15 May 2024
Topics: Budget outcomes for Tasmania, Tasmanian salmon industry
E&OE
Richard Perno:
Liberal Senator for Tasmania, Jonathon Duniam. Good morning, Senator.
Senator Duniam:
Good morning, Richard, and to your listeners too.
Richard Perno:
Ok, well, here we are. The day after the night before with Jim Chalmers now doing the circuit and trying to sell his budget. What’s he selling, do you think?
Senator Duniam:
Well, I mean, we’ve all heard what he and the Prime Minister have had to say. But really, it is down to your listeners and every other Australian to figure out whether they are better off today than they were, say, two years ago and I think, based on my conversations, the resounding answer I get is no, we’re not. So, you can talk about cost-of-living relief. You can talk about spending on major infrastructure. You can talk about bringing down inflation, but the rubber hits the road around the kitchen table, and the news from the kitchen table isn’t very good.
Richard Perno:
Ok, to give him his due in one way though Senator, what can he do about the local shop putting up a price of a product they’re selling. That’s cost of living.
Senator Duniam:
Indeed, it is. And you know what, the Treasurer of Australia can’t instruct the corner store how much per litre of milk, but what the Treasurer of Australia and the Government of Australia can do is honour their election promises. So, their election promise was for a start, bringing down power prices by $275 per household, per year. Now, the reason why that’s relevant to say, the price of a litre of milk when you make milk or produce from the raw, the transport and also the production costs, packaging etc, all of that goes into the price. So, this is where cost of living relief matters. Now what they are doing, they are giving taxpayers some of their own money back through this $300 supplement they’re going to provide to people to help them pay their power bill. This is not cheaper power, it is their money going back to them to pay for higher power bills. And the sad thing is Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency, said themselves overnight, this will have an inflationary impact that will drive up cost of living and that is exactly what we’re being told this budget wouldn’t do, which is a failure on their part.
Richard Perno:
Jonno, $300 for everyone, is that right? $300 for individuals, $325 for businesses. You multiply that per head of population. Who’s going to get this stuff? That could have been spent somewhere else, couldn’t it?
Senator Duniam:
Absolutely, that money could have been sent somewhere else.
Richard Perno:
No, you don’t want it, do you? I mean, you don’t need it. I don’t need it. Many of us don’t need it, but we’re going to be given the thing. Why? Why wasn’t it means tested like in the past.
Senator Duniam:
Well, that’s a good question. And I know the Prime Minister was asked about this earlier on, you know, why aren’t you means testing this? So, Gina Rinehart will get it. You know, one of the wealthiest women in the southern hemisphere. All of these people who yes, chances are you and me certainly not me, I’m on a very good wicket as an elected representative, I don’t need that. It is going to come to me anyway. But there are other ways to bring down power prices. This isn’t it. This is using taxpayers hard earned money to offset a bill that could be brought down in other ways, but the Government is refusing to do that.
Richard Perno:
You’re saying to me, Senator, this is a missed opportunity.
Senator Duniam:
I believe it is. One of the other missed opportunities, of course Richard, is something we have talked about a lot and that is Tasmania getting its fair share of GST. The Prime Minister has been asked countless times to guarantee that we won’t lose $240 million of GST as a result of the stadium funding deal. And the budget papers last night guarantee we are going to lose that money and the thing is, and this is not a Liberal/Labor thing, I know that Tasmanian Labor politicians feel exactly the same way as me, but they’re in a very sticky spot. The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, in his electorate of Rankin, has presented projects associated with the Brisbane Olympics from GST. Now there is over $3.5 billion dollars worth of infrastructure being built for the 2032 Olympics. Now, fair enough, good investment, but why are they getting $3.5 billion dollars exempted from GST calculations when we can’t even secure, from this Federal Government, $240 million of GST exemptions for this stadium? It’s a rip off.
Richard Perno:
Yeah. Can’t answer. You’re going to have to answer the question. You’ve got the opportunity. You’re in power in parliament. You can do that. A couple of ones that I want to talk to you about, Senator Duniam, because we’ve spoken about in the past, what’s happened to the money that we’ve talked about that’s evaporated in the snow in the Antarctic. And what’s happening with the Antarctic Division? Any money in the budget for this thing.
Senator Duniam:
There is extra money in the budget for the Antarctic Division. So they’ve reallocated some money from the Macquarie Island redevelopment to go towards things like extra days operation for the RSV Nuyina, the icebreaker that has been beset by a number of troubles and further funding for the works of the Antarctic Division all together. Now look, we’ve had the inquiry, we’ve talked about the overspend as a result of under budgeting. So, we welcome, of course, any additional funding, but this does not address the structural reforms that are required ongoing. So look, I will say this is great news for Antarctic science and maintaining our position as leader when it comes to Antarctic science. There is much more to be done and I look forward to seeing Minister Plibersek and Anthony Albanese actually take this seriously beyond one budget.
Richard Perno:
Can you send Tanya over to the salmon industry and give them a bit of a talking and see if she likes them or not? It’s another subject for another thing. And what about roads in our state Jonno?
Senator Duniam:
Well look, there is some funding for roads, none of it new. All of this money has been sent around and your listeners will be pleased to know that there are some good regional roads that have been funded. But, again this is, you know, I think it’s just over $250 million that’s already there in the budget for various roads including the Lyell Highway. So, when Tanya Plibersek lands in Hobart I can put her on a new Lyell highway to get to Strahan to talk to these salmon workers and hopefully it’s built by then. But just on the salmon, I will say that is a missed opportunity. Last night, the government could have put an end to the uncertainty to salmon workers and MMG and it wouldn’t have cost taxpayers a single cent. In fact, it would have made them money because these businesses pay taxes and so do the workers in these businesses. So that would have been a windfall gain for the for the State and for the country, but instead, sadly, it is a missed opportunity. But yes, there is road funding, as there is in every budget. No new money. And in fact, I think we have worked out that we are $30 million worse off for roads of strategic importance, which is roads that aren’t national highways or big state roads, but ones that are important for infrastructure and commuter transport as well. So, we’re still working through the detail, but it isn’t all beer and skittles from the budget sadly.
Richard Perno:
No, no it certainly isn’t. All right Senator Jonathon Duniam, appreciate your time this morning. I was looking for a paragraph that said they’re going to spend a couple of dollars on building a railway line from Launceston to Hobart, but that didn’t happen.
Senator Duniam:
Unfortunately, we’ve missed out on that one.
Richard Perno:
All right, Jonno, I appreciate your time. Dust will settle and we will see what Peter Dutton has to say on Thursday night when he stands to his feet to reply to the budget. Have a good day. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Duniam:
Thanks, Richard. Bye.