E&OE…
Topics: Budget, interest rate
TOM ELLIOTT:
Greg Hunt, Good afternoon.
GREG HUNT:
And good afternoon Tom.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Was it a nasty shock today when the Reserve Bank cut interest rates?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I never try to predict what the Reserve Bank will do, we just follow their lead. I think the Prime Minister quoted the Reserve Bank Governor in Question Time very specifically talking about the transition of the economy and promoting jobs and growth.
That's exactly what the Budget is doing. It's designed to help small business, it's designed to help people into employment, it's designed to ensure that we have incentive for work – at the end of the day get people into work, keep them in work. That reduces the call on welfare…
TOM ELLIOTT:
Sure.
GREG HUNT:
…and it's about dignity and…
TOM ELLIOTT:
Yeah.
GREG HUNT:
…the Reserve Bank is heading in exactly the same direction as the Government.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Well no, because if all that was happening the Reserve Bank wouldn't need to be cutting rates. I mean that is the truth. You increase rates when the economy is overheating and you cut rates when it's showing signs of slowing. So this says to me that the Reserve Bank doesn't share your somewhat optimistic view.
GREG HUNT:
No I think what we all recognise is that this is a challenging economic environment.
You've seen growth come off in China, you've seen a reduction in the prices of our resources, and so there is an economy that's in transition.
And our whole approach is to say let's take the burdens of families and business as much as possible.
Let's not tax them with a new electricity tax, whether it's families or small businesses, an electricity tax on farmers, an electricity tax on pensioners – that's really the worst possible thing you can do at this time, and I think that underlines the point.
And by contrast what tonight is about and what the Government's economic plan – and it really is an economic plan not just a Budget – is about is laying down a path for employment, laying down a path for productivity, giving people relief, and then as a country making sure that we live within our means.
So all of those things come together in a single national direction.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Well okay, and obviously we'll hear the Treasurer's speech tonight.
Now firstly, living within our means obviously is a reference to turning the Budget deficit at some stage back into a surplus.
Do you know when the Budget is now forecast to return to surplus? Because for the last few years whatever target has been set it has just been pushed further out and further out.
GREG HUNT:
Sure. Look obviously the Treasurer will speak on that tonight and I won't pre-empt him.
But I know that as a Cabinet and as a Minister all of the time our discussions are about making sure that we guard public money safely, that we reduce the call on the public, that we reduce the deficit, that we bring ourselves back to a pathway to surplus.
So, you can understand I won't pre-empt the Treasurer by a few hours, but the whole thing is jobs and growth and living within means.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Okay will you actually cut spending? Will you actually cut Government spending?
GREG HUNT:
Well for example we abolished the $5.5 billion that they were giving to brown coal generators – an incredible economic subsidy.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Sure but overall will you cut government spending?
GREG HUNT:
Well again, what we're doing is making sure that we spend responsibly, and what we do spend is quality – it's not things like Pink Batts or Green Loans, or Cash for Clunkers, so things which we absolute failures of economic management.
And sadly we've seen all of that again come onto the table in the last week with this latest round of carbon tax…
TOM ELLIOTT:
Sure. I have no doubt if Bill Shorten's elected we'll have more spending and more taxes, but I really want to focus on what you as a member of Federal Cabinet will do.
I mean, will you keep the overall level of spending the same, or will it stay as the same proportion, or will you actually try and cut it?
GREG HUNT:
Well our goal is to always try to reduce the proportion of spending as a percentage of GDP. That's the goal and the objective.
And I know that we have a really tough what's called Expenditure Review Committee process. What's that? That's Cabinet looking at the expenditure.
And you want a tough Treasurer and you want a tough Finance Minister, who are always trying to make sure that spending is minimised and where there is expenditure of money which is raised from taxpayers, it's fair and it's high quality.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Okay well let’s look at taxes. From what's been leaked thus far we've got increased tax on cigarettes, and there's been a bit of a hole there at least with the Labor Party's costings, but that would affect you too.
GREG HUNT:
No no, they've got a $19.5 billion hole…
TOM ELLIOTT:
Yeah okay but you have the same…
GREG HUNT:
…between what we've announced and what they've announced and what they presumed – they call it a rounding error…
TOM ELLIOTT:
Alright so well let's just go through it.
GREG HUNT:
…but it's a massive black hole.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Okay, okay. So increased tax on cigarettes from both parties, you want to lower the salary at which people get a tax surcharge on their superannuation, and I believe there's a company tax cut for small business in the offing, is that correct?
GREG HUNT:
So look if I were a small business person I would be looking forward to tonight.
And the reason is, where are jobs created in an economy? It's in the small business sector.
And if you create those jobs, that's good for the small business, it's good for revenue, it's incredibly good for the people who are employed – and that sense of dignity in work, the whole picture of social cohesion and an economy that is growing.
And you're also closing the national deficit as you do it.
These are the things that are absolutely central – jobs, growth, and living within our means.
TOM ELLIOTT:
Okay. Will there be any big surprises tonight? Is there something that hasn't been leaked that you've kept secret which you're going to hatch, or the Treasurer's going to hatch at around 7:30 in the Parliament?
GREG HUNT:
Well I'll speak for my portfolio. There are a couple of very, very positive surprises which haven't been aired in relation to really good, practical environmental initiatives, and on the…
TOM ELLIOTT:
Sure, but big overall surprises? Is there a big overall surprise that no one's cottoned on to yet? You don't have to say what it is, you just have to say there is a surprise.
GREG HUNT:
There are no big surprises in terms of the direction of the Budget. And that's this idea of – you reduce the burdens on employment, you increase the opportunity for people to work, and you make sure that the Budget is fair on the people who most need it. And then…
TOM ELLIOTT:
So there's nothing that Scott's Morrison going to say that people are going to go – oh didn't see that coming?
GREG HUNT:
Well look I respectfully don't want to pre-empt the main show. You can understand that if somebody puts in a spoiler on your program it's not always the best, and I'm not going to do that to the Treasurer.
But the broad direction of the country and the economy is really set, and there are two pathways.
One of them is a lower – an overall path towards a lower percentage of government expenditure in relation to the whole economy, and to bringing the Budget back into balance and to creating jobs.
Versus the one which is really built under Bill Shorten on massive new taxes – a housing tax in the form of the negative gearing tax, the small business tax in relation to what they're doing with capital gains, and then the huge king hit of all in economic terms which is the carbon tax – which is a massive electricity tax on every one of your listeners, whether they're pensioners or small business people, families, whether they're farmers, whether they're running a small manufacturing firm.
So whatever they do they're going to be hit with a huge cost in their electricity. And the point is we've seen it before.
TOM ELLIOTT:
We have indeed. We'll leave it there. Greg Hunt, I know it's a busy afternoon, I appreciate your time.
(ENDS)