E&OE….
Topics: Polls
MARK PARTON:
Greg Hunt is the Federal Environment Minister, he joins us on the programme now. It’s hard to get away from these poll figures this morning, isn’t it?
GREG HUNT:
Oh look, I’m always very focussed on what we’ve actually done to try to help Australians in their lives, so if at the start of the year you said we would have literally, in all but one case, prevented the people smugglers landing in Australia over the course of twelve months and that is part of saving 1000 lives over the coming year.
Got rid of the carbon tax and seen the lowest figures for electricity in terms of the maximum reduction that we’ve had on Australian records, since records have been kept. That we would have had Free Trade Agreements with China, Japan and Korea and, in my own case, not just abolished the carbon tax but put in place the Emissions Reduction Fund and the Green Army, you’d say hey, that’s a year that we’d take in advance. In the real world…
MARK PARTON:
So why is nobody seeing that? I mean because the voters don’t see it. Are you suggesting that the voters, I don’t know, that they aren’t sharp enough to see it? They’re not bright enough to see what’s going on?
GREG HUNT:
No, no, no. All responsibility always lies with us and the people are absolutely sovereign. We did have – I do remember something and I’ll do something that’s very unusual and let people inside the Cabinet.
I do remember early on in the year we said if we don’t turn the finances around, there’ll be a huge issue for our children and our grandchildren. That will involve making unpopular decisions and we recognise that during the course of the year that would have some consequences, but we also discussed, well why are we in government?
We’re here to try to make things better for children and grandchildren, but that can be an unpopular process and so it was a – it wasn’t a sought outcome but it was a conscious outcome that we were willing to accept that consequence in order to try to make a grand intergenerational change because of all the things that we’ve got to do, the biggest and the most important – cost of living relief now but long-term protection against massive national debt which will inevitably have a huge impact on the quality of government services and the quality of life of Australians.
MARK PARTON:
Greg, I…
GREG HUNT:
That was something we were willing to accept. Not that we sought, but it was our duty to do.
MARK PARTON:
I wish we had more time this morning but we don’t. Thanks for being a part of this programme on a regular basis and have a Merry Christmas.
GREG HUNT:
Oh it’s a pleasure and yourself and I’ll talk to yourself and your listeners next year if you’d still like to have me on.
MARK PARTON:
Oh yeah we’d be up for that.
GREG HUNT:
Ok, take care.
MARK PARTON:
Greg Hunt, the Federal Environment Minister.
(ENDS)