JOURNALIST: Joining me in studio to talk all things politics is Finance Minister Penny Wong. Senator Wong, thank you for joining us.
WONG: Good to be with you.
JOURNALIST: Now let's start with Kevin Rudd. They say this is quite a common procedure and he has undergone this operation before. But is there a bit of concern from his colleagues?
WONG: Obviously we want to make sure he's OK. But as I understand it, this is the replacement valve because the previous one is nearing the time where it needs to be replaced, so obviously we wish him well. I just hope he does actually take it easy. It's always hard to get Kevin to rest because he's always wanting to work very hard so I hope he takes all the time he needs.
JOURNALIST: He certainly looked upbeat in his press conference, didn't he?
WONG: Yes, he's pretty upbeat about it. I just hope he makes sure he has the rest he needs.
JOURNALIST: Let's talk about Tony Abbott. He seems to be going back and forth on his climate change position. Today he said, as leader he promised no ETS and no carbon tax. I mean, who should people believe?
WONG: Tony Abbott should be upfront with the Australian people. He said publicly, as the Leader of the Opposition, he's never supported a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme. That's just not true. It's just not true. He has previously, on a number of occasions.
And this just adds to the way he's running this debate; he's saying things that are wrong. He said petrol will go up, we've excluded petrol and that won't happen. He said the coal industry would be ended. That's not going to happen. He said towns would be wiped off the map. That's not happening.
If we're going to have a debate about this, let's do it on the facts, not on Tony Abbott saying what he thinks will help him.
JOURNALIST: Senator Wong, Labor's really taken a bit of a hit in the carbon debate, so much so that independent MP says Tony Windsor says it's unlikely that Labor will win the next election. Do you think you can win?
WONG: I think we will go to the next election and we'll be very happy to compare our vision for the nation with Tony Abbott's, because he hasn't got one. His is a big sign that says no. That's Tony Abbott's vision for the nation.
This is a tough debate. You and I have spoken a couple of times in the last week, and I think you've asked me that question before - it's a very tough debate. But it's the right thing to do. We have to get on with this and we have to start reducing pollution. We've got to do the right thing by the next generation of Australians.
JOURNALIST: Senator Wong, nice to have you in the studio.
WONG: It's great to be here. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Thank you very much.
ENDS