TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
4BC DRIVE WITH SCOTT EMERSON
WEDNESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2021
SUBJECTS: The Coalition’s energy dispute; Labor’s tax policies; NRL Grand Final.
SCOTT EMERSON, HOST: We are joined by Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Women, Tanya Plibersek. How are you Tanya?
TANYA PLIBERSEK, SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN: I'm great Emmo. How are you?
EMERSON: I am sensational. Looking forward to the Grand Final on Sunday. We will get to that shortly. I know you're enthusiastic about that so let's get to that right at the end. But first up, obviously the Prime Minister, he's confirmed that talks are underway on net zero emissions by 2050, but clearly he's got a bit of work to do particularly with the Nationals on this one. How do you think this is going to end up?
PLIBERSEK: You don't need to be ideological about this stuff to know that cheaper, cleaner energy is good for all of us. Like, there's two million people who've put solar panels on their roofs across Australia. It's not because they're all radical greenies. It's because they've worked out that it saves them on their electricity bills. But the country's the same, we actually want the benefits of cheaper, cleaner renewable energy. Solar is the cheapest form of electricity in history now. People who don't want that should just get out of the way so the majority of us can see our energy bills come down. What a difference that would make for Australian businesses if they could save a bit of money on their energy bills as we recover from this pandemic and the economic vandalism that has happened because of all the lockdowns and so on - the really tough times they've faced.
EMERSON: Clearly Scott Morrison is heading in one direction. But he's got well, the Nationals, Matt Canavan, others out there are saying, ‘no, no way’. And even his own ranks like the Queensland Senator Gerard Rennick. He's saying that I'm not going to support it either. There are some real issues for him out there.
PLIBERSEK: Yeah and it's a minority of people holding the majority of Australians to ransom. It is gobsmacking that we are now on our 22nd energy policy since the Liberals came to power in Australia, we still haven't landed it. These delays cost jobs.
EMERSON: But the policy also wasn't landed under Labor either was it? I mean, no Government, Labor or Liberal-
PLIBERSEK: We had a policy in place and Tony Abbott came in and got rid of it - and in eight years, the Liberals haven't managed to replace it with something that can bring down power prices and bring down pollution. I just am gobsmacked that you've got this minority of people holding the Prime Minister of Australia to ransom. Here in New South Wales just today, the Liberals here have announced more ambitious targets to cheaper, cleaner energy. I don't understand why the New South Wales National Party can get on board, but you've got a couple of people in Queensland who think they can hold the rest of the country to ransom. When there's so many people in Queensland who want the benefits that come with cheaper, cleaner energy. Think about our manufacturing sector, think about our big retail businesses, the money they spend running their refrigerators and everybody sees the difference that cheaper cleaner energy could make except for those radicals on the far right of the National Party. I don't understand.
EMERSON: I think it is clearly going to be a big issue for Scott Morrison - how he's going to get everyone on the same page, if he can. I don't know if he can. I think that's going to be the reality, but let's keep watching that one. But on Labor's side, I did see this report in I think was the Australian today that your colleague, the Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers, again a Queenslander. He's reportedly proposed going to the election with a tax hike on family trusts. Now all right then will Labor be taking a tax hike on family trusts to the election?
PLIBERSEK: I'm not going to comment on anonymous speculation in newspapers. You'll know all of our policies well before the next election. I can tell you where we could have saved $13 billion, made the budget looks $13 billion better and that would have been not wasting money giving JobKeeper to businesses that were-
EMERSON: Sure, sure Tanya. Alright then, alright. Let's talk about this. You say this but this story in the Australian today, you say anonymous speculation. Well, the easiest way to end that speculation is to say, has it been considered or not? Let's end the speculation has Jim Chalmers put this proposal up?
PLIBERSEK: We've made no decision about it. It was our policy at the last election and it's talking about what our policy was at the last election. We've made no decision.
EMERSON: But has Jim Chalmers put that up?
PLIBERSEK: We've made no decision about it-
EMERSON: I appreciate that Tanya, you've made no decision, hasn't been decided yet, but has your Shadow Treasurer proposed this in party room?
PLIBERSEK: Well, we took it to the last election. So of course, we've looked at all of the policies from the last election, we've got rid of our policy on negative gearing. We've got rid of our policy on capital gains tax. We've got rid of any suggestion that we weren't going to back the full tax cuts that the Liberals have proposed. So we have discussions all the time. We've made no decision about trusts. I can tell you though we will be making sure that big multinational companies, pay their fair share. That's another policy that we took to the last election. Our Leader’s been very clear that we'll be doing that. We know that there's a lot of companies that make a huge profit in Australia and then structure themselves so they pay little or no tax here. That'll be a top priority for us.
EMERSON: All right then. And just finally Tanya Plibersek, the weekend. Grand Final here at Suncorp Stadium, hopefully rather than going up to Townsville.
PLIBERSEK: Fingers crossed.
EMERSON: All right there do I have to ask this question who you're backing?
PLIBERSEK: Ah well Rabbitohs and I would hope that Queenslanders would be backing the Rabbitohs? You know, you've got Wayne Bennett there and the huge contribution he's made to the club, good Queensland boy there.
EMERSON: Look I'm actually backing-
PLIBERSEK: Have I sold it to you Emmo?
EMERSON: You have sold it to me, you have sold it to me. I think Bennett is the best story around, I just think it's wonderful and of course, he'll be back up in Queensland next year anyhow. Tanya Plibersek, always good to have a chat will speak to you next week.
PLIBERSEK: Great to talk to you. See you.
ENDS
