Sky News, AM Agenda with Kieran Gilbert
Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Subjects: Tony Abbott’s address to the National Press Club; meeting with Russian Foreign Minister; Syria
E&OE…
KIERAN GILBERT The Prime Minister today will today try to put aside recent set backs and distractions for her government in a major set speech on the economy today. It follows Tony Abbott’s address to the National Press Club yesterday in which he tried to outline a more positive vision himself. He continued the message this morning. He was on the Seven Network.TONY ABBOTT The whole point of good economic management is to create a better society and part of a better society are better services from government. And I would like to see dentistry on Medicare but we can only do it when the budget is back in strong surplus.
KIERAN GILBERT There were no new pledges from Tony Abbott in yesterday’s speech but there were a few aspirations. I spoke to the Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop a little earlier this morning, and I began by asking her whether the aspiration a new form of political promise.
JULIE BISHOP Tony Abbott yesterday set out a clear set of values that will guide the Coalition when in government – that we will be committed to lower taxes and cutting out Labor’s horrendous wasteful spending, there will be less government interference in our lives, and what he was doing was saying what can be possible when our finances are back in good shape, when we’ve paid off government debt, when we are back into a surplus. There are many things the government can then afford and the dental scheme, bringing dentistry into Medicare, is something that Tony Abbott is very passionate about. But it must be paid for, so the first thing we have to do is get the government finances under control, pay off the debt, stop the wasteful spending.
KIERAN GILBERT So what should people see these as? Are they commitments? What are these aspirations as Mr Abbott described them?
JULIE BISHOP The Coalition is currently going through the budget line by line to find savings so that we can set forth a set of policies that will be fully costed before the next election. What Tony was doing yesterday was setting out his vision and the clear set of values that will guide the Coalition as we prepare our policy platform for the next election.
KIERAN GILBERT Was it a concession yesterday that more positive focus from Mr Abbott, that the Government’s campaign against him for being too negative is working?
JULIE BISHOP The Government’s campaign is an attempt by the Government to get the Coalition to support their bad policies. They want us to take responsibly for their bad policies, and as an Opposition it is our responsibility to point out the failings of the Government and this Government has given us plenty of material to work with. It is a hopeless, hapless government and it is part of our responsibility to point out the bad policies that this Government is delivering up.
But it is also part of our responsibility to present an alternative and that was part of what Tony was doing yesterday. But he did that throughout last year – he put forward alternative views, alternative policies. There is a better way of managing the economy and the Coalition will show that way.
KIERAN GILBERT There was some confusion as to what the Coalition would do on tax cuts out of Mr Abbott’s speech. He said by the end of his first term tax cuts would be in prospect, and previously he has said that they would be delivered in the first term of an Abbott Government. Which is it?
JULIE BISHOP I believe he made it clear that we will aim for tax cuts in our first term, and that is a tradition of Coalition Liberal National governments – that we aim for lower taxes, we deliver tax cuts. The tax cuts that Wayne Swan delivered were in fact those promised by Peter Costello at the 2007 election. So we have a history, we have experience in delivering tax cuts and that is what we propose to do.
Tony was making the point that the descent into debt by this Government has meant that tax cuts are not as easy to deliver as they were under the Howard Government when we had no government debt and successive budget surpluses.
KIERAN GILBERT As the Shadow Foreign Minister you met the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last night. I want to ask you about his view and his stance on Syria. Australia and other western governments want the UN Security Council to endorse an Arab league peace plan on Syria. The Russians aren’t so convinced, they don’t want international intervention. That was obviously the sentiment he expressed to you last night. Is there any sign they might shift on this?
JULIE BISHOP It was a very productive meeting. We mainly discussed enhancing, broadening, deepening the relationship between Australia and Russia. But on the matter of Syria, Russia is putting forward an alternative resolution. There is some way to go in discussing that. I believe there is room for negotiation, but at present Russia’s view is that Syria should be entitled to work its way through this problem without any sense of there being military interference from the rest of the world, and they are very keen to ensure there is some sort of negotiated peace in Syria. Now whether that is possible remains to be seen. But I left the meeting with a feeling that there is room to negotiate on this UN resolution.
KIERAN GILBERT You don’t feel that that is frustrating for Australia and other international governments that this bloodshed continues in that country and there is intransigence, or at least disagreement, at the UN Security Council level?
JULIE BISHOP I believe that there is universal condemnation of the violence and the bloodshed in Syria. Russia has made that clear, the European Union countries have made that clear, the United States, Australia. We condemn the violence and there must be an end to what could descend into a civil war in Syria but the means by which is achieved, there are different views about that. But I am hopeful that there will be some kind of compromise that will see a resolution and that it will end this terrible period in Syria’s history.
KIERAN GILBERT Julie Bishop, appreciate your time today. Thank you for that.
JULIE BISHOP That is my pleasure.
