DOORSTOP INTERVIEW, DARLING HARBOUR, SYDNEY

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, this morning we see another policy error from the Opposition, another costing blunder. Today we had the revelation that the Opposition has had to change their paid parental leave scheme.

Today we have the announcement that under the Opposition’s scheme, fathers who take paid parental leave will be paid at the pay rate of the mother. This is a clear contradiction to the statements of the Shadow Minister just a few months ago, that payments would be made based on the salary rate of the parent taking the leave. This shows the Opposition is engaging in policy on the run, costings that are wrong, policy that’s being made up as they go. This goes to the heart of their fiscal and economic credibility. This is not the first costings error of the Opposition in this campaign.

Now, yesterday the Treasury and the Department of Finance released the pre-election fiscal outlook. The Opposition have previously said that once that outlook was released, they would submit their policies for costing by the Department of Finance. Time is up for the Opposition and their excuses have run out. They now must submit their policies to the Department of Finance and the Treasury in accordance with the Charter of Budget Honesty so that these policy areas and costings errors can be gone through by the nation’s independent fiscal costers.

Of course, yesterday we also saw the revelation from the Leader of the Opposition, his admission that his tax, his increase in the corporate tax rate for 3,000 businesses across the country, would increase business costs and increase therefore cost of living pressures on Australians.

Now, Mr Abbott, in the debate, made it clear he had no plans to deal with cost of living. Now we know his only plan to deal with cost of living is a plan to put the cost of living up. His tax on corporate Australia is a tax on the cost of living of Australians. We have a plan to reduce the corporate tax rate; theirs is a plan to put the corporate tax rate up. This shows his lack of economic credibility and his lack of understanding of the important cost of living pressures on Australians.

Happy to take some questions.

JOURNALIST: Mr Bowen, you’ve talked about all his mistakes. Why is the Coalition killing you in economic management?

BOWEN: Well, I’m not sure I’d characterise it that way. That figure goes up and down from time to time, and that figure jumps around quite a lot. From our point of view, we will continue to point out that we did what we had to do to get Australia through the global financial crisis. Mr Abbott, on the other hand, wanted to follow the New Zealand path and send Australia into recession, put more Australians on the unemployment line.

We kept Australia out of recession; doing what we had to do to get Australia through the global financial crisis while keeping our AAA credit rating; and returning the Budget to surplus in three years’ time, three years ahead of time and before any other major advanced economy. That’s our economic record. We’re more than happy to run on it. We’re more than happy to compare our plans for the economy with Mr Abbott’s.

JOURNALIST: Why do you think voters think that the Coalition is still stronger on managing interest rates and inflation?

BOWEN: Well, as I say, that figure jumps around. Historically, that has been the case, that voters obviously say the Labor Party does a good job on education and health, and the Liberal Party has traditionally in those polls scored well on economic management. But that figure has jumped around quite a lot over the last few years. From our point of view, the polls will go up, the polls will go down. But we will stay focused on the economic task at hand, and talking to the Australian people about our economic record and our economic plans for the future.

JOURNALIST: But isn’t it embarrassing that Julia Gillard with Alan Jones this morning couldn’t detail when the cuts would come to the company tax?

BOWEN: Look, I don’t think that’s right. I think the Prime Minister did outline when the company tax rate starts, the reduction starts. She did make that clear and that just underlines the point: we are reducing company tax; Mr Abbott’s putting it up.

JOURNALIST: If she knew it, why did she stumble on it?

BOWEN: Well, she made it clear during the course of the interview when the corporate tax rate cut was coming in, and I’m more than happy for the Prime Minister to be questioned about our corporate tax cut, and I’m more than happy for Mr Abbott to be questioned about his corporate tax rate increase.

JOURNALIST: Was she waiting for a piece of paper to be handed to her?

BOWEN: Well, the Prime Minister answered the question.

JOURNALIST: Has your Government been warned that we could expect an influx of boat people [inaudible]?B

OWEN: Well, look, the Prime Minister’s made it clear that she thinks we need a new approach. We need an approach which is a regional solution, which stops the boats leaving the shores of other nations, doesn’t rely on stopping the boats when they reach the shore of Australia. And that’s what she has put on the agenda: a different approach to the Howard Government, a new approach which deals with the problem at its source. Now, of course, there are a complex range of circumstances which lead to different refugee numbers across the world and we are focused on the task at hand, which is that new approach, that regional approach.

JOURNALIST: [inaudible]

BOWEN: Well, look, a couple of things on that. The Opposition have previously said that from opposition they couldn’t enter into any negotiations with Nauru. Now there’s an election campaign, they’ve jetted off to Nauru. I mean, this is a stunt. This is a massive stunt from a desperate Opposition. Now, from our point of view, we’ve said we need a regional approach but that the regional processing centre would need to be, for the sake of decency, at a country which is a signatory to the Refugee Convention. Nauru is not currently a signatory to the Refugee Convention. That is why we’ve focused our discussions with East Timor and we’ll continue to explore that regional approach.

JOURNALIST: Yet it continues to hurt you [inaudible].

BOWEN: Well, this is a complex issue. We’ll continue to make our case that we need a regional approach. Mr Abbott can continue to engage in his stunts and his glib one liners on his policy, his policy which is destined to fail. We have a more considered and balanced approach, and we’ll continue with that approach.

Okay, thanks very much.

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