BENSON: Penny Wong, good morning.
WONG: Good morning, Marius. Good to be with you again.
BENSON: Thanks indeed for joining us. Now, these unemployment figures, they come out monthly but theyre notoriously hard to pick and the expectation was there would be a tick up in fact there was an official adjustment up and then a tick down. How would you characterise the economy? Because the background hum according to some of the reports this morning is that its very soft, with the hours being cut in particular.
WONG: Well, certainly the labour force figures were better than the market expected and thats a welcome thing, to see a slight drop in the official unemployment rate, and that adds to over 950,000 jobs, as you know, that have been created since the Government came to office.
But, theres no doubt that global volatility and the challenges of the global economy, as well as the high dollar although thats come off a bit, have created some challenges for different parts of the economy.
BENSON: The Prime Minister is visiting Adelaide today and shes expected to announce a deal with the State Government on the Gonski funding for school education, but thats the easy bit, isnt it, really doing a deal with a Labor Government? The hard bit is Queensland and WA. Do you expect you can get a result there by the end of the month?
WONG: Well, I think it wasnt necessarily easy getting New South Wales, but I commend Barry OFarrell, a Liberal Premier whos prepared to put the children of his state above politics and New South Wales schools will benefit as a result.
This is a reform that is all about ensuring we are a first rate economy in the decades ahead. If you want to be competitive in the global economy in the years ahead we know we have to have a first rate schooling system. Regrettably, our schooling system has declined by world standards over the last decade. Weve got to reverse that if were serious about making sure our children enjoy at least as good and better opportunities than weve had.
BENSON: The Prime Minister yesterday was in Perth, she was on radio, and she was asked personal questions including whether her partner was gay. The presenter, Howard Sattler, who asked those questions was suspended. Are you surprised the Prime Minister should face questions like that?
WONG: I think most Australians would be surprised that someone holding the office of the Prime Minister would get those sorts of questions. There are far better things to talk about.
BENSON: Is it part of a pattern? Because there was criticism from the Prime Minister and the Prime Ministers staff when, in the past, Alan Jones, a Sydney radio presenter, asked her about being called Juliar, and theres been seen a personal element in questioning of the Prime Minister that hasnt been directed at previous Prime Minsters. Is that a fair assessment?
WONG: I think it is, but Id also say I dont think that those presenters are reflecting what Australians want to hear about. As I move around the country and talk to people, what are people worried about? Theyre concerned about making sure their children have the best opportunities they can. They want to make sure that the economy continues to grow and that they have secure jobs. These are far more important issues than the sort of personal attempt at gossip that we see from some radio interviewers.
BENSON: But whats the logic? Why would the Prime Minister be uniquely singled out in this way do you think?
WONG: Well, Ill leave it to others to involve themselves in that commentary. I just dont think its an appropriate way for the office of the Prime Minister to be treated, to be engaged in these sorts of personal discussions.
BENSON: Next week Parliament is back. There are plenty of newspaper reports and generally reports of pressure on Julia Gillards leadership. Kevin Rudd is very prominently on the campaign trail at the moment and being received in a rock star welcome. Will there be a move on Julia Gillards leadership next week?
WONG: No. And I would say that people really should take a leaf out of the Prime Ministers book and not waste their breath on this sort of gossip. I have to say, I think its a good thing that everybodys out there campaigning for Labor and thats what Kevin is doing. Its certainly a much better position to have everybody out there campaigning than the other way around.
BENSON: The difficulty with leadership is that you dismiss it there as gossip, but whether its true or not, everyone, whether they want a leadership change or oppose a leadership change, always dismisses it until it goes public
WONG: Well, Marius thats one of those questions where Im not sure how you would like me to answer it Ive given you my view. I think there are more important things to be talking about and certainly thats the way the Prime Minister is approaching it, and the way Im approaching it.
For example, in your report in the lead up to this interview you pointed out that the Vice President of Indonesia dismissed the Oppositions plan to turn the boats back. What the Vice President of Indonesia has said effectively is that Tony Abbotts plan wont succeed.
BENSON: Well, thats a perfect segway Finance Minister, because thats our next story so I might leave it there and thanks very much for your time this morning.
ENDS