07 December 2011 in Media
To listen to the audio of this interview, please click here.
Subjects: reducing red tape, interest rate decision, polls
David Bevan:
Jamie Briggs is the Liberal MP for Mayo. Good morning Jamie Briggs.
Jamie Briggs:
Good morning David. And you are flying solo.
Bevan:
Yes I am. Matt and I will both be back together in the middle of January. I got a letter from a long-time listener, Joy from Victor Harbor earlier this week and she said what is the story with Matthew leaving early? Is there something in this and I’m about to write back to Joy, no, no, no he’s just...
Briggs:
He’s got fish to catch.
Bevan:
He’s just got fish to catch. Amanda Rishworth, Labor MP for Kingston. Good morning Amanda.
Amanda Rishworth:
Good morning.
Bevan:
Now, Jamie Briggs let’s start with you. Is Peter Hurley right? This whole high-vis safe work South Australia. He says we’re a nanny state.
Briggs:
I think the balance has got out of whack. To be honest with you, I think we are as governments taking too much of a role in society. I think it’s over-playing. Whether it’s too much tax or whether it’s too much regulation, I think we need a fundamental rebalance about where government’s role is. I think we are taking too much responsibility off people and I think in that respect, Peter is making some very valid points.
Bevan:
Amanda Rishworth, do small business people in your electorate in the southern suburbs of Adelaide tell you that there is too much red tape?
Rishworth:
Well look often there is people saying that there is red tape and of course we’ve got to look at ways to reduce red tape that isn’t useful and isn’t working. But on the other side of it, over 300 hundred people die at work every year, and so I think we’ve got to make sure that we do find a balance. We do look at what is being effective. I think anyone that has experienced a loved one dying at work would say look put in whatever you can to actually ensure that that doesn’t happen - that they come home safe. So look, you know there is red tape at times which we need to make sure that we’re minimising and not putting up hurdles just for the sake of it. At the same time there are sometimes things put in for very important reasons to keep people safe. So we’ve got to make sure we’re looking at what is it achieving, what is it set out to achieve.
Bevan:
Will there also be a sigh of relief in the southern suburbs, Amanda Rishworth now that interest rates have come down? Or will you be looking around thinking well is any of this actually going to be passed on to my constituents or will big banks just hold onto it?
Rishworth:
Well I certainly have concerns that the interests rates, the RBA has clearly signalled that it is time for interest rates to go down, to ease the pressure, and I think a lot of retailers would be very pleased with this decision. But of course we need the banks to do this, and I think a lot of people would be looking around, looking at the banks profits, and saying look, you know they are doing very well at the moment, it is time for them to share a bit of that joy around. And I think they will certainly be looking and be very angry I think if the banks do not do that. So I would certainly be encouraging the banks, for the good-will, you know it is Christmas, all the rest, to actually be passing that on.
Bevan:
Jamie Briggs, if they don’t want to they don’t have to. And they have shown last time around they are not going to.
Briggs:
Well you know I do giggle when Amanda talks about these terrible banks making a profit. Because of course the option, the alternative is if they don’t make a profit, they go out of business, and I think people, I know what they would probably prefer. It is an easy political sledge to throw at the banks – that they do make profits. But remember we want them to make a profit. That is the way that business is successful and continues to ensure our prosperity.
Bevan:
Well they make several billion dollars profit. I don’t think there is any problem with making money if you are a bank in this country. I mean they make billions of dollars profit.
Briggs:
Well remember our banks, we’ve got four banks which are in the top ten highest rated banks in the world, and one of the reasons that we successfully negotiated the GST was that we have a well-regulated banking sector and our banks are well funded. Now we are about to hit unbelievably turbulent times, and that is why Glenn Stevens acted yesterday. There is no doubt about that. The events in Europe are about to overtake our economies. The debt crisis – and it gets back to what we talked about earlier, if governments spend too much money for too long, if they live beyond their means, you end up in the situation where someone has to pay.
Bevan:
But Glenn Stevens and the Reserve Bank board moved on interest rates not to shore up the banks, but to stimulate the economy. If the banks shore up their profits, what, is he going to have to cut it again?
Briggs:
Well it is not about shoring up the banks’ profits. The point I was making was the decision about banks making, cutting their rates gets back to whether they can afford to. I mean we want them to cut their rates, and they should cut their rates, as the Reserve Bank has. But they face difficulties in getting access to money when the money is drying up. They don’t get money from Australia, they get money from overseas. To fund their operations, they need to borrow from overseas. Now if the availability of money overseas becomes difficult, more expensive, or actually just hard to get, which we are going to see in the next weeks and months, it does make it harder for the banks to operate successfully. So there a more than one factor about, it’s not just a matter of where they make profits here, it’s about where they actually get their money and how much they pay for it.
Bevan:
It is nine minutes to seven. We’re talking to two pollies who get up when you do. They are backbenchers –that’s Jamie Briggs the Liberal MP for Mayo and Amanda Rishworth, Labor MP for Kingston. So they’re backbenchers, they’re meant to be really the connection between you and the people who are actually making policies. So if they’re not reflecting what you’re thinking, give us a call – 1300 222 891. Amanda Rishworth, both of you end this year members of parties who are being led by incredibly unpopular people. Wonder what your thoughts are on that. I mean it is quite clear from the polls that both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are incredibly unpopular people.
Rishworth:
Well there is no I think doubt that this has been a very big year and a very difficult year, dealing with a lot of difficult policy issues and so things like putting a price on carbon, things like the mining tax have all been very big issues and they’ve been foughtly, I think fought very hotly and hotly contested. So I think that has led a lot of I guess discussions, divisions within our community. But I do think you know as we move into the new year, I think people are starting to respect Julia Gillard. Certainly I’ve started to hear people say she’s pretty tough. She’s pretty tough. She’s stood her ground and she’s actually started to deliver. So look certainly you know there is no doubt that is has been a very tough year and a very big year. But you know I think people will respect Julia for making it through the year.
Bevan:
And yet the trouble with Kevin Rudd, the rival, the former leader who will not go away and people are still talking about his leadership ambitions. It’s dogging her right up until the end of the year. It looks as though she is going to go in 2012 with the same monkey on her back.
Rishworth:
Well I have to say it seems a lot of this discussion is happening in the media. I haven’t heard any of this type of discussion about you know about Kevin Rudd. I mean you know in terms of...
Briggs:
[Laughing]
Rishworth:
Well I have haven’t. What I’ve seen is actually both Julia and Kevin working together to actually making this country better. So look I think it seems to be a lot of discussion in the media. But certainly not a lot discussion around the sort of people I talk about. And really I think people want us to get on with the job and I will certainly be supporting that.
Bevan:
Jamie Briggs, you’re laughing. But you’ve got an unpopular leader too. Tony Abbott is more unpopular than Julia Gillard. What are you laughing about?
Briggs:
I’ll come back to that, but I just want to make, the talk in the media, the talk in the media is there because some of your colleagues, Amanda leaked the report into the election to try and embarrass Kevin Rudd. So I mean you can blame the media all you like. This has been driven by intense personal hatred within the Labor Party. There is no question about that. Now the issue with, look opposition leaders are never popular. They, it is part of the task of being in opposition to criticise the government and people don’t necessarily like criticism all the time, and the problem with this government being so bad is that Tony is often, most often having to be critical because the decisions, like the Aus Tender, the decision with the ABC and Sky News just a couple of days ago, which by the way will cost the Australian taxpayer thousands and thousands of dollars in compensation to Sky News, is another example of an incompetent government that doesn’t know how to operate properly.
Rishworth:
That’s ridiculous.
Briggs:
Well how do have a tender, Amanda and then cancel a tender and hand to the people that you weren’t going to give it to?
Rishworth:
You talked about bitter divisions within the Labor Party. Let’s talk about Malcolm Turnbull and the bitter divisions within the Liberal Party. I mean you know, Malcolm Turnbull, there isn’t a day that goes by without him coming in and talking out against Tony Abbott. We know that there is a lot of divisions within your party room. So you know I mean it sounds like you are going in to a pretty difficult year and who knows, maybe you will be leader.
Bevan:
Amanda Rishworth, Labor MP for Kingston. We will finish on that note. Jamie Briggs, potential leader of the Coalition. Liberal MP for Mayo. Thanks for talking to us.
Briggs:
Fairytale telling, Amanda. Goodbye.
Bevan:
Jamie Briggs and Amanda Rishworth.