JOURNALIST: Good morning Senator Wong.
WONG: Good morning to you all.
JOURNALIST: Minister, the Federal Governments taken credit for the interest rate cut. Is it your fault that they were so high for so long?
WONG: What weve said is that weve done the right thing in terms of our fiscal policy. That is, were putting in place a return to surplus that is bigger and faster than at any time previously since records were kept. And what this does is gives the space for the RBA to move.
JOURNALIST: But Joe Hockey points out theres no mention of government action in the Reserve Banks statement.
WONG: Ill make two points about Mr Hockey. First is that hes always quick to blame the Government if rates go up, but not if they go down. But Id also say
JOURNALIST: Well, just as your Government is quick to take credit when they go down. Does it
WONG: (laughs) If I could finish
JOURNALIST: Do you have the same problem that Joe Hockeys got?
WONG: No, the second point I was going to make was if you look at a number of previous statements in the minutes of the Reserve Bank they have referred to fiscal consolidation and the effect that thats having. But obviously theyre independent. Our job as the Government is to make sure we run the right budget policy for the nation, because this is about managing the economy for working Australians.
JOURNALIST: What do you mean by fiscal consolidation, for people who are driving kids to school at the moment, and announcers in our studio at Collinswood here?
WONG: Well, this is returning the budget to surplus. So moving from deficit to surplus, making savings, cuts to expenditure, and other measures to bring the budget back into surplus.
JOURNALIST: And youre saying thats definitely going to happen?
WONG: Weve got a very clear plan around that, and were determined to get there. We have said that obviously the sort of volatility were seeing on global markets does make it harder, I think thats self-evident. But we are maintaining the fiscal strategy weve had in place for some time.
JOURNALIST: So youre confident youll meet your target for that?
WONG: Were determined to get there
JOURNALIST: I know youre determined.
WONG: Well no because youre
JOURNALIST: Well there would be something wrong if you werent determined. Were not asking you look, are you really in this? Is your heart and soul really in this?
WONG: You know Im a very heart and soul kind of person.
JOURNALIST: I know, but thats not the question. Penny Wong were not asking you whether youre trying really hard. Were asking you whether you really, really, really think youre going to make it?
WONG: It has made it harder, but we have laid out a very clear plan, very clear rules about how we manage the budget. And we have complied with those in the last budget, weve complied with those in terms of the floods package. And we will continue to apply that fiscal strategy and well update the figures towards the end of the year.
JOURNALIST: OK, Federal Finance Minister Penny Wong on 891 ABC Adelaide. Earlier this morning we spoke to Liberal MP for Mayo Jamie Briggs who is still carrying a candle, probably, for industrial relations reform.
WONG: I think it might be bigger than a candle. Blazing torch Id say.
JOURNALIST: Maybe a blazing maybe a whole tree alight. But he had this to say about the current Fair Work Australia laws, in the context of whether they are broken.
[Excerpt of interview]
BRIGGS: Its working in the way that the Labor Party wanted it to work.
JOURNALIST: Which is?
BRIGGS: They removed the reason were in this dispute, the reason that we have got to the intractable stage that we are, is that the Labor Party removed the restrictions on what matters could be bargained for in agreements. And thus the unions are pursuing matters which are outside the employment relationship in this agreement. And theyre things that Qantas quite clearly cant come at.
[End of excerpt]
JOURNALIST: Finance Minister Penny Wong, is there a structural problem with Fair Work Australia? And that is that it does need to roll back that provision certainly to more tightly constrain the grounds on which unions can make claims and pursue industrial action?
WONG: Jamies got a very clear view which he is on the record on, which is that we should go back to a Workchoices type system. He thinks that industrial relations reform is a Liberal Party agenda that needs to come back.
JOURNALIST: But on this particular question of reform, are you saying that there are no improvements that could be made to Fair Work Australia? He has identified one there that is really the underlying issue of the Qantas dispute.
WONG: I want to actually come to that point, which is what I was next about to say. Which is, you need to look at what is the underlying reason for why the dispute got to the point it did.
And I think its important because theres been a lot of conflation I think, mixing up of grounding and lockouts. What happened on Saturday was that the employer decided that every single person who works for Qantas, every pilot, every flight attendant, every person dealing with baggage or checking you in, every single one of their employees worldwide would be locked out. That is what the escalation of the dispute is about. So Jamie can talk about
JOURNALIST: That is irrelevant to the question I put to you. I heard you say that on AM this morning. What were asking you is
WONG: Its actually not irrelevant, thats the core of the escalation
JOURNALIST: OK, Im saying
WONG: And its the core of the inconvenience
JOURNALIST: Its irrelevant to the question weve put to you though Minister Wong, being pedantic here.
WONG: Well Im not sure it is, but anyway
JOURNALIST: Anyway
WONG: We can leave that.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe that there could be an improvement to the Fair Work Australia Act to more tightly restrict the grounds on which employees can lodge claims and pursue industrial action?
WONG: On the Fair Work Act I think we struck a very reasonable balance between the rights of employers and the rights of employees. And I know that Mr Briggs doesnt like the balance. In terms of the Act, I think the Minister has said there is a review underway, as is normal process with most legislation and obviously hell look at that. But I do think its very important here to differentiate between what is a very ideological agenda by Mr Briggs and others, where they dont want the system thats balanced. They do want it tilted in favour of one side over the other. And we think we also need, and this is why I think its relevant to the question, to understand what is at the core of the escalation of this dispute.
JOURNALIST: Minister before you leave us, have you got any money for the Adelaide Oval?
WONG: I thought you might ask me that. Weve had a long discussion about that previously I think, and we have made clear that the money we previously indicated was contingent upon the World Cup bid being successful. Obviously theres always conversations between state governments and federal governments about more money, and -
JOURNALIST: So is that a no?
WONG: Were happy to have the discussion but there is
JOURNALIST: Talk is cheap, Penny. We want the money.
WONG: But there has been no formal bid put to us.
JOURNALIST: Penny Wong thanks for talking to us.
WONG: Good to speak with you.
JOURNALIST: Minister Penny Wong, the Federal Finance Minister.
ENDS