The National Wrap with Patricia Karvelas
ABC studio, Parliament House Canberra
24 June 2018
9:05pm
E&OE
Subjects: business tax cuts, live exports, National Energy Guarantee, World Cup coverage and the ABC
PATRICIA KARVELAS:
Pauline Hanson has flagged she won’t support your tax cuts unless large corporations are reined in, including even the use of overseas call centres. Are you prepared to address those sorts of issues to get this package through?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE:
We as a Government are absolutely committed to backing our companies, our businesses small and large, to grow, to prosper, to compete across the globe and to employ more and more Australians.
I think we made a significant indent in how multinationals that operate in Australia are treated under tax law by passing our 2015 multinational tax avoidance legislation, I know Senator Hanson wasn’t in the Senate at that point in time, but that measure alone has actually bought in another $7 billion of additional tax revenue from those multinational companies. So, I think we are fighting the good fight and making sure that those international multinational companies that are operating within Australia are paying their fair share, whilst ensuring we are creating the environment that our own companies, our own businesses, big and small are able to compete globally and hence, employ more Australians.
KARVELAS:
Sure you might say that, but she wants more action on multinationals and you also need her vote and her colleagues’ vote, Peter Georgiou to get this through, so are you prepared to put more action on the table to get her vote?
MCKENZIE:
I think what you have seen from the crossbench over the past few years is an increasing willingness to have progressive and sensible conversations with the Government to take a common sense approach to our legislative agenda. I think we have been able to achieve some really significant reforms across a whole wide variety of legislative areas from media reform, education, NDIS and the income tax cuts to 94 per cent of Australians last week. So I think we will wait and see what happens this week within the Senate. I know the Senate crossbenchers take their role very seriously, and want to see the best outcomes to ensure that Australia is best positioned to grow and prosper into the future.
KARVELAS:
How about the plan from Senator Derryn Hinch to raise the threshold to $500 million turn over for the company tax cuts, to exclude big banks and other big corporates? Is that something that is worth pursuing to ensure success?
MCKENZIE:
Look I think we need to be sure that our tax system remains progressive and competitive internationally. Our large corporate entities in this country employ millions of Australians and they are more likely to be the ones that are competing internationally. So when you look at what the UK has recently done, what the USA under President Trump is doing with their corporate tax rates, we need to recognise we have the second highest corporate tax rate in the OECD. If we want to be competing internationally, we need our biggest companies to have that tax relief so they can compete with the giants of the world.
KARVELAS:
And if you don’t get it through the Senate this week, because on the numbers currently, it looks like you can’t, but of course, things can change…
MCKENZIE:
I wouldn’t take anything for granted Patricia…
KARVELAS:
…I was about to say with what happened last week, I’m not saying it’s fate is complete that’s for sure, a mug would do that, but if you can’t get it through, will you stick to this policy and take it to the next federal election?
MCKENZIE:
Look, I think we are going to assess that as we go through, but I think we have to back Australian business big and small. We have already seen the benefits across the small business sector of the tax cuts passed previously, and I am confident that to remain internationally competitive, we are a trading nation – our agriculture exports, a $63 billion industry, doesn’t just all stay at home, we have to get it off shore and to those markets of the world. We have to compete internationally and we need a tax regime that does that. I am confident that Australians want to see businesses grow and prosper so they can also attach themselves to that success.
KARVELAS:
But you think it’s a policy that needs to be looked at again, if you can’t legislate it, going into the next federal election campaign?
MCKENZIE:
I think we need to have an internationally competitive tax rate for all of our companies.
KARVELAS:
So does that mean you think this policy is just your policy now, no review, it stays your policy?
MCKENZIE:
I’m hoping it will get passed this week Patricia and that’s what I’ll be working towards.
KARVELAS:
But if it doesn’t?
MCKENZIE:
Then we will have another conversation.
KARVELAS:
And what would that conversation entail?
MCKENZIE:
(laughs) I’m hoping we won’t have it Patricia because they will pass!
KARVELAS:
But if they don’t pass, I’m asking the same question again, what happens then? You said you were going to have a conversation….
MCKENZIE:
With you. With you….You know, like the crossbench negotiates, I think we need to be considering other options as they come in, but I think we’ve got the right policy. I think it’s incredibly sound, I’m looking forward to the discussions in the Senate this week as we put it. And I am confident that Senate crossbenchers will actually back Australian businesses to be more competitive on the international arena.
KAREVELAS:
The government has suspended the export licence of Emmanuel Exports, is this perhaps the beginning of what may be the inevitable demise of this industry?
MCKENZIE:
Not at all Patricia I think the suspension of Emmanuel Exports license is the right decision. They were found to have engaged in behaviour that breached a regulatory environment that is tough. And we should be suspending licences of those exporters that are doing the wrong thing, but the market itself remains open. It is a significant market; it underpins the jobs and livelihoods of so many farmers, particularly in WA. And as Deputy Leader of The Nationals I will be backing those farmers and that industry all the way.
But we do need to make sure that animal welfare standards are upheld and that we have tough penalties in place for those who breach them. And that is why I will be calling on the Labor Party to actually back the Government’s legislation in the House this week that would see tough penalties, not just significant financial penalties, but indeed imprisonment for those that do the wrong thing in this regard.
KARVELAS:
Just on the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) it is going to come up in the party room again no doubt. What’s your message to those on the backbench, and we know who some of them are, Tony Abbott, Craig Kelly and others who appear to be opposed to where this is heading.
MCKENZIE:
I think we have the settings right. I think we all know, particularly National Party members and senators, our seats are often those with the most energy intensive industries backing our local employment numbers, and we also have those on the lowest median incomes. So anything that increases the cost of living to households or anything that indeed impacts on the input costs of energy intensive industries really affects our communities, and that is why we have been such strong advocates of decreasing electricity prices. We also want to make sure they are reliable. So I think that what we saw in South Australia would really damage so many of my local communities if we saw outages of that effect through regional Australia more broadly.
So it is about getting the affordability setting right, and the reliability piece, and the NEG does that. I would be asking my backbenchers who are very, very proud advocates of their communities and their industries, and also the coal industry, I don’t think that is a bad thing. I think we have chosen a technology neutral approach through the NEG. We do need a national approach, there’s many different systems operating in different states across the country and we need to make sure that all industries, all communities, all households can have an energy system and the confidence that will ensure that when you turn the light on it actually goes on, and that it is affordable for households, and that is what we are working towards.
KARVELAS:
If I can get you to put your Sports Minister hat on…
MCKENZIE:
Always Patricia.
KARVELAS:
I know it is always on. But was Optus getting the World Cup broadcast rights the wrong decision given what we have seen transpire in the last week?
MCKEXNIE:
I think it was a commercial decision obviously.
KARVELAS:
A bad commercial decision?
MCKENZIE:
In the end for the football fans here in Australia we got the great decision that we are able to watch the World Cup free to air on SBS. So I think that is sort the take home message. I think companies like Optus and others who are seeking to broadcast sports that Australians expect to be able to see, and are prepared to sign up and pay for, but you must be able to ensure that you have got the technology right and the systems in place to ensure that what somebody has actually purchased, they can actually watch. So go the Socceroos I think we have really taken it up, particularly to the French, I loved that game, and it is definitely a great World Cup series.
KARVELAS:
Just quickly on the ABC has the motion to privatise the ABC been politically problematic for you in rural and remote Australia?
MCKENZIE:
Not at all, I think The Nationals were really quick to put out a statement, the Deputy Prime Minister and I, backing the ABC, particularly for us in the regions. And we have never backed away from not only supporting the ABC and welcoming their commentary on our communities, giving us the stock prices, our weather, our current affairs and our emergency services information. But nor have we backed away from critiquing the ABC over the last ten years as they have pulled resources from regional Australia and centralised them to Ultimo and Melbourne.
KARVELAS:
Would you accept that the ABC has committed again resources in rural and regional Australia?
MCKENZIE:
Yes I accept that there are another 80 jobs, that’s fantastic, but what I am saying Patricia from The Nationals perspective we’ve been really clear. We love the ABC. It provides an essential service to our communities and we would love to see more of it out in the regions as the public broadcaster, which is why we developed legislation to ensure that rural and regional Australians have seats on the Board of the ABC. That the ABC will no longer be able to make decisions around the service provision to the regions without actually asking us how it will affect us, and look at what the effect of the shortwave decision was up in the NT on those communities. And indeed we have ensured that rural and regional Australia is actually explicitly mentioned in the ABC charter, which it isn’t at the moment, and really goes against the expectations of the broader Australian public.
KARVELAS:
Senator thanks so much for your time.
MCKENZIE:
Always a pleasure.
(ENDS)