Economic Policy Leadership

E&OE TRANSCRIPT DOORSTOP INTERVIEW

CANBERRA

TUESDAY, 15 MARCH 2016

SUBJECT/S: Opposition Leader’s Press Club Speech; Economic Policy Leadership; Tobacco Excise; Government’s Chaos and Division

CHALMERS: Today at the National Press Club, we will see Bill Shorten fill the vacuum left by the absence of economic policy leadership from the Prime Minister. We will see from Bill Shorten today a vision of how to fund health and education, how to boost inclusive growth and how to underwrite the future of Australia.

The contrast couldn't be clearer -- an Opposition Leader with carefully considered, costed policies on the table, ready to test at an election and a Prime Minister distracted by dodgy deals in the Senate, leading a dysfunctional, divided government.

What we need in this country is a vision for inclusive growth, full employment, for ensuring that Australians can reach their potential. What we get instead from the Prime Minister is a guy who thinks he can waffle his way to prosperity in this country.

After two-and-a-half years of this Government and six months of this Prime Minister, it still hasn't dawned on Malcolm Turnbull that you can't waffle your way to economic growth in this country. After two-and-a-half years of this Government and six months of Malcolm Turnbull's leadership, all we get is this dishonest and unhinged scare campaign against Labor policies.

Today we read in the paper that the Government intends to roll over on Labor's sensible plans for tobacco excise in this country. This will open up yet another front in the civil war that is eating the Liberal Party. We've got Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott on the record opposing any changes to the tobacco excise and now we read in the paper today that Malcolm Turnbull wants to change the tobacco excise. This will open up yet another front in a Government that is divided by the civil war between the Abbott people and the Turnbull people. The most recent reason for this civil war will be their deep disagreement and division over tobacco policy.

Today at the Press Club, as I've said, Bill Shorten will outline a vision for the future of this country. He will fill the vacuum left by the absence of economic leadership from the Prime Minister. Six months ago the Prime Minister promised economic leadership; all he has delivered since is waffle and chaos and confusion and a dysfunctional and divided government.

JOURNALIST: On the prospects of the Government choosing to raise the excise on cigarettes, isn't imitation the greatest form of flattery? Why can't Labor just pat them on the back for considering this?

CHALMERS: Well, we don't know yet whether this is the settled view within the Turnbull Government that they will accept Labor's very sensible and costed proposals to change tobacco excise. We read in the paper today that might be the case. All that will do will be to poke the bear that is Tony Abbott and his supporters, and Scott Morrison as well. Both Morrison and Abbott are on the record opposing any changes to the tobacco excise. We think it is the right way to go when you think about budget repair, when you think about funding health and education and underwriting the future of this country, we think it's only fair that the tobacco excise arrangements are changed in the way that we have outlined. We would want the Government to support that. We're not convinced that there is the unity on their side to come to a settled and agreed view on something as fundamental as this budget repair.

JOURNALIST: Jim, Labor's policies to repair the budget bottom line so far have been mostly on the savings side of the budget, reining in spending rather, no -- getting more revenue, sorry. What is Labor going to do on spending cuts and are we going to see spending cuts outlined in the Press Club speech today?

CHALMERS: Well the Opposition has released an unprecedented amount of savings which as you point out are a combination of revenue measures and savings measures. There are some substantial savings measures which Bill Shorten will talk about today at the Press Club, including getting rid of the new Baby Bonus, including the so-called Direct Action Fund -- a whole range of savings on the spending side of the budget, combined with the sensible revenue measures that we've announced on superannuation, multinational taxes, tobacco excise and the like. So it is a combination of those things.

The contrast couldn't be clearer. Two-and-a-half years into the Government, six months into this Prime Ministership and we're yet to see anything that even resembles an economic plan for this country. Now this is the last sitting week before the Budget, and it beggars belief that we still don't know when that Budget will be. This is incompetence on an unprecedented scale. And that incompetence extends to the Government's inability to come up with the sort of responsible, costed, considered savings that the Opposition has already put on the table.

JOURNALIST: You mentioned the Baby Bonus and the Direct Action plan as spending that can be reined in, but will Mr Shorten outline spending measures that can be reined in apart from those two issues today?

CHALMERS: Well there's always more work you can do when it comes to sensible budget repair and funding health and education and underwriting the future of this country. I think with something like $100 billion worth of savings on the table, we have shown our bona fides when it comes to budget repair. Bill Shorten will talk about those savings measures today at the Press Club, the combination of revenue measures and savings measures. But the job is never finished. There's always more you can do to continue to ensure that we have the strongest possible bottom line.

ENDS

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