Topics: Budget, Labor’s cost of living crisis, Soaring power prices, Nuclear energy, Labor’s housing crisis

E&OE

WILL GOODINGS:

We've been joined live in the studio by the Federal Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor. Angus Taylor good morning to you.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Good to be with you.

DAVID PENBERTHY:

Great to have you in, Shadow Treasurer. So we're actually on the cusp of the budget. With the flow of other major news stories I think a lot of our listeners probably, indeed us too, haven't really been paying terribly much attention to that. So Jim Chalmers, he's trying to sort of downplay expectations about you know, any major spending outlays. What are you expecting from the budget? And more importantly, what do you think should be its focus?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I'll start with that, because I think what needs to be the focus is the government making sure they're attacking and beating the cost of living crisis that's bearing down on Australians. The cost of doing business crisis, I'm here talking to small businesses, and they're really suffering at the moment. And those pressures aren't letting up. We've seen huge pressures on households. Not only prices going up fast, of course, we've seen 10% price increases since Labor's been in power, 12 interest rate increases, big increases in personal income tax being paid, and the tax changes aren't going to reverse that. And instead of raiding household budgets to support the government budget, the government needs to make sure we've got an economy where people can get ahead, where we've got sensible energy policies that bring down energy prices, where we've got sensible industrial relations which is good for employees and employers, we're approving critical projects rather than clamming up all of the approval processes. That's how you get the economy going. That's how you get people back to where they need to be. And that's certainly how you get small businesses running again.

WILL GOODINGS:

How do you thread that needle. At the very start, you said this cost of living pressures being brought to bear on Australians and households. And then in business land, cost pressures are incredibly great at the moment. But at the same time, we've got this sticky inflation problem. How do you thread the needle and provide relief for both those parties without increasing pressure on inflation?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, the best source of relief is lower inflation. And government plays a big role in this. It's not the Reserve Bank, it's always been government that helps to fix that. And that's about getting the basics right. It's not about anything fancy, it's back to basics, common sense stuff. Government shouldn't spend money that it doesn't need to, it shouldn't be wasting money. And yet, we're seeing government spending money in places that I think are completely inappropriate - $40 million on a spin unit for the Treasurer. He's a doctor of spin at the end of the day. We're seeing industrial relations legislation which is putting the union officials back in charge of our workplaces. We need to have sensible industrial relations where workers and employees can sit down, work together, make sure that they've got a more productive more competitive workplace. It's those basics that are the key. Labor seems to be immune to them, they don't like them. But we know last time we had inflation in this country, that's how we beat it.

DAVID PENBERTHY:

All the feedback we get here, Angus Taylor from both households and our vast army of small business listeners. And I know you've been talking with small businesses here in Adelaide for the last couple of days. The number one thing that comes up is power bills. What will the Coalition do that could help bring them down?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

The single most important thing I learned as Energy Minister is get more supply into the market. In the short term, we need to get more gas generation going, I actually opened the last gas generator that was built here in South Australia and that was enormously important in taking some pressure off electricity prices. And in the medium to longer term, we've got to have every technology in the race, and that includes nuclear. And so that supply side is what's been missing with this government. They've decided that they're going to go for a renewables only strategy. Now, renewables can play a role, don't get me wrong, and an important role. But it shouldn't be renewables only. We should be looking to the full range of energy supplies to put downward pressure on prices. And it works.

DAVID PENBERTHY:

I know you were energy minister for quite a while, during the life of the Morrison Government wasn't it. Do you see South Australia as playing a special role in nuclear? I mean, we're remote, we're geographically stable, we've got a lot of uranium. Like, does it., could you see us being part of nuclear power generation as well?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

You already are. I mean, you're producing uranium in this state now and you're selling it to other countries. The only country you can't sell it to is Australia.

DAVID PENBERTHY:

Yeah that's right.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

I mean, this is the bizarre thing, isn't it? Here you are, you're in the uranium supply chain, the nuclear supply chain now, you're playing an enormously important role in the Olympic Dam. And yet the one country that can't be a customer is Australia. I mean it's just, it's nuts. So yes, South Australia will and should play a role in this and you know, don't take my word for it. Countries right across the developed world and the developing world are seeing that nuclear is part of the answer to make sure we've got falling emissions and affordable, reliable generation at the moment. So supply is the key. It always is - in any market if you want to get prices down, you've got to get more supply. This is common sense. But it's common sense that's lost on Chris Bowen, I can tell you.

WILL GOODINGS:

Interested in your assessment on the population question in Australia at the moment. We've just hit the long term permanent arrivals on a net basis hit their highest level ever in Australian history in February. And the rolling 12 month basis, we've also hit a new all time high. The government's pledged to cut back on migration, doesn't look like they're gonna hit that target. What's the sustainable level? Does it need to reduce? Do we need this for the labour force pressures?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah so we saw 100,000 in a month, we've seen over half a million in the last year. And we're a great immigrant nation there's no question about that. We believe that a sensible level of immigration and particularly skilled immigration is hugely important for the country, but it's out of whack. You know, they've lost control. 100,000 in a month, record level in February as you rightly just said, and here's the problem. Since Labor's been in power, we've got over a million new adults in the Australian population. And yet 250,000 houses. That's about half the houses you need for that growth in population. It's just out of sync. Labor don't seem to get it, they don't seem to be able to get it back under control. And we're paying a high price for that.

WILL GOODINGS:

So is the answer, I mean, it's probably a bit of both - building more houses and cutting down migration. But they're nice, broad concepts. Specifically, how do you achieve those things?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

They've got to be in balance, and there's many levers you can use to get immigration right. We know that because the average the average rate of immigration in our time in government was between 200 and 250,000, not over 500,000. So that gives you a sense of what the numbers that are sustainable, but right now it's not. Labor keeps saying they're going to bring it down. There's no sign of that, is there. Absolutely no sign. And you know, this is not about whether immigration is good or bad. Some immigration is always good, but it's about getting it in balance, and it isn't in balance. Getting housing supply up, obviously a huge priority. But you can't do that overnight. And in the meantime, you've got to make sure that we've got a balance between immigration and housing.

DAVID PENBERTHY:

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, enjoy your stay here in SA and thanks so much for joining us this morning on FIVEAA.

ENDS.