22 April, 2013
Sky News AM Agenda
With Kieran Gilbert
22 April 2013
8:50am
E & OE
Subjects: National Disability Insurance Scheme, Budget savings
KIERAN GILBERT:
Senator Fifield, thanks for your time. We’ve talked about budget constraints a lot this morning. Every Australian Counts, that campaign has been concerned that there might be some slippage in terms of the NDIS. Can you give a guarantee this morning that there wouldn’t be under a Coalition? That there wouldn’t be a slippage in terms of delivering that?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Kieran, the Coalition has supported every milestone along the road to the NDIS. We supported the work of the Productivity Commission. We support the five launch sites. We support the agreement that’s been reached with New South Wales and the other jurisdictions. And we supported the legislation that went through the Parliament. So we are looking for ways to make this happen. That’s been our approach all the way through and it will continue to be so.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Have you got a sense from that group, from that lobby group Every Australian Counts that they are worried that there might be some movement in the timeline for the NDIS given how tight the budget is?
MITCH FIFIELD:
All of my discussions with the Every Australian Counts campaign have been positive. They have been extremely pleased with the cross-party support that there has been for the NDIS. So they’re positive, they’re heartened but understandably they want to keep the NDIS on the public policy agenda, as do I. The NDIS is one of those things that just has to happen Kieran.
KIERAN GILBERT:
You worked very closely with the former Treasurer Peter Costello over many years. You’ve seen the Grattan Institute warning this morning. Do governments of all persuasions need to rethink their spending and put some of the more difficult things on the table, not just trimming middle class welfare?
MITCH FIFIELD:
Kieran, I think it’s important to not accept this supposition that whoever was in office today would be deeply in debt. The reason why this government is in debt and has been borrowing heavily is for the simple reason that they have been spending more money than they have been bringing in in revenue. Now it is not as a result, as Wayne Swan would have us believe, of revenue write-downs. This government is bringing in $70 billion a year more in revenue than in the last year of the Howard government. But the problem is, they’re spending $100 billion a year more than in the last year of the Howard government. Wayne Swan wants us to think that he’s just a hapless victim of circumstances beyond his control. But the reason we are in deficit, and deeply in deficit, and the reason this government is borrowing is because of policy decisions by this government. I heard Kate say before that they have a policy of offsetting new spending with savings. That is just not true. The government did not identify savings to cover the school halls program. They government did not identify savings to cover the pink batts fiasco. And I can point to any number of other policy decisions that the government did not identify savings to cover.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Those two were obviously during the global financial crisis and the government did that as emergency stimulus. But let’s talk about the Coalition focus now because you, in all likelihood, will be on the Treasury benches post-September. Joe Hockey is looking for savings. He tried to reign in the baby bonus but the Nationals wouldn’t cop it. He’s unable to get that through the Shadow Cabinet. So unless he’s supported in that endeavour, the Coalition’s going to face similar problems.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Kieran, we will identify our savings in the lead up to the next election. We will indicate how we will fund…
KIERAN GILBERT:
But some things have got to hurt. Some savings will have to hurt.
MITCH FIFIELD:
We will indicate how we will fund the commitments that we make. But, as Tony Abbott has been very clear and Joe has been very clear, we are not going to get into a bidding war with the Labor Party. We are going to be responsible and we’re going to be conservative with our election commitments. But Kieran one of the best predictors of future behaviour is past behaviour. We inherited a $96 billion debt from the last Labor government and we paid that off. Now paying off Labor debt is not a theoretical exercise for me Kieran. I worked for Peter Costello for eight years. I know how hard it is to prioritise. I know how hard it is to make difficult decisions. But you have to do it. We did it last time we were in government and we will do it again.
KIERAN GILBERT:
Senator Mitch Fifield, appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for that.
MITCH FIFIELD:
Thanks Kieran.
ENDS