Joint Doorstop Interview with Senator the Hon. Nigel Scullion and Mr. Ken Warriner
Posted on Sunday, 26 June 2011
Subject: Live cattle exports; Julia Gillard’s carbon tax.
E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………
TONY ABBOTT:
It’s good to be here at Newcastle Waters with Ken Warriner and also with Nigel Scullion who, amongst other things, is the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs. Obviously, Nigel and I are here because of the unfolding disaster that is hitting the cattle industry right across northern Australia as a result of the ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia. The cattle industry is the economic lifeblood of northern Australia. Apart from mining it’s really the only large industry of northern Australia. The Indonesian cattle trade alone sustains at least 10,000 jobs and is worth upwards of half a billion dollars a year. It’s absolutely vital that we do everything we reasonably can to get this industry going again. The jobs of people in northern Australia depend upon it, the future of the people of northern Australia depend upon it. All of us want to ensure that it’s a sustainable industry, all of us want to ensure that it’s an industry that we can be proud of but it’s got to be an industry which exists, which continues, which flourishes and that’s what I’m determined to do, that’s why I’m here at Newcastle Waters, one of the most historic cattle properties in our country with Nigel Scullion today and I want to thank Ken Warriner for making me so welcome and I want to thank the other cattle producers of the Territory who we’ve been talking to over the last hour or so.
My proposal is that the Prime Minister and I jointly go to Indonesia to do what we can to ensure that the industry is restarted as quickly as possible. Plainly, the Indonesians are unhappy about the way their industry has been treated in public debate over the last four or five weeks. I think it’s very important that we do everything we humanly can to let the Indonesians know that it’s not about them, that we will treat them with respect and we want to ensure that this industry continues because in the long run that’s going to be best for animal welfare, as well as being good for Australia and good for Indonesia. So, that’s what I’m suggesting to the Prime Minister: that we put our usual party political differences to one side, that we jointly go to Indonesia, that we do our best to assure the Indonesians that as far as Australia is concerned all sides of politics want to treat them with respect as a friend, as a neighbour, as a constructive contributor to the wider world and I think that’s the best way that we can do it.
Nigel?
NIGEL SCULLION:
This situation has been, certainly in my 30-odd years in the Territory, the grimmest in terms of an industry that holds the fabric of the Territory together. Families and communities that depend on this directly understand how hard this is going to hit but nobody will escape the impact of the decision to close the trade in the Northern Territory now. I think the Prime Minister should join with Tony Abbott and it will be the only thing, I think, in the short term that can repair the damage to industry and if the damage to industry isn’t repaired in the short term then it is going to be in fact very, very difficult to avoid the social and economic bushfire that’s going to sweep through the north.
KEN WARRINER:
Thanks, Nigel. I think we don’t want to forget the fact that what’s caused this is the welfare of the animals up there and we still have to fix that. It’s nowhere near as bad as Four Corners made out and the reaction to that is very, very disappointing - to have a whole trade shut down through one programme. However, obviously there are problems that have to be fixed there and we really must fix those but there’s only one way to fix it - that’s to get up there and fix it. Our groups probably have 10, 15 abattoirs now with stunning and all the rest of it done in place. We’re taking a punt that the trade will open and we will do it. The welfare of the properties, private owners and so on in the Territory as you would have seen today, Tony, they’re in dire straits now. It’s going to be very, very hard for them to survive this because they view themselves to a trade. To convert to another type of selling cattle, fattening cattle or whatever else, they’re just not geared towards it and I think they really are in dire straits if this trade doesn’t reopen and even if it takes a while for it to slow down or something, but we really must open it for both the welfare of the people here, all those 10,000 jobs you’re talking about, but also the welfare of the cattle, not just our cattle but all cattle in Indonesia and in other countries.
I think we’re the only country in the world that is really putting an effort into the welfare of cattle up there and here. You’ve seen some things today - the way we handle the cattle here and the people and the mentality of the people that work for us. They were all shocked by the footage displayed and people said that it was the norm and we’ve made a promise to our people that none of our cattle – and there’s 15,000 of them up there – will not be killed with a stunning and that is happening. We’re killing maybe 100 a day now up there, with stunning, this is through our abattoirs and with our partners Greg Pankhurst and Dicky Adiwoso it can be done, there’s no doubt about that. But the thing of getting our Prime Minister to go up with Tony, the Leader of the Opposition, I think now is absolutely imperative. The word we’re getting back from Indonesia, they’re very disappointed with the way it’s been handled today, shutting the trade with just a few hours notice to the Indonesians and it’s such a vital part of the feeding of those people [inaudible] and all that sort of thing. So, I think that it would be great if you could forget your differences and both go up there and do what you can for this trade. I do believe it’s the only chance we’ve got.
TONY ABBOTT:
Ok. Do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, Bob Brown has admitted he wants the coal mines shut down. Should that make the independents walk away from carbon tax negotiations?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well I’ve said all along that the carbon tax ultimately spells death for the coal industry and Bob Brown has proved it today. We know that Bob Brown and the Greens are driving this whole exercise. We know that in order to drive a move from coal to gas the carbon price has got to be $40 a tonne. We know that to drive a move from fossil fuels to renewables the carbon price has got to be $100 a tonne. I think that all Bob Brown has done today is confirm what the Coalition has been saying now for a long time, that Julia Gillard’s carbon tax will destroy the coal industry. That’s not the only industry it will destroy. It will destroy the steel industry, the cement industry, the aluminium industry, the motor industry. It will be, over time, the death of heavy manufacturing in Australia and frankly, it just confirms that this carbon tax will be a disaster for Australia. As even Heather Ridout said just the other day, industry needs this like we need a hole in the head.
QUESTION:
And Bob Brown has also admitted that a carbon tax deal is still weeks away. Is this another example of the Government being dishonest given it said it was going to have a deal by the end of the month?
TONY ABBOTT:
Look, I think the problem is that any deal is a bad deal and frankly, they can keep talking as long as they want as far as I’m concerned. I just think that Australia doesn’t need a carbon tax. It doesn’t need a carbon tax today, it doesn’t need a carbon tax tomorrow, it doesn’t need a carbon tax next year or the year after or the decade after. I mean, this carbon tax is just a thoroughly bad idea and we should not proceed with it now or ever and I’m not surprised that they’re having trouble coming up with what they think is an acceptable version of it.
QUESTION:
Julia Gillard’s released more details of her carbon tax compensation package. Is it generous enough?
TONY ABBOTT:
No she hasn’t. These are just vague, insubstantial assurances. I make just a number of points. First of all, the best compensation is not to have a carbon tax in the first place. Second, that any compensation won’t be enough because the compensation will happen once - the tax will just go up and up and up every year. The third point I make is that the Coalition is committed to tax cuts without a carbon tax and I think it’s very important that people understand that they will get a tax cut from the Coalition at the next election. They will get a tax cut from us without a carbon tax and I make the further point that any tax cut to compensate for a tax increase is not a cut, it’s a con.
QUESTION:
The Prime Minister says she will give you full access to Treasury to get your tax cuts costed. Will you take the Prime Minister up on her offer?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well that’s pretty rich coming from a Prime Minister who doesn’t release Treasury modelling of her own policies. I mean, this is just an outrageous bit of political oneupmanship. I challenge the Prime Minister to be honest and decent with the Australian people for once and to release all the Treasury modelling of her own policies. That’s what we need from the Prime Minister.
QUESTION:
So does that mean you will take her up on her offer or…?
TONY ABBOTT:
I’m confident that all of the Coalition’s policies will be picked to pieces by the Treasury at some point in time and I just think it’s high time that the Prime Minister stopped using the Treasury as a political weapon.
QUESTION:
So if you don’t take her up on her offer does this mean you have something to hide and your numbers won’t add up?
TONY ABBOTT:
People will get all the details of the Coalition’s policies in good time before the next election and there will be every chance for everyone, including the Treasury, to look at our policies and to come to the conclusion that they wish on our policies but the point I make is that this government should stop using the Treasury as a political weapon.
QUESTION:
There’s speculation your tax cuts will cost $6 billion. Where will you get that money from?
TONY ABBOTT:
We will fund our tax cuts from smaller, more effective government, from efficiencies in government and from prudent expenditure restraint. That’s what we’ve always done in the past. That’s what we’ll keep doing in the future.
[ends]