Interview with Sally Sara on ABC Radio National

‍Subjects: Interest Rates, Fiscal Policy, Taxation, Housing Affordability

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E&OE.........

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Sally Sara

Andrew Bragg is the Shadow Minister for Housing and Environment, and joins me now. Andrew Bragg, welcome back to Breakfast.

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Senator Bragg

Hi Sally, how are you?

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Sally Sara

Very well, thank you. Michele Bullock said yesterday that any government support for households can make her job harder. The coalition called for a fuel excise discount before the government adopted it. Was that irresponsible?

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Senator Bragg

Well I think the Reserve Bank is trying to do the hard work that Canberra refuses to, because they are raising interest rates as monetary policy because Canberra's fiscal policy has just been so reckless. I mean the government has spent so much money they have now forced up these interest rates and frankly I feel sorry for Australians that have higher interest rates…

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Sally Sara

What's your evidence that it's the government that's forced up the interest rates?

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Senator Bragg

Because we know that spending is at historically high levels. Of course the Governor can't make political statements but I mean the reality is that we're running one of the loosest fiscal policies anywhere in the OECD which is why we're seeing interest rates skyrocket here whereas in other nations they're either flatlining or going down.

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Sally Sara

If the government includes a tax cut or tax offset in this Budget, as has been speculated, would that also add to inflation and should the Coalition support it?

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Senator Bragg

Well, giving people back their own money is different from government spending. So the main point here is that we have high taxes coming in the Budget because they need to fund their spending. They haven't made the hard judgments needed. They haven't shown leadership on the Budget. They haven't shown the leadership required to identify real spending restraint and now they want to have these higher taxes which they have no mandate for, which will make a bad situation in housing even worse. I mean frankly, more interest rates, more taxes is going to make Australian housing so much worse than it already is now.

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Sally Sara

Where would the Coalition cut? What do you think is the answer here?

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Senator Bragg

We’ll have a program of identifying serious spending restraint because we know that this is the most important period frankly since the early 90s for opposition renewal. I mean I think we need to have a document that looks in some way like Fightback! did in the sense that it was ambitious for the country because I think Australians are desperate for leadership here. They know that the government has its backside out of its pants in a fiscal sense and we'll also have a tax policy which rewards aspiration and drive. I mean frankly right now if you're a Pay as you go worker in Australia you're getting absolutely belted.

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Sally Sara

Do you have those cuts ready to go now, those proposed cuts, what your policy would be?

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Senator Bragg

Well as you know, the election isn't upon us right now but that's a process we're working through and I think we understand that we have to meet the moment. Australians are looking for ambition. And I think this is why you're seeing a lot of political fragmentation in Australia because they haven't had it. They haven't had it from the major political parties. We've had a pretty bad decade frankly.

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Sally Sara

You were talking about Fightback! briefly, is that a document that you think still has some value?

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Senator Bragg

Well I mean something like that is going to be needed because otherwise what's the point? I mean we've got to be prepared to show the spending restraint that I think now Australians are wanting to see given we're about to have a trillion dollars of debt, people can see waste and corruption across the board, they see government programs failing. I mean who could believe that Canberra could spend $80 billion to build fewer houses? And then on the tax side I think we've got to do something serious as Tim Wilson has been saying around the Pay as you go system. I mean it's just, it's repressive.

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Sally Sara

Fightback! was part of the 1993 election loss for the Coalition and in April 1994 John Hewson declared Fightback! policy to be dead and buried. Are you giving it a bit of CPR here?

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Senator Bragg

Well I mean I'm making the point that we've got to be ambitious. I mean a lot of the policies that were in Fightback!...

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Sally Sara

Is it ambitious to lose?

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Senator Bragg

Well I mean as you know, a lot of the policies in the general direction of Fightback! ended up being the blueprint for a very successful period of government, the Howard government. And I think, you know, the idea that oppositions just sit there and don't do any policy work and hope to win government I think is completely disproven. So you've got to work hard and that's what we're doing. Because that's what the Australian people need. The Australian people need real competition because in any normal circumstances this government would be on the mat, given how bad the economy is.

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Sally Sara

Is it on the mat?

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Senator Bragg

Well, it will be, and it will be because we have the capability of developing an alternative economic plan that is going to absolutely get Australia to a position where incentive is rewarded again, waste is stopped, and I just think the Australian people are seeing all this waste in their tax dollars and they're getting frustrated and angry and they want an alternative vision for our country.

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Sally Sara

But to be clear you don't have that vision as yet but you will by the next election is what you're saying with the timeline.

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Senator Bragg

I'm making two points. Firstly, the economy is absolutely cactus because of this government. They're now flattening it because the Reserve Bank is having to raise interest rates to rein in their fiscal policy. Secondly, we have to meet the moment and have a strong and ambitious economic policy and we're working on that at the moment and it will be ready for the next election. And I look forward to taking the fight to the government because, for the average worker, they're getting smashed. They're getting smashed. And the worst part of it is, is that Mr Chalmers, Dr Chalmers, is going to be talking about all these gimmicks in the Budget, but I mean, his gimmicks don't actually work. Just because you have a housing fund doesn't mean it builds houses. Just because you have 5% deposits doesn't mean it actually helps people. Just because you want to announce you've got a tax switch, doesn't actually build houses.

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Sally Sara

Andrew Bragg, thank you so much for coming on Breakfast again this morning. Thank you.

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Senator Bragg

Thanks Sally.

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Sally Sara

That's Andrew Bragg there, Shadow Minister for Housing and the Environment.

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[Ends]