CURTIS: Welcome to the budget coverage Penny Wong.
WONG: Good to be with you.
CURTIS: Theres been some criticism that this Budget is not as tough as promised. But when asked in the Budget lock up press conference, Wayne Swan said that we didnt see how many ministers he said no to. How many were there?
WONG: Theres a lot of spending restraints in this budget. There are also a lot of savings measures. We are delivering a lot of spending restraint. If you look at the growth in expenditure over the four years, youll see on average its about one per cent a year. The last time a government was that disciplined was in the 1980s.
CURTIS: While youre saving a lot of money youre saving $22 billion youre also spending quite a lot of that, arent you, through reprioritising spending to make it fit what you want?
WONG: Our net save as a result of the decisions weve made is about $5 billion. And then of course we have to pay for the floods and so forth and thats what we have done.
But we have as a Labor Government should spend according to Labor priorities. And those priorities are jobs and opportunity. Jobs creating jobs thats what will happen under this Government with this Budget. But also training people for jobs and getting more people into the workforce.
CURTIS: But in some senses did you oversell the tough message because of the work you now say you had to do to get people into jobs? Some of these things do cost dollars.
WONG: But they do. But what Id say is theres $22 billion worth of decisions, none of which are easy to not spend money.
And its interesting, weve seen the Opposition already complaining about some of the savings measures. I think Mr Hockey said he doesnt like the Fringe Benefits Tax change weve made on motor vehicles. Well Mr Hockey keeps saying hes going to come back to surplus by 2011-12. You cant do that if youre going to oppose all the savings measures as well.
CURTIS: Didnt you start down the path of some of the structural savings, but maybe you couldve gone further? Things like the Family Tax Benefit youve extended the pause on indexation for the upper limits. Couldnt you make that pause permanent?
WONG: There are a number of structural savings in this Budget. That means savings which yield savings not only over the forward estimates, over the next few years, but out for a number of years to come.
That is one of them and by pausing the upper income limits the upper income thresholds that is a structural save. Another one is the Dependent Spouse Tax Offset. Thats been in the tax system since 1936. And this Government is phasing it out because we think rather than paying people not to work, we should be putting that money into getting people into work.
CURTIS: In the end though arent we left with China, India, and other emerging Asian economies pumping money into our economy and thats how you get back to surplus?
WONG: How we get back to surplus is by exercising restraint in spending and thats what were doing. But it is also to recognise the opportunities of the boom and to make preparations in our workforce; to invest in our workforce to build a more skilled workforce and a bigger workforce.
CURTIS: Is there enough have you done enough in the workforce measures youve put in place in the tougher tests for some of those on welfare, to provide workers for the 500,000 jobs you say youve created. Or will you end up having to increase immigration?
WONG: There are different sets of measures in the Budget, arent there? There is an increased focus on better training. So improving the outcomes from the spend on training, making it more responsive to the needs of industry; thats an important thing.There are measures to try and get people engaged with work. And there are those measures which are about people who are very disengaged and we know that will take a lot of work before you get some of those disadvantaged groups into jobs. But this is an opportunity that we cant let pass. When youve got an economy we know is going to continue to grow in the years ahead, after some softness now because of the natural disasters, you have to use that opportunity to get people into work. And thats what were doing.
CURTIS: But youve already unwound about half of the cuts to immigration that happened during the global economic downturn. Doesnt it make a lie of the rhetoric from both side of politics that immigration has to be wound back, that you didnt want a big Australia? Because you need the workers now.
WONG: Were very conscious of the need for workers. But I think Tony Burke, the relevant minister, its not a matter of a number, its a matter of policy settings. And youll see in this Budget were investing in Australia, were investing in regional infrastructure and were investing in more liveable cities. Now there is much more to do, but theyre important measures.
CURTIS: Finally, the Defence Minister delivered much bigger savings than expected. Does he get the Finance Ministers elephant stamp of approval?
WONG: (laughs) Stephen has certainly done a good job in terms of looking at efficiencies in Defence and thats been an important contribution. One of the savings measures in the Budget, and as I said theres $22 billion worth of hard savings.
CURTIS: Penny Wong, thank you very much for your time.
WONG: Good to be with you.
ENDS