E&OE….
Topics: Great Barrier Reef, leadership
MARK PARTON:
Greg Hunt’s the Federal Environment Minister. He’s pretty keen for us to talk about the Great Barrier Reef this morning. G’day Greg.
GREG HUNT:
Good morning Mark.
MARK PARTON:
Great Barrier Reef is leading your agenda at the moment, Greg?
GREG HUNT:
It is indeed. We’ve just issued an order for a regulation in law to ban the dumping of spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park…
MARK PARTON:
Was it going on?
GREG HUNT:
There were massive proposals we inherited from State Labor and Federal Labor. I inherited five major proposals. We worked through and ended all of those, but we’ve gone a whole lot further and for the first time ever issued instructions for the banning – forever – of spoil in the Marine Park.
MARK PARTON:
Ok. I mean, because it sounds – when you put it this way – it sounds like common sense. It’s almost amazing that it wasn’t carved in stone prior to this.
GREG HUNT:
Well I can’t speak for those that came before. I can speak for our time and this is something that I believe will be critically important. I’m pretty sure that when I’m sitting in a rocking chair thirty or forty years from now, I’ll look back on that and say I was very glad we did that and then even more importantly is the work that’s being done on water quality.
So what you see is that there’s a reduction in sediment of 11% flowing into an area the size of Germany, to be fair, of dissolved nitrogens is 16% and of pesticides of 28%. So these are real and important things and we’re also making an assault on the Crown of Thorns.
So it is the world’s Great Barrier Reef and people around the world, as well as Australians and Queenslanders are very focussed on this. But it can always be better and it’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to try to make deep, long-term changes.
MARK PARTON:
Needless to say, it won’t be viewed in the same way by Christine Milne and Sarah Hanson-Young.
GREG HUNT:
Oh look, I understand that they are reflexively opposed to the Government. That’s their right and entitlement. But they have to be seen for what they are. They did not raise once in a question on notice, question without notice in the House or Senate, throughout the entire time of coalition government with Labor, Abbot Point.
They were there for three years and not one of them raised Abbot Point on our research of the Hansards and we have reduced it to one-twentieth the size that it was when it was proposed under Queensland Labor and Federal Labor.
It’s all been brought onshore and there’s now a permanent ban on dredging which is currently being – on dredge disposal in the Marine Park – which is currently being drawn up. And that’s a huge, profound achievement which would never have been contemplated under the ALP.
MARK PARTON:
Greg, tell me, in the time since the election victory for the Coalition, how would you rate the performance of Prime Minister Tony Abbott out of ten?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I would regard it as very, very good. I know that if you try to put a number on it, one way or another. I would regard it as very good, deeply effective and let me tell you why. We inherited a massive $50 billion deficit. That’s money which is being stolen from future generations. It wasn’t being invested, it was simply being spent.
So we were living beyond our means. We’ve saved up to 1,200 lives at sea. We have reduced electricity prices by removing the carbon tax. It’s not just about the tax, it’s about the cost of living impacts. Free Trade Agreements that are going to have a profound impact on the ability of Australian producers.
And what we see now is that, according to some analysis, $140 a week for an average Sydney family of cost of living reductions.
It’s all about cost of living and when you compare that with the other bloke. Who is Bill Shorten? – is my question. I believe deeply and profoundly in the Prime Minister. Bill Shorten wants to hike electricity prices. That’s his policy. He won’t talk about it.
MARK PARTON:
Greg, why can’t the rest of the country see this? Because Bill Shorten is the man that if we went to the polls tomorrow, would overwhelmingly be installed as Prime Minister.
GREG HUNT:
Well there is a long way to travel and the big thing about Tony Abbott is that he knew and we knew that it is never popular to make the difficult decisions to repair a budget destroyed by somebody else. But it’s profoundly, immensely important.
And our two great tasks are firstly, to ensure that there’s cost of living relief for families. Secondly, to ensure that we’re not stealing, as the ALP did, from future generations, because every time you leave the bill for your children or your grandchildren, that is an act of deep intergenerational irresponsibility and…
MARK PARTON:
Who’s doing the numbers Greg? Have they sounded you out?
GREG HUNT:
No. And my answer here is 100%, rock-solid, deep, personal support for the Prime Minister. That is in my view, absolutely the position of each and every member of the Cabinet. Yep, we’ve heard a couple of people overnight. I am sorry that they have said that and taken that position, but this fellow, Tony Abbott, has immense personal qualities…
MARK PARTON:
So Greg, are you?
GREG HUNT:
…Rhodes Scholar, a man who is thoroughly, thoroughly decent. A degree of humility that is uncommon in political leaders and a plan which has actually saved lives, reduced electricity prices, created jobs and then we’re working on doing things that have never been done in the environment.
MARK PARTON:
Are you suggesting to me that next Tuesday could be an embarrassing day for Dennis Jensen?
GREG HUNT:
Look, my view here is that there shouldn’t be any action. I’m not convinced that there will be any action. I believe that the leader was elected by the Australian people but is always, of course, answerable to colleagues, but there is overwhelming support from colleagues and for a good reason – he has a sense of a long-term willingness, which you want in political leaders to take on the difficult – and we complain when our leaders don’t take on the difficult.
This man, Tony Abbott, is willing to take on the difficult to his own detriment and I think that that’s something in the modern era which should be applauded and recognised and I just wanted to go out of my way today to express that rock-solid, absolute commitment and…
MARK PARTON:
So you’re behind him, you say everyone in the cabinet is, irrespective of that, will there be a genuine challenge?
GREG HUNT:
I don’t believe so, no.
MARK PARTON:
No. Alright, well we’ll sit on the sidelines and watch and wait, because it’s been a pretty interesting time, Greg.
GREG HUNT:
Yeah, look I would add one other thing here and that is – there’s the alternative Prime Minister Bill Shorten and I would say, well Bill, now is your time to say to the Australian people how would you avoid a return to the tragedies and the human loss at sea?
How much are you going to increase electricity prices by because that is your stated central policy at this moment.
And what are you going to do to avoid massive distortions through union influence which is gaining huge control after the CFMEU largely assumed responsibility for governance in Victoria? These are real questions and I think it’s time that we start to hold him to account.
MARK PARTON:
Greg, thanks for coming on this morning.
GREG HUNT:
Take care mate.
MARK PARTON:
Greg Hunt’s the Federal Environment Minister.
(ENDS)