BENSON: Penny Wong, there are some pretty grim headlines today announcing news of job cutbacks at Qantas, OneSteel, Westpac grim tidings for Australia, do you believe?
WONG: The first thing to say is that obviously, the most important thing is that these companies manage this transition well, and look after their workers. Obviously this is a very regrettable situation that these companies have made a commercial decision to engage in restructuring. But the most important thing to do in this process is that the workers are looked after as best people are able during the transition.
BENSON: There was an up tick in the unemployment rate in the last official figures last month. Whats the latest official word to you on the jobs outlook?
WONG: Obviously the jobs outlook is as described in the documents that were released, in the ABS figures, we saw a very small up tick in the unemployment rate. I would say again, we have a far lower unemployment rate than most other economies. The US has a nine in front of its unemployment rate, we have a five.
BENSON: That unemployment figure does have a five in front of it - 5.1, it used to have a four in front of it. What do you expect the future to hold for jobless rates?
WONG: Marius obviously, its not for us to predict where all the economic data will go. What I would say is we have very, very low unemployment by comparison with most other advanced economies.
The reason the Government engaged in the stimulus package which was opposed by Tony Abbott, opposed by Joe Hockey, was because we wanted to protect jobs. And there are 200,000 Australians that would have been on the dole queues but for the Government intervening during the global financial crisis.
BENSON: It may come to the point where you and the other finance officers in the Government have to make a choice between stimulus spending to save jobs and returning the budget to surplus. Where does that weigh in the balance when you come to that decision?
WONG: Marius, as I said, we have put in place a clear plan to return the budget to surplus in 2012-13. There is no doubt recent events in the global economy do make that task more difficult, but our plan remains to return to surplus as weve outlined.
And there are a couple of very important reasons for that. One is the fact that we do have a very large pipeline of mining investment. And the other is this - that in times of uncertainty, a credible fiscal strategy, that certainty is important. It is the case, that this is a Government that has a track record however, of always responding as the economy needs in difficult times.
BENSON: The Reserve Bank has said productivity is now close to zero in Australia. You cant sustain wage growth running at about four per cent, if that is the case. Is the Reserve Bank right?
WONG: There certainly was a great neglect of productivity in the Government that preceded ours. And we had ten years where we saw continued decline in investment in things which do contribute to productivity and instead, simply looking to WorkChoices towards the end of the Howard Government reducing peoples wages and conditions to drive productivity.
Since weve come to Government, were investing in a number of drivers of productivity, a very large investment in the skills of Australians. So people have the skills that we need, have the skills to work better and smarter. Were investing in the National Broadband Network which is the infrastructure of the 21st century. These are very important reforms.
BENSON: On another topic, you were attacked personally at a rally in Parliament House yesterday by groups protesting against same sex marriage. They were making very direct remarks about fatherless children and yourself. What was your response to that?
WONG: My view about these things is I have my views and Ive made some of those clear previously, but I dont intend to engage in an argument about policy on the basis of my personal circumstances which are about my family. I have a very clear line on that. This is my family and I intend to maintain that line between public and private.
BENSON: Penny Wong, thank you very much.
WONG: Good to speak with you Marius.
ENDS