BARRIE CASSIDY:
Now to our studio guest, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Today it's politics as usual but yesterday it was partly fun and games. Together with the Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull she ran the gauntlet at the traditional North Melbourne Grand Final breakfast.
[Excerpt from AFL Grand Final Breakfast - Channel 7]:
SAM KEKOVICH: The leader of the Federal Opposition and hero of the poor and downtrodden [laughter], Malcolm Turnbull!
[Excerpt played from Abba's "Money Money Money" as Malcolm Turnbull walks up to the stage.]
SAM KEKOVICH: Our Acting Prime Minister, the feisty red-head who's happy with the view over the Whitten Oval, would you please make her welcome, Julia Gillard!
[Excerpt played from James Brown's "This is a Man's World" as Julia Gillard walks up to the stage.]
JULLIA GILLARD: And I really should have told Malcolm before Parliament started, out where I live in Melbourne's west we've got a saying: If you want to know the difference between the Deputy Prime Minister and a bulldog, it's lipstick.
[Laughter]
As much as it pains me to be on the same side as Jeff Kennett [laughter], go Hawks.
[End of excerpt]
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Julia Gillard, good morning.
JULIA GILLARD:
Good morning, Barrie.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
You must be careful what you wish for.
JULIA GILLARD:
[Laughs] Well the Hawks did do it yesterday. It was a remarkable game.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
It was. How important is it for Australia, or how important is it that the United States Congress reach a deal on this $700-billion bailout package?
JULIA GILLARD:
The Prime Minister made it clear when he was overseas that it is very important that the US deal with this issue. It's not for us at the end of the day to give advice to people in Congress. They will make their own decision. But clearly the circumstances are very concerning, not only for America but for the world.
The point we've been making, and it's an important one, is we're in different circumstances here. We're not immune from what is happening in global credit markets - of course we're not - but we have a strong, well regulated financial sector and that puts us in a different position to the US where the subprime mortgage issue has just been so huge.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But the Prime Minister did give advice and yet the vast majority of Americans see it as corporate welfare, bailing out failed companies when they should be punished.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well the Prime Minister did give advice because obviously he is concerned about the global credit crisis and its impact for the globe. This will play out in American domestic politics and obviously they're in the run in to their US presidential election, but the stability measures we think are important. They're important for the US; they're important for global credit markets.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
And we keep hearing that Australia is not immune but does that imply what from now on? That Australians will have to lower their expectations on things like perhaps Budget hand-outs and middle class welfare?
JULIA GILLARD:
I think what it means for us is we as a Government are taking a prudent approach to economic management. We deliberately built a big surplus in the May Budget. We wanted to have a buffer in uncertain times. We're still delivering that Budget through the Parliament and each and every step of the way the Liberal Party is standing in the way, preventing us getting place the legislation which would create that buffer for uncertain financial times.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But you say that we're weather proof to an extent but nevertheless not immune, so things will be different from now on, won't they?
JULIA GILLARD:
The Prime Minister has made clear, the Treasurer has made clear that there are countervailing forces in our economy and of course there's the impact of what's happening in the rest of the world.
We inherited a domestic inflation challenge with inflation running at 16-year highs. Then of course we've seen spikes in global oil prices and food prices, causing inflation. We dealt with our Budget settings because we wanted to fight inflation and we're fighting the causes of inflation, the skills and infrastructure problems that we've got around the country.
At the same time the resources boom continues and continues to be very profitable for this country. And we are monitoring, each and every day, how global credit markets are reacting and what potential impact that has on this nation.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
You've had a go at the Coalition about the surplus. Are you worried about the surplus given what is occurring in the United States and if that is run down, then you won't be able to do some of the things you want to do like for example with pensions?
JULIA GILLARD:
Well it's really a very simple message to the Coalition, which is: In uncertain economic times globally, the last thing we can afford is uncertain Budget settings at home. We need our Budget delivered. We need that certainty. We need that surplus as a buffer.
For future expenditure obviously we'll be working with the same prudence that we brought to the last Budget where we found savings, where we did that deliberately because we wanted a Budget that would put downwards pressure on inflation and interest rates.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But if the Coalition does contribute to a smaller Budget surplus and then you have the impact of what's going on in the United States, do you then go back to the table and think again about things like an increase in the pensions? Is this the wrong time to be looking at initiatives like that?
JULIA GILLARD:
Well we've provided some relief for pensioners already through the May Budget - for aged pensioners, the $500 cash bonus and the new utilities allowance which has been paid in the last few days to pensioners. And we've got a process underway to have a comprehensive review of the pension system and we will respond to that.
But I think that there is merit in the point that you're making which is, in the way they are conducting themselves, the Liberal Party in the Senate, under Malcolm Turnbull's direction, they are effectively saying that things like condensate and a tax break for big oil companies are more important than anything else.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
What impact is all of this having on interest rates? You get varying views on this. On the one hand you could argue that interest rates will go down because world growth will slow and that should reduce inflation. On the other hand the cost of money is going up around the world.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well I don't speculate on what's going to happen with interest rates domestically. Obviously the Reserve Bank sets interest rates independently of Government and because we always want to guard against its independence, political figures like me don't speculate on interest rate movements.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Well on industrial relations now - the ACTU will launch its new ads. We just saw part of that. This time you're the target. They say give back workers' rights. Now clearly they believe you have failed to give back the rights that John Howard took away. They feel duded.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well we're in a process of delivering on our policy Forward with Fairness which we took to the last election.
We've got to remember Barrie, we've already ended the most hated bit of Work Choices and that was Australian Workplace Agreements which could rip away basic things in the safety net - penalty rates, overtime, gone without a cent of compensation. We've already ended that.
Then before the end of this year we will have our substantive industrial relations bill in the Parliament and it will provide for fairness - a fair safety net you can rely on that no-one can take away, and a fair collective bargaining stream which is what the ACTU ads are about.
The thing that's going to be the difficult part of making that law isn't us bringing those laws to the Parliament. That will be done. The problem will be the Liberal Party in the Senate because they've already said that they won't pass Labor's legislation unless we put back the most hated bit of Work Choices - Australian Workplace Agreements.
So really, the message from the ACTU ads as far as I'm concerned is to say to the Liberal Party that at the last election people voted for change, the Liberal Party should hear that message.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
I don't think those ads are directed at the Liberal Party. I think they're directed squarely at you.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well I think they're directed at the Australian Parliament. Yes, they're asking the Government to legislate to create a fair collective bargaining system and we are going to legislate the fair collective bargaining system we promised in Forward with Fairness.
Now it's not everything the unions wanted and lots of employers criticised it too, but the fair bargaining system we will bring into law, we believe gets the balance right.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But the unions say that you say that every time, that all you're doing is delivering on your promises, but when it comes to flexibility you show that only to business. When you sit down with business there is a bit of flexibility; with the unions there's nothing.
JULIA GILLARD:
We've been through identical processes with both business and with unions. We've had a Business Advisory Group; we've had a Workers' Advisory Group. They've met an equal number of times. We've consulted and taken advice on the details and implementation of our policy. But we took a policy to the last election, it's Forward with Fairness, and that's what we're putting into law.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
What can employees and employers agree on now? You say that you want to restrict discussions to employment issues, but you once said that they would be free to reach agreement on any matter that suited them. Has that changed?
JULIA GILLARD:
Work Choices has got this long list of ‘prohibited content’ and when you make an agreement then someone at the Workplace Authority gets out the red pen and starts striking through it bits you can have and bits you can’t' have.
What we're saying is we think people should be able to make binding agreements that they can rely on and enforce about matters that are associated with work. So there's obviously a line here. We don't think that it's appropriate to bargain to say that the employer must give 10 per cent of their profits to a climate change advocacy group, to Al Gore, but we do think that if for example work patterns are going to change because the employer wants to use less energy in the business as part of their contribution to dealing with climate change, then you can bargain around those changed work patterns.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But those big strikes back in the 70s and 80s that we saw over things like Medibank and apartheid and those sorts of things, they're gone. You can't strike any longer over social issues.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well life has changed in a major way since then and the biggest thing that's changed in our industrial relations policy is that we are talking about bargaining at the enterprise level, so it has to be about your workplace, your enterprise, and it has to be about matters associated with work.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
We were talking earlier about the strains on the Budget surplus and yet tomorrow the Productivity Commission will be bringing down a report on paid maternity leave. Is it the wrong time to be looking at that issue?
JULIA GILLARD:
Well we asked the Productivity Commission to do this report. Tomorrow we have the interim report. In February we will have the final report. And we wanted them to advise on the best arrangements for paid maternity leave in this country.
At the moment of course some business, indeed many businesses particularly big businesses, provide paid maternity leave to their female staff. Many others miss out. We have the baby bonus and other arrangements. We wanted a thorough going look to see how we could do this better and the Productivity Commission will provide its first advice, its interim advice about that tomorrow.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But if it comes with a price tag of say half-a-billion-dollars or so, is that something that this Government can look at in the near term, in other words, in the run-up to the Budget next year?
JULIA GILLARD:
Well we asked for the advice. We'll get the first piece of it tomorrow, we'll get the final advice in February and we will weigh that up in the Budget context.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
So no guarantees that there will be some scheme in place by the middle of next year?
JULIA GILLARD:
We asked the Productivity Commission to give advice because we do want to see a paid maternity leave scheme in this country but obviously when it comes to expenditure matters we take a prudent approach. We delivered a big surplus in the last Budget. We're going to take a prudent approach at the next Budget.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Okay, on the schools computers program New South Wales has bailed out. How serious a set-back is that?
JULIA GILLARD:
Well I think it's disappointing. We've got the second round of computers in schools available for school applications now. Those applications close on the 9th of October. We've already had more than 600 schools apply.
New South Wales asked us, could we extend the deadline. We said we didn't want to do that because we didn't want to disappoint the schools who were already in the round so we will continue with that round. Every other State and Territory is participating in it, Independent and Catholic schools around the country are participating in it and we didn't want to disappoint them by delaying the round.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
But what they're saying in New South Wales is that you've stranded them on installation and maintenance costs and it's a bit like offering somebody a suit and then leaving out the jacket.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well I did see that, but can I make two points. Firstly, all other States and Territories are participating in the round. Yes there is a discussion between the States and Territories and the Federal Government about costs associated with computers. We've got a COAG process for dealing with that and everybody else is participating.
In respect of New South Wales, the amount we are providing them for each computer compared with the amount that they spent on each computer or plan to spend on each computer meant that there was a surplus that could be used for on-costs. So if we're going to do the same analogy, we promised them a suit and through our funding, we're actually a promising a suit and giving a shirt and tie as well.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Yeah, though I guess they thought was they heard in the run-up to the last Federal election that you were taking total responsibility for the computer program and it didn't work out that way.
JULIA GILLARD:
Well the States and Territories made the point about on-costs in the COAG process and we said we'd deal with it and we are dealing with it. The only issue is round two at the moment. Every State and Territory apart from New South Wales is participating in that round. Catholic and Independent schools around the country are participating. We didn't want to disappoint them so the round will continue.
We'll keep working with our State and Territory colleagues on the on-costs question and we we'll keep working with New South Wales to make sure that students in that State benefit from a $1.2 billion plan to put computers into schools.
And I would say before the election of the Rudd Labor Government, state schools, independent and Catholic schools were basically struggling with this question by themselves. Now they've got a national Government with a $1.2 billion investment to help them.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Do you enjoy acting as Prime Minister? I guess you need to. You do it a lot.
JULIA GILLARD:
When Kevin is doing the international work and it was very important that he be in New York this week given the global credit crisis and of course further discussions on climate change, I get the job. It's the first time I've really had the job for Question Times this week and I'd have to say I've pretty much enjoyed the Question Times.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
And we'll see what the panel thinks about all of that a little later on.
JULIA GILLARD:
Thank you.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Thanks for your time.
ENDS