Transcript - Monday 6th June 2022 - Interview with Laura Jayes, AM Agenda, Sky News

Monday, 06 June 2022

LAURA JAYES:

Well, there's a new shadow front bench that's been unveiled just yesterday and fresh faces have been promoted in the Opposition reshuffle including 10 women in Shadow Cabinet. Peter Dutton says he has tried to strike a balance of not just gender but also experience in his 24-person front bench team and that includes Angus Taylor as the Shadow Treasurer and he joins us live now. Angus Taylor, thanks so much for your time. Congratulations. How will you be different than Josh Frydenberg?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, Laura, my focus will be as Josh's was on the aspiration of the Australian people realising those aspirations whether it's for hard working households, or small businesses, making sure that government is there as an enabler, not getting in the way, not imposing restrictions, but ensuring that we have the strong economic environment that we've delivered over the last couple of years, but things are changing. We are seeing these strong inflationary pressures, as you just heard, and it's critical for government to manage every dollar of taxpayers’ money, as though it is their own at the moment.

Fueling the fire with extra government expenditure is not what's required. It will just drive interest rates and inflation up and of course, we heard that from S&P just last week. It's why the extra $45 billion of off budget spending and over $18 billion of on budget spending is unnecessary and will just fuel the fire.

LAURA JAYES:

We have an energy crisis though at the moment. How did we get here? You were the Energy Minister five minutes ago. Are you partly responsible?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we saw gas prices sitting at around a quarter of international gas prices. Our domestic gas prices around a quarter of international gas prices in the lead up to the election. The key to this is working closely with the big gas producers, not demonising them, recognising that they are part of the answer for our energy system, including an energy system that is reducing emissions and working with them to get more supply into the market. Now, we did that with the work we did with Santos in Narrabri – investment in extra pipeline capacity, investment in storages down in Victoria. All of these are projects that need to be consummated, they need to come to fruition and most importantly, demonising gas is not the right thing to do. And we have members … senior members of the Labor Party wanting to ban the barbecue before the election. This is not what's necessary. You can't work with an industry that you're demonising. Getting onside with them, working with them – that's the right answer.

LAURA JAYES:

That's a new one. Who wanted to ban the barbecue Angus Taylor?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, Ged Kearney was getting around her electorate handing out flyers wanting to ban the barbecue. I mean there's no doubt that across the Labor Party, there were many who were demonising the gas industry and a good illustration of this is the Opposition for a long period of time to the Kurri Kurri gas generator. It was only under enormous pressure that they turned around on this but Labor cannot afford to demonise the gas industry. They are a critical part of the transition to lower emissions. And they're a critical part of the solution to ensuring not just lower electricity prices, but a strong manufacturing sector in this country because gas is so critical to industries like fertiliser, ammonium nitrate and many others. So this is a crucial industry, demonising it is not the right way forward, working with it is.

LAURA JAYES:

Well you can't just flick a switch and that to be fixed even with a trigger that Malcolm Turnbull put in place. If that was, you know, done today, it wouldn't have an effect until January, given that we've seen you know, overseas events contribute to this. Ukraine and Russia, I don't need to go over that history. That war has now been raging for more than 100 days. Should you have anticipated the problems we might face now and pulled the trigger or had those meetings with gas companies in Australia, months ago?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

We were having meetings with gas companies all the time.

LAURA JAYES:

But what effect did that have?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

But what were clear- hang on. We had a domestic gas price sitting at a small fraction of the international price. Now we had an open line to the major gas companies, Keith Pitt and myself, to ensure that they were doing the right thing in the domestic market. This is the key Laura now your point about waiting until January. Look, frankly, the ADGSM was put in place as a means of ensuring that the government can work with those gas companies to get prices down and that is exactly what happened. We achieved that. This is the key. It's now for the new government to sort this out. But working with the gas companies not demonising them is the absolute centerpiece of what is necessary here to get the outcomes. It's what we did. And it's now for the government to make sure they use that toolkit, which has worked. It's proven. It's worked in the past. Use it again to get the outcomes that are required.

LAURA JAYES:

Okay, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has only been in the role for three weeks. Are you really blaming Labor on the prices we're seeing at the moment?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

No, I said there’s global inflationary pressures, Laura. We all know that. That's been in place for a long while. What a government can do though, is work with these companies to get more supply in and put downward pressure on prices. And of course, this is part of a broader focus that we see is crucial on making sure that we have a strong economy in the coming years that we have aspirational Australians realising the opportunities that they see and you know, whether it's in manufacturing, or in agriculture, or so many other sectors. This is absolutely crucial for our future and it's something that as Shadow Treasurer, I’ll be focused on every day.

LAURA JAYES:

Yeah, so when you've only been Shadow Treasurer for less than 24 hours, we should point out but do you bring any big ideas to the table here about what to do in an economy that we are facing at the moment with the headwinds that we are seeing?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, in the short term, the critical thing is to spend every dollar of taxpayers’ money as though it's your own. $45 billion dollars of additional off-budget spending is not what is needed. It's not what is needed at the moment. You're adding fuel to the fire of enormous inflationary and interest rate pressures. In the longer term, of course, what you need is an economy which has opened up where government is getting out of the way and letting business do what it does best. You know, those small businesses that are the backbone of our economy, they need an environment where they can succeed, taking away government restrictions, making sure government is out of the way to let these businesses invest and employ. That's crucial in the longer term and that will put downward pressure on inflation and interest rates. So there's long term and short term actions that can be taken.

LAURA JAYES:

You say this is not the right time for spending. I mean, a lot of those off-budget measures are big infrastructure projects. Are you suggesting they don’t go ahead? Where would you cut?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we were very clear in the election campaign. That $45 billion of off-budget spending, we opposed. I mean examples of this are transmission lines not recommended by the market operator. They're not even recommended. This is simple stuff which is just sensible, making sure the right projects are happening. There are very significant transmission projects that are proceeding, but it's getting that balance right.

LAURA JAYES:

Sorry, sorry to interrupt but can I just pick up on one point there. If you don't upgrade transmission lines, how do you get a major project like Snowy Hydro when it is running at full capacity, how do you get that energy into the market because you need to upgrade transmission lines in order for that to happen, don't you?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Spot on. I'm agreeing with you. Absolutely. And they're the recommended projects from AEMO. What's not needed is a whole lot of other projects as yet ill-defined and undefined that are not recommended by the market operator. This is you know, this is a time, Laura where government needs to spend every dollar of taxpayers’ money as though it's their own. Being frugal and sensible. We saw the biggest turnaround in the budget, 100 billion dollars in seven years. I mean, this is the right approach. The approach to the pandemic was targeted and it was temporary. This is the key. Now it's time to get back to sensible economic management, putting downward pressure on inflation and interest rates. You can't control the Reserve Bank and you shouldn't try to but you can control what government has its hands on and that's taxpayers’ money and treating it with great respect is the key now.

LAURA JAYES:

The right time for stage three tax cuts still?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Absolutely. I mean, we need an economy that is opening up where people are incented to get out there and have a crack. That's what it's all about. Aspiration is a value of the Liberal Party and the National Party. We have long stood for it. It's time for all of us to get back focused very sharply on realising Australians’ aspirations, hard working households and small businesses that are the backbone of this nation.

LAURA JAYES:

Okay, just finally, you are up against Jim Chalmers as your alternate here. He's pretty experienced in Parliament working in a former Treasurer's office. What do you bring to the table?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, private sector experience which Jim doesn't have. I mean, I've worked in business, in the private sector, in agriculture, in industry, in manufacturing, all of my career before coming to Parliament. And of course, that is where wealth is created. Prosperity is created, opportunity is created, investment and employment is driven in the private sector, not the public sector, not the public sector, but the private sector. And of course, that's what we will stand for. Making Australia strong through a strong private sector that is investing and employing. That has the opportunities and can realise the opportunities that we see in front of us now. That's what I'll stand for every day.

LAURA JAYES:

Okay, Angus Taylor. We’ll be speaking often. Looking forward to it. We'll see you soon.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Good on you. Thanks, Laura.