TRANSCRIPT - INTERVIEW WITH STEVE PRICE AUSTRALIA TODAY

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 STEVE PRICE – AUSTRALIA TODAY

13 DECEMBER 2022

 

Subject/s: Cost of Parliament Recall, Rushed ‘Energy Package’, Parliamentary Accountability, No Question Time on Thursday

 

STEVE PRICE:  

I mentioned Paul Fletcher as the Manager of Opposition Business joins us on the line. $1,000,000 is the estimate cost to recall Parliament Paul. 

 

PAUL FLETCHER:  

Well, Steve, that's right. The Prime Minister told us last Friday that Parliament needed to be recalled this Thursday to deal with their package, supposedly addressing energy prices. Now they've had six months in government. But due to this chaotic mismanagement, now Parliament's being recalled. There's 226 parliamentarians so when you add up all the flights, the travel allowance, the COMCARS, staff travel you easily get to $1,000,000. That's before you look at the cost of the extra security guards and parliamentary attendants and others who will be need to work on that day, many of whom work on a casual basis, people in the catering outlets and so on, so quite unnecessary spending because this government has completely mismanaged this issue. They went to the election promising a $275 reduction in people's power prices, since then energy bills have gone up. The budget predicted electricity up 56%, gas up 44% and they took six months before finally getting around to convening a meeting of the energy ministers. And then we were told last Friday, this is also urgent, that the Parliament needs to be resumed this Thursday. Even though Parliament had supposedly risen for the year, a week and 1/2 ago, and taxpayers might well ask, well why we're needing to spend all this money. Why has this been left to the last minute? Wouldn't there have been a more efficient way to do this? 

 

PRICE:  

It's a train wreck. I mean, would there have been an easier way to do it do? Does it have to be legislated I mean... 

 

FLETCHER:  

Those are all very good questions Steve. Those are all very good questions for the government. We still haven't seen the legislation. Mr Mr. Albanese said that we would see it I think late today and their proposal is then the Parliament on Thursday that this will get rushed through the House of Representatives and through the Senate all in one day. We've seen a lot of people asking serious questions about this package, it's all been put together on the rush and now the idea is that Parliament just gives it the rubber stamp, now normally, Parliament has things called committees where you look into these matters. Everybody who's affected has a chance to have their say, all of that good and sensible process is being thrown out the window because Mr Albanese is rushing to get this done and he hasn't yet explained why it's necessary. So the funding that's been provided based upon the information available for rebates to, or reductions in people's individual bills, that's not on the information available. What will be discussed on Thursday, what the government has said is it will be this price cap in relation to gas so it's all just, it's a huge rush. They haven't explained why the rush is necessary, but more importantly they haven't explained why they've managed things so chaotically that over $1,000,000 of taxpayers' money will have to be spent to reconvene the Parliament. 

 

PRICE:  

Interestingly, I was talking to Pauline Hanson before she got a call yesterday. She wouldn't tell me who from, offering her a briefing on the legislation. Now, how she's supposed to get her head around that with the limited staff that Independent Senators now have and give an accurate reflection in her vote on a piece of legislation she hasn't even seen. 

 

FLETCHER:  

Well, Steve, that's a really important point. You know there's 151 people in the House of Representatives; 76 in the Senate. Each of them has a vote. Each of them needs to think about this important matter. And yet the government is going to make the legislation available on what looks like less than two days before we're required to consider it. The government said there won't be Question Time on Thursday. I mean, these are all the normal processes that that's what they said. 

 

PRICE:  

What! What do you mean no Question Time? 

 

FLETCHER:  

That's quite extraordinary, so they're calling the Parliament back, and they're proposing to use their numbers in the House to make sure that there is no Question Time so you know this is Mr Albanese, who for years was going on about the role of the Parliament correctly. He was going on about the role of Parliament, to scrutinise the work of government. But now that he's Prime Minister, now he is in Government. He's turning his back on all the principles that he claimed to stand for in terms of the importance of Parliament. In keeping a check and a balance on the government of the day, and you know, often amendments that are put up can improve bills, but if it just gets rammed through, there's no time to do any of the proper thinking or analysis. 

 

PRICE:  

Have you decided yet as an Opposition, what you'll do? Or are you saying well, we can't tell you because we haven't seen it? 

 

FLETCHER:  

We'll go through our normal process. And that includes, you know, Shadow Cabinet, that includes a meeting of the party room. So obviously we have to do that in a very compressed timetable because of the chaotic way that this government is working, but we will do that. And once we've gone through those proper processes, we'll arrive at our position and we'll indicate what that is. But I guess the broad point I make is that our Parliament is supposed to be there to represent all Australians to make good decisions, and when something is as rushed as this, it's quite unnecessary. It's because of the chaotic way that Mr. Albanese and the Labor government been running things. So it's a waste of taxpayers money, over $1,000,000 easily, but it's also it's really treating Parliament as a mere rubber stamp for the work of government while even though we know from some of the things that have been said by affected businesses and companies, that there are serious questions now, there may be answers to those who knows, but the normal way you deal with this is you go through a proper process. You have a committee. You ask questions. The government has to explain what they're doing, but instead they're proposing the whole thing be rammed through both houses of the Parliament in one day, with Parliamentarians having had very little notice at all. Very little detail, very little explanation of what it is they're going to be voting, on this is not good process. 

 

PRICE:  

Is this the government trying to somehow weasel its way out of that election promise of $275 and say, see we did bring you power prices down. Is that what they're doing here? 

 

FLETCHER:  

Well, that that is certainly a a very plausible explanation. You know on 97 occasions the Labor Party told us before the election they were going to reduce power prices by $275. We've asked them nearly every day in Question Time since then. Do you stand by that commitment? They've refused, Mr. Albanese, Mr. Bowen, a whole range of other ministers have refused to recommit to that number, they just roll out a list of excuses and now we've got this really chaotic, ramshackle process where they're - you know they've come up with what they say as a plan already. There are very serious questions being asked by a range of people and interests who are potentially affected. But more importantly, they're proposing a really terrible process to try and ram this through the Parliament in one day without letting Parliament do the job it's supposed to do, which is to investigate what the government is proposing and determine whether it agrees or not, so it's really treating the Parliament as a rubber stamp. That's a very. Bad thing to do? 

 

PRICE:  

It is a bad thing to do. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it, we might catch up again later in the week. See how this all goes. Thank you Paul Fletcher, Manager of Opposition Business. 

Further information: Jack Abadee 0403 440 099