TRANSCRIPT - INTERVIEW WITH PETER STEFANOVIC - SKY

PAUL FLETCHER MP

Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy

Manager of Opposition Business in the House

 

 

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH PETER STEFANOVIC - SKY

7 DECEMBER 2022

E&OE

 

Subject/s: Gas Prices, Reserve Bank, National Cabinet

 

Peter Stefanovic: I am with the Manager of Opposition Business, Paul Fletcher. Paul, good to see you. Thanks for your time this morning. Let's start off with coal and gas. The Prime Minister wants states to impose their own coal price caps. Your response to that?

Paul Fletcher: Look, this is all over the place. They've been telling us for a while that they were going to have a plan and new versions of the plan seem to emerge every day, every second day, with different commentary from different Labor ministers and backbenchers. What we know is that they went to an election telling us that energy prices would drop by $275, so the power bills would drop. Instead, we now have a budget where electricity up 56%, gas up 44% over the next two years, according to Labor's own budget. So, you know, let's see the plan. But all the signs are that make it up as they go along.

 

Stefanovic: Well, this is the newest plan though, to get a deal with the states, for them to enact their own price caps on coal. As for that particular potential plan would you support it?

 

Fletcher: Look, I'm not going to be making any comment until we see the details, but I have a strong suspicion they haven't sorted out the details. You know, the National Cabinet was supposed to be today until it was delayed because of the Prime Minister getting COVID. And here we are on the very day that the National Cabinet was supposed to be considering signing off on a plan, and they're still clearly scrambling around trying to work out what the elements of the plan actually are. Now look, Labor has been in government for over six months. We know that rising energy prices are a huge problem for Australian families. Also, for Australian industry, and yet we hear highly contradictory messages. We know one of the things that has to happen is to deal with this issue of supply of gas. On any view, gas is critical. Gas is critical to Australian industry. Gas is critical as a transition fuel as we move to achieve net zero by 2050, which we need to do. And yet we have got contradictory views within the Labor Party. You've got Chris Bowen who has been very, very critical about gas. You've got Madeleine King who seems to be more supportive of it. We need the Prime Minister to come out with a decision on this issue and other issues. Any plan needs to address this issue of supply.

 

Stefanovic: So, if this one is in the deal with the states? What is a better alternative than that? Because the states would have to be involved anyway.

 

Fletcher: Well, again, Labor’s in government it's up to them to come up with a plan.

 

Stefanovic: You see parts of the deal today, I mean, they're on the front page of the Australian news. Do you have a view on it?

 

Fletcher: We've seen things dropped to the papers today as we've seen dropped yesterday and the day before, and the day before. We've seen a series of thought bubbles. This is all over the map. And so no I'm not going to be making a comment until we actually see something announced. We've been hearing for a while that there's going to be a plan by Christmas. Christmas is getting close.

 

Stefanovic: Have you got a preferred way to go through just from people you're talking to.

 

Fletcher: Well, again, we're not in government. We're in opposition. What we need to see is we need to see a clear, coherent plan, but one that doesn't go for a short-term sugar hit and does serious medium and long-term damage. That's an important thing.

 

Stefanovic: Well, this all comes on a day when new details have come from Queensland. Its new royalties scheme has generated $3 billion, an extra $3 billion. That's almost four times the previous levels. I mean, isn't that an example of where some of that should be shared with the punters?

 

Fletcher: Well, State and Commonwealth governments have different responsibilities. Again, I will leave it to the current government to sort out their relationships with state governments. But it shouldn't be a surprise to the Commonwealth Government, to the Albanese Labor Government that individual State governments levy substantial royalties on minerals. That's a long-established feature of our Constitutional arrangements. And again, it's very curious that Labor seems to be scrambling around dealing with these sort of breakouts on the issue. They will have known for months that that's how these arrangements operate. They've been in place for a very long time.

 

Stefanovic: Seems fairly logical that that should be shared. I mean, that's a pretty staggering jump in revenue.

 

Fletcher: Well, again, the point I make is that for a very long time, the Constitutional arrangements have been in place in terms of state royalties that are levied on coal and on other minerals. The Albanese Labor government should have known that the idea that they're scrambling around on pretty short notice now trying to deal with that, is quite alarming.

 

Stefanovic: Okay. The states will receive compensation though. Jim Chalmers saying yesterday it will be quote ‘a sensible contribution’. Does that sound fair to you?

 

Fletcher: Well, again, let's wait and see the detail because we have had so many different sound bites on this from different ministers. It's evolved over time, and it is up to the Labor government to sort out what their plan is and announce the details of it. And frankly, I don't have any confidence in what they're dropping into the papers today because they've said different things on a near daily basis, certainly on a weekly basis over the last several weeks. One of the questions we've asked in Parliament is why the Australian people need to wait until Christmas before a plan comes out. They've been in government for more than six months, so the Australian people might reasonably ask why this late mad scramble? We've known for a long time there's an energy price problem. In fact, Labor went to the election promising a solution. They promised a $275 cut in power prices. Instead, power prices have gone up and up and up. And here we are.

 

Stefanovic: So much of it is out of the government's control though, and prices were on the way up.

 

Fletcher: Well, let's be clear. They knew well when they made that promise, they made that promise 97 times, $275. They knew well at that time that a war in Ukraine had started. Now that's the go to excuse every day in Parliament for last week and the week before, we kept hearing it from Anthony Albanese, from Jim Chalmers, all they grabbed that bag of excuses. Chris Bowen, as to why they couldn't deliver on the promise they took to the Australian people. That was repeated 97 times that power prices would go down by $275. They’re going up. Now they're scrambling to find a plan. They just do not seem to be on top of this.

 

Stefanovic: Couple of quick ones on the RBA here. And eight straight rates rise in a row. Are you convinced that'll be true or are you expecting more?

 

Fletcher: Well, let's first of all acknowledge that the RBA is an independent organisation and its job, its charge is to keep inflation under control. Also, achieve employment outcomes in other things, but it's got a very clear objective in terms of keeping inflation under control. That was very disappointing when we saw Bill Shorten, a very senior Labor cabinet minister, attacking the Reserve Bank Governor, Governor Lowe for comments that he made, that Governor Lowe made, about the dangers of a wage price spiral and what needs to be done to avoid that. Bill Shorten dismissed that as rubbish. It is very problematic when we have got Labor government ministers attacking the Independent Reserve Bank. They've got a difficult job to do I'm not saying that they get they will get every aspect of it perfectly right or that they are. But what I am saying is that our institutional arrangements are there for a good reason. We have an Independent Reserve Bank so it can focus on the issues of maintaining price stability, avoiding an inflationary breakout and the independent precisely so that they're not responding to day-to-day political pressures. Even though disgracefully, Bill Shorten attempted to put that at a political pressure.

 

Stefanovic: So, when Philip Lowe's term ends, should he get another one?

 

Fletcher: Well, that'll be a matter for the government and for the board. But what I would say is he's got a difficult job and I think he is discharging that in a conscientious way. He's certainly somebody with very considerable experience. It'll be a matter for the government, but I certainly don't think that some of the Government's attacks, including Bill Shortens attacks on the Reserve Bank, are justified. In fact, quite the contrary.

 

Stefanovic: Alright Paul Fletcher, thanks for your time. We will talk again soon.

 

Fletcher: Thank you.

Further information: Jack Abadee 0403 440 099