch, Budget

EO&E…………………………………………………………

DEB KNIGHT:

Joining me now in Melbourne is Labor’s Anthony Albanese and Coalition’s Simon Birmingham in Adelaide for us this morning. Good morning to you both.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Morning Deb.

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Morning.

DEB KNIGHT:

Simon, Mr Singh is the third Liberal candidate to be disendorsed so far this election. Will you be reviewing the vetting processes? To stop these dud candidates from getting through?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well Deb as I said last week when we were having a chat about these matters. I think there is a clear message and it’s one for both major parties, to make sure that the vetting processes are more through in future. I’m sure if the same scrutiny was applied to the rabble of minor party candidates out there, we’d find probably even worse instances. But there’s a message there to both major parties. This time last week, Albo was defending Labor’s candidate in Melbourne, Bill Shorten stood up a couple of hours later and defended him, but then by the end of the day he was gone. So it’s been a problem for both sides and we’ll both have to review this I’m sure post-election.

DEB KNIGHT:

Bipartisan on that Albo?

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Well quite clearly there is a problem. When you have candidates changing or being removed from endorsement during an election campaign. It’s happened with multiple candidates in the Coalition, it did happen with our candidate for Melbourne. And certainly I think what it does really is just create confusion in the electorate. 

DEB KNIGHT:

Now Labor is making a bold play today releasing its full election costings and a doubling of the surplus within four years. Albo, you usually don’t wait, the opposition, until the dying days of the campaign to cough up the numbers, you must be super confident you’ve got this in the bag?

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Well what it is Deb, we’re super confident that we have the right policies to take the nation forward. We have been outlining a policy program, not just during this campaign but over many years. And we have a vision for the nation’s future. It’s one of fairness, its one that closes tax loopholes and then uses those funds to boost education, health and infrastructure. 

DEB KNIGHT:

There’s a lot outside your control, when it comes to promising these big surpluses that you really can’t rely on. Outside factors impacting the economy, can you really rely on these figures?

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Well what you can absolutely rely upon is the fact that we have put forward in a transparent way, how we will pay for our commitments. And what our commitments are. And the fact is that the Coalition still are trying to write some policies for their campaign launch on Sunday. I mean they have not put forward any agenda for a third term. It’ll be just be more chaos and more cuts we know that they wanted $80 billion of tax cuts for big business. We know that there’s a $77 billion black hole for them…..

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Come on Albo…

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

That they are going to have to make in cuts in to the future, in order to pay for their personal income tax cuts for those really high income earners above $200,000.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Deb, we put forward a budget less than two months ago, our Budget had 700 different measures in it. Greater support in mental health, in suicide prevention, greater support for apprenticeship creation. All of it of course underpinned by the fact that we’ve got clear evidence now that the Budget’s coming back into surplus….

DEB KNIGHT:

Your big play today though it seems power, vowing to cut prices by 25 per cent by 2021. You’ve had six years in Government Simon to tackle this, it’s hitting household budgets hard today. Why would voters be swayed by a price cut target that’s years away? 

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Because this is an area just like other areas of economic management, where it’s chalk and cheese between the Coalition and Labor Party. The type of policies that we’re applying in terms of driving the energy market are going to create a 25 per cent reduction in wholesale prices. Whereas what Labor is proposing with radical changes in terms of the way in which energy policy will be driven in this country. Is projected to drive a 58 per cent increase in wholesale energy prices. Vast differences. Albo, I just wanted to finish saying in terms of surpluses, many Australians today are going to hear the Labor Party claiming that Labor will deliver bigger surpluses. And they’ll see pigs flying through the sky, Deb.  I mean 1989 was the last time the Labor Party delivered a surplus….

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Simon, you don’t have an energy policy, you have nothing…..

DEB KNIGHT:

I wanted to talk about the big launch on Sunday, now Labor made a big thing about the strength of its female MP’s at the party launch last weekend. And Simon, not only will high profile women like Julie Bishop be no shows at the Liberal’s launch on Sunday. You’re also ruining mother’s day celebrations for people. What are you doing? 

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Well this happens to be the last Sunday before voting day and it’s not unusual. In fact it’s pretty common the last few Sundays, one party launches on one and the other on the other. So this is a…..

DEB KNIGHT:

It’s a matter of timing. What about the fact you won’t have any former leaders along. Paul Keating, Julia Gillard and obviously Kevin Rudd were there for Labor, but we won’t see anyone at the launch?

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Indeed the former leaders were at the Labor campaign launch and I saw Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. And the only thing that reminded people of that was neither of them could trust Bill Shorten. We saw Paul Keating and he created a distraction by attacking the heads of the nation’s intelligence services. Our campaign launch rather than being about characters of the past is going to be about policies for the future….. 

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

You can’t even invite caucus members…. 

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

The contrast of the polices is strong. More jobs under us, fewer jobs under Labor. Lower taxes under us, much higher taxes under Labor. Lower electricity prices under us, much higher electricity prices under Labor…

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

What nonsense. The fact is you can’t invite, even people like Julie Bishop, she is still a member of your caucus, you can’t invite her to the campaign launch because she would remind people that you actually removed not one,  but two sitting prime ministers  over two terms. You’ve had three prime ministers. 

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

What were Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard a reminder of?

ANOTHONY ALBANESE:

You can’t even put yourselves in the same room….

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

You have such chaos and hostility…  

DEB KNIGHT:

You know where you will see Julie Bishop? Right here on our election coverage on May 18 as well, so tune in for that…

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

I’ll be here too Deb. 

DEB KNIGHT:

You bet, Albo will be flying the flag…

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

Why don’t you give Birmo a berth? 

DEB KNIGHT:

Well we might take you up on that, you might be busy.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

You and I have had a talk about that actually Albo. 

DEB KNIGHT:

You talking at least, that’s a good sign.

ANTHONY ALBANESE:

We talk all the time, you see he’s got more friends on our side then he has on his own.

DEB KNIGHT:

Ok got to go, fellas thank you so much, we’ll talk again soon

SIMON BIRMINGHAM:

Thank you, hey here’s a handshake for you Albo too ok.

[ends]

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