Address to the Merrill Lynch Australian Investment Conference, New York
September 29, 2005Fuel prices, terrorism – Interview with John Laws, 2UE
October 4, 2005Doorstop Interview
The Henry Jones Art Hotel
Hobart
Monday, 3 October 2005
1.00 pm
(12noon AEST)
SUBJECTS: Bali bombing, terrorism, petrol prices, GST, gambling
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer you placed a strong emphasis on the importance of security in that
address to the AHA, domestic security, what do you think – in the wake of the
latest attacks – this is going to mean for the domestic economy, particularly
tourism?
TREASURER:
Well first of all our hearts go out to the family members of people who have
been killed, injured, some maimed in Bali. It re-emphasises again that the scourge
of terror has to be confronted and defeated and that the Government can leave
no step that is necessary to actually secure safety for Australians. And the
Government will be ensuring that where we can assist bringing those to justice
that we do so. And Australian Federal Police will be actually cooperating with
their Indonesian counterparts to bring to justice the people responsible for
this despicable act. Unfortunately this will reflect on the tourist industry
and affect the Indonesian economy. That is not good for Indonesia. Indonesia
has been struggling to attract new foreign investment and this will be a step
backwards. But we believe it is important for Indonesia over the medium term
to actually get new foreign investment and to develop its economy. For Australia
of course it re-emphasises again the importance of security not just to the
life and limb of our citizens but also for our economy. We have had two big
shocks in the Australian tourist industry in recent years. We had a big shock
after September the 11th, 2001 when short term visitor arrivals dropped
by about 16 per cent. We had another big shock with the SARS virus when short
term arrivals dropped by about 15 per cent and security is not just about protecting
life and limb and human life it is also about protecting a way of life and an
economy in which people can prosper and find work and living standards to care
for themselves and their families.
JOURNALIST:
Would it be sensible to revise the domestic security arrangements that were
agreed upon last week?
TREASURER:
Well they were agreed on last week. The important thing I think is to implement
them. That is the important thing here. I don’t think it makes much sense
to change what was agreed last week. The steps that were agreed on last week
I think will be very, very important steps and the important thing now is to
actually implement them.
JOURNALIST:
There are reports today that Australian tourists in Bali heard rumours of a
threat in Kuta and were told to stay away. Mr Downer says there was no specific
information. Was Australian intelligence good enough?
TREASURER:
Australian intelligence is working actively to ensure that we know as far as
is possible, as far as it is possible to know of any credible threat. And our
warnings have been given, people should heed those warnings, the Australian
intelligence services have been beefed up, they have certainly got much more
in the way of resources than they had several years ago. But the important thing
really is to bring to justice those who organise this and in particular, to
bring to justice bombers who actually make bombs and sometimes recruit people
to carry them. That it is the important thing and to wind up those networks.
And this will be long and hard to bring to justice all of the people that are
involved. And it will be costly, but it is something that the Government will
have to do.
JOURNALIST:
Family First Senator Steven Fielding has called for a 10 cent reduction in
the fuel excise. How do you respond to that?
TREASURER:
Well fuel prices have gone up because the world oil price has gone up. Petrol
prices are now higher in Britain and France and Germany and the United States
and Japan and every other country in the world. And until you deal with the
reason why petrol prices are higher then you won’t deal with the underlying
problem. Petrol prices haven’t moved because there has been any change
in tax. There is no change in tax, none whatsoever. There hasn’t been
an increase in excise since 2001, not even an indexation, in fact, as a consequence
of that, in real terms excise is falling.
JOURNALIST:
But with your large Budget surplus will you consider this call?
TREASURER:
Petrol prices have risen because the world oil price has gone up. It has got
nothing to do with Australian taxation. And you can’t fix the world oil
price by changes to the Australian taxation system.
JOURNALIST:
But the tax take has gone up. Surely it is only fair…
TREASURER:
No. I am sorry the tax take hasn’t gone up.
JOURNALIST:
Well the GST?
TREASURER:
The federal excise is 38 cents a litre, the same as it was in 2001. If there
has been any increase in the GST on petrol, if there has, then it has been totally
received by each of the State Governments including the Tasmanian State Government.
So you might like to put that question to the Tasmanian Government.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think the States should be reducing…
TREASURER:
But the Federal Government receives 38 cents excise whether the price is 90
cents, whether it is $1.20 or whether it is $1.30. It does not receive any increase
at all in excise whatever the price is.
JOURNALIST:
Is it correct that the Government is not doing anything to alleviate the cost
because it doesn’t anticipate petrol going back down?
TREASURER:
Well I think every Australian would hope that petrol prices will come down.
I certainly do.
JOURNALIST:
Does the Government anticipate petrol prices coming down?
TREASURER:
High petrol prices are not in the interests of consumers, they are not in the
interests of the economy, they are not in the interests of the Government; they
are not in the interests of Australians. And I hope that they do come down,
yes, of course I do. Like every other Australian consumer I hope they do come
down. Petrol prices will come down when the world oil price comes down. And
the world oil price will come down at the point when production is increased
to meet demand.
JOURNALIST:
Is the Government prepared to offer any other kind of measures to help businesses
with the flow on costs of increased petrol?
TREASURER:
Well businesses in Australia at the moment are trading profitably; the profit
share is higher than it has ever been in Australian history. Company profits
are very strong at the moment. Now we have got to keep them there. And keeping
business profitable is about keeping good business conditions, improving industrial
relations, keeping interest rates low, ensuring that we have good taxation,
keeping consumer confidence strong. That is why businesses are as profitable
as they are at the moment. I would like to see it stay that way.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Costello, the State Liberals have promised to fund hundreds of millions
of dollars in election promises with unexpected rises in the GST. Do you have
any information that indicates GST will rise significantly higher than your
expectations?
TREASURER:
Well everybody knows how GST works. All GST revenue goes to State Governments.
Not a dollar of GST is received by the Federal Government. All GST ends up in
Hobart, in Melbourne, in Sydney, in Brisbane, in Adelaide, in Perth. And it
is 10 per cent on the goods and services which are sold in the economy. If the
economy is strong then the State Governments get higher GST. And the State Governments
are now receiving record collections, higher than was anticipated. All of them
are now receiving windfalls. The Tasmanian State Government is now getting a
windfall of GST, much more than it was ever promised. And it is accountable
for its expenditure. It is a matter for it. It is accountable to the people
of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Government is now getting more GST than was ever
envisaged, ever forecast at the time that it was brought in. So it has got to
be accountable to the people of Tasmania for those record amounts of GST.
JOURNALIST:
Your Commonwealth Treasury predictions do not cover the State Liberals’
hundreds of millions of dollars in promises. Are you expecting that the GST
revenue is going to be other than what your Treasury Officials have forecasted
so that it can cover hundreds of millions of dollars in election promises by
your State counterparts?
TREASURER:
Oh as I said, GST goes to State Governments, it is 10 per cent of goods and
services, the Tasmanian State Government is now getting more than was ever expected;
it is in a windfall position. And it is a matter for these State Governments
to account to the people of their state.
JOURNALIST:
Treasurer can I ask you a question about Betfair?
TREASURER:
Last question.
JOURNALIST:
About Betfair, if you have heard of the Tasmanian Government’s plans
to introduce the online international online gaming Betfair – other States have
rejected it – what’s your view of online gaming and its role in our country?
TREASURER:
Well look, these are matters for State Governments to regulate. The Commonwealth
doesn’t regulate gaming, let me say that. The only thing that I would
say is I am concerned about the people who suffer from gaming addictions and
I had a Productivity Commission Report some years ago that looked at the suffering,
the human suffering that is caused by people who have gaming addictions –
homes that are broken, jobs that are lost, suffering that families go through.
And the only thing I would say is I think our Governments, when they are looking
at regulating gaming, should also be looking at minimising the cost to families
through gaming addictions because families can suffer so much. So I won’t
engage in the detail of these things because we don’t regulate it. But
I would recommend that the victims of gaming be considered in all of these decisions.
Thank you very much.