E&OE
Patricia Karvelas
Well, you heard the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, that the government will let funding for the construction watchdog lapse even if it fails to abolish the body through the parliament. Michaelia Cash is the Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. She has been listening to Tony Burke. She joins us now. Welcome to the programme.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you Patricia, and good morning to your listeners.
Patricia Karvelas
I want to start where I ended, if we can actually, with Tony Burke on Scott Morrison not attending the parliament and perhaps taking a paid speaking gig overseas. Is that appropriate when you’re paid as a Member of Parliament?
Senator Cash
Well, again, it all needs to be declared in a statement of interests in the appropriate way. All of us need to do that. But this is a personal decision for Mr. Morrison. I’m not aware of the circumstances. So I can’t comment on it.
Patricia Karvelas
But it’s a question of principle. Is it appropriate to take money for a job somewhere else when voters pay for you to go to the Parliament and vote on bills?
Senator Cash
Well again, I’m not aware of the circumstances in which Mr. Morrison is taking leave.
Patricia Karvelas
If that scenario is right?
Senator Cash
In the press. And again, everything that you do must be declared in a statement of interests so it is above board. Those are the rules and the rules must be complied with at all times.
Patricia Karvelas
Let’s move to the ABCC. Doesn’t Labor have a mandate to scrap the ABCC given they won the election and this was always their policy?
Senator Cash
Well the feeling within the building industry, in the business community yesterday, and it continues today, Patricia, I can assure you, is one of total confusion following Tony Burke’s announcement on Sunday, that the ABCC would be stripped back to the bare minimum legal. Labor, yes, they had a promise to abolish the ABCC. But let’s be very clear, they had also promised to consult with the industry. The industry was expecting consultation period, an orderly transition period, certainly not having it rushed on them like this. But what is worse, my understanding is the ABCC themselves only found out about this when Mr. Burke made the announcement on Insiders on Sunday. That is not a great start to a government that has only been elected a few weeks ago.
Patricia Karvelas
One of the key rationales for establishing the Building and Construction Commission was to improve productivity in the construction sector. But productivity has gone backwards. Hasn’t it failed, at least on that measure?
Senator Cash
No, absolutely not. And if you look at the economic modelling by Ernst and Young, they’ve actually found that scrapping a specialist construction regulator will actually drive up inflation just when the Reserve Bank is increasing interest rates to tackle inflation, but it will also result in reduction in economic activity. It’s by around $47.5 billion by 2030. And just in relation, Patricia, to the actual history of the building regulator, even when the Rudd Government were in office, if you remember, they commissioned the late Murray Willcox to inquire into the creation of a specialist regulatory division for building and construction. And the Willcox report itself found, this is Labor’s person, the Murray Willcox inquiry – the ABCC’s work is not yet done. And even Mr. Willcox recommended a specialist construction regulatory agency which maintained many of the powers of the ABCC. And the Rudd and Gillard Governments themselves continued with that, despite the intense resentment in the union movement. Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard stood firm because they understood the unique nature of the bullying, the intimidation and the thuggery that Royal Commission after the Royal Commission, after court ruling after court ruling have highlighted in relation to the lawlessness and intimidation of the CFMMEU and the need for strong industrial relations regulation.
Patricia Karvelas
Michaelia Cash, I just want to get through a few other issues that are going to be up before the parliament. Do you support the government’s plan to introduce 10 days of paid domestic violence leave?
Senator Cash
Yes, we do. And certainly I haven’t seen the legislation yet so also, you know, you would know the devil is always in the detail. But it actually was the former Coalition Government that actually extended the five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave into the National Employment Standards. So we had done that. You’d be aware that the Fair Work Commission themselves actually reviewed this and they had, as the independent Fair Work Commission, themselves said yes, 10 days domestic and family violence leave. I believe the best way forward is to support the Fair Work Commission’s model, because they themselves, they’ve looked at it across the board. They’ve balanced the needs of both employers and employees on the issue. They’ve taken into consideration all of the issues that have been put forward. But certainly, yes, our inclination is to support this and in particular, based on the Fair Work Commission’s model. But the devil is in the detail, and I do need to have a look at the legislation.
Patricia Karvelas
Okay, let’s go to the issue of climate change, which is really the big issue before the Parliament. I spoke to your colleague in your party room, Bridget Archer, earlier this morning. Here she is. to your colleague in your party room, Bridget Archer earlier this morning. Here she is.
Bridget Archer
The election has shown us amongst many things, that this is an issue that is important to Australians. We are facing many threats as a result of climate change. But for me, and as a Tasmanian, I can also see that there are a lot of opportunities.
Patricia Karvelas
She will cross the floor if the party doesn’t support the reduction. She says people want the climate wars to be over. Do you think you should be backing this
Senator Cash
bill? We’ve made our position very clear. We won’t support legislating an emissions target and we were clear about that before the election.
Patricia Karvelas
But now you are in opposition. But that point you just made, I have to challenge you on that. You were clear about that before the election. And then there was an election, and it delivered a verdict, certainly on climate change. What lesson did you learn from the election?
Senator Cash
Our position has not changed. We won’t be supporting legislating an emissions target. But Patricia look at our record in government. The Coalition exceeded our targets in government without the need for legislation. Labor claim they want to end the climate wars by playing political games.
Patricia Karvelas
Where’s the political game here?
Senator Cash
We will continue to support, as we have always done, practical investment to reduce our emissions and address climate change, but at the same time, and this is important, whilst pushing for policies that deliver cheap, reliable and sustainable power.
Patricia Karvelas
So I spoke, as I saidm, to your own colleague Bridget Archer this morning on this programme, who said the climate wars must end and this is a reasonable option that’s been provided by the Labor Party. She’s going across the floor so clearly your party is divided on this.
Senator Cash
Well, again, that is a decision for Bridget Archer. But Patricia, I stand by our record in government. Something that often you don’t want to listen to. Emissions are 20% lower than 2005 while GDP itself has grown 45%. We invested $22 billion on clean tech, that is a good thing. We leveraged up to, I think it was around $84 billion in public-
Patricia Karvelas
Michaelia Cash, didn’t the electorate send you a message on climate change?
Senator Cash
Patricia, I suggest you go back and have a look at the actual casting of the vote, because the Coalition got more votes than the Australian Labor Party. Our position is clear.
Patricia Karvelas
You lost a suite of seats Michaelia Cash.
Senator Cash
aid, We did not need legislation when in power, and we exceeded our targets. You’ve got to occasionally Patricia, give us a bit of credit. I know that’s tough for you. But you have to acknowledge we exceeded our targets in government without the need for legislation. That’s actually a good thing. That is actually a good thing Patricia. Emissions are 20% lower than in 2005. That is actually a good thing, whilst at the same time GDP has grown by 45%. That is a good thing. Committing to net zero by 2050 through technology, not taxes and incentives, not mandates has been our policy and we stand by it.
Patricia Karvelas
We’re out of time. Thank you so much for coming on the show Michaelia Cash.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you. We’ll be doing it again.
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