E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AM AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2020

SUBJECTS: Morrison Government’s 20^thenergy policy; NDIS watchdog failures; income tax.

TOM CONNELL, HOST: Welcome back. Well, we just heard the government outlining its energy plan, let's get a response now from Labor's Bill Shorten, of course, also the Shadow NDIS and Government Services Minister, thanks very much for your time. A big focus on gas. You, of course, took a gas extraction plan, your Labor Party when you were leading them into the last election. Is the focus by the government then the right one?

BILL SHORTEN, MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG: Well, I think under their twentieth energy plan, the problem with it is that it’s more spin and less substance. It's no clear timetable, no targets, no rules for investment. So do I think gas is part of our energy mix going forward? Yes, it's important for heating. It's important for manufacturing. It's important, obviously, for energy generation. But having said that, you know, I listened to Mr Taylor's interview with you and I thought it was pretty light on detail. What are the rules for investment?

CONNELL: Alright, so just on gas, though, and the emphasis they've placed on it, there'll be extraction, there'll be pipelines. Are they going overboard or is the emphasis on gas, just that particular element, about right?

SHORTEN: Well, I was there when Mr. Morrison brought in a lump of coal and he wasn't interested in gas. Now he's discovered gas exists. Do I think gas is important? Yes. Do I think the government's got this plan right? No. I just think this is a space filler. This is a seat filler. The problem is that gas prices for manufacturers in the southeast of Australia have gone up and up and up. And for domestic, the mum and dad consumers of gas, it’s gone up. So do I think some investment in pipelines is useful? Sure. But where's the plan for renewables? Where's the plan to generate confidence to create investment in the market? I mean, at the end of the day, if the private sector is to invest, it needs rules. I mean, this is like playing a game of football with no goalposts and no boundary. If people don’t know what the rules are, why will they invest?

CONNELL: You mentioned a target. Angus Taylor has said that a 2035 target will be coming within the next year or so, before perhaps the next meeting is scheduled in Scotland. What about Labor? Should you have your own 2030 or 2035 target ahead of the election?

SHORTEN: Anthony Albanese said that we will present more detail before the election. The government have the great advantage of being government. And, you know, I thought you were politely nailing Mr Taylor's lack of detail. I mean, how much of their target is going to be generated from overseas emissions and how much from domestic? I heard him say, good. A good amount. A large amount. And then he’ll tell you later.

CONNELL: So what does that mean? I mean, this had been a product differentiation for the past -

SHORTEN: I didn’t think he meant anything, I thought he was being coy.

CONNELL: Right. Fair enough. But just on your view on why Labour should go, you've had product differentiation in terms of a target the last two elections. You must have a view on whether that's a good idea again.

SHORTEN: Listen, that’s not my portfolio. The relevant team will present something to Shadow Cabinet and we'll work through our processes before the next election. But I have to say that this government keeps sort of turning up with a new energy policy like it’s show and tell time for the primary school kids. There's a sense of, golly gee, I've discovered energy policy. This is their twentieth plan, Tom. I mean, what's going on?

CONNELL: Look, let's go to your portfolio then, Bill Shorten. So on the NDIS, you've criticised the government watchdog. It was revealed, of course, that it only handed out one fine from 8700 complaints. There were also, though, more than 8000 investigations as a result. 42 per cent of times, advice and assistance provided, 11 per cent, resolution processes were in place. So the 300 staff in this watchdog, they are doing things still.

SHORTEN: Listen, I don't blame individual staff members. Generally, it's a lack of leadership. But you know, the man in the street, you're interviewing your assessing these matters for the people who watch your show. How can there be over 8000 complaints and only one find issued? 200 of the matters were failures of caring organisations to report the death of a participant within five days. So as a watchdog, it’s asleep. And I think there are some simple reforms they could do. I'd be constructive, we don’t have to wait till the next election to tell them what to do here. Following the tragic death of Ann-Marie Smith in Adelaide, a former federal court judge made some just very sensible recommendations. A couple of them are that the watchdog should get out and do its own inspections. They shouldn't just wait for complaints. We should have a community visitor program.

CONNELL: So you’re basically saying use a stick approach, that the 200 situations - [crosstalk].

SHORTEN: Tom, these guys aren't using – it’s not a matter of a stick approach. These guys don't even have a Paddle Pop ice cream stick. This is like the police sitting in the police station. It's like a malfunctioning speed camera. The fact of the matter is that there are vulnerable people. I mean, forget all the political points I could make, this is me arguing for the most vulnerable people in Australia. When they get an NDIS plan, that's when it should be identified if they are vulnerable. We shouldn't have sole carers, and most of them are excellent, by the way, but we shouldn't have this one person being entirely dependent upon one sole paid carer. We should have our eyes and ears on this person. They should be identified as vulnerable. I mean, the crazy thing is that Stuart Robert, the Minister, has implicitly agreed with that criticism because they're now putting nearly another 100 staff and more millions of dollars into the system. But this is a watchdog not doing its job. It would be lovely to be an opposition and just turn up for the photo opps and not say hard things about the government in the time of COVID. And I know that people don't want politics. But I'm saying to you right now Tom, there will be vulnerable people who are in danger because the system isn't doing its proper job to protect people.

CONNELL: Wanted to ask you finally about the government income tax cut plan, all the jungle drums suggest Phase Two will be brought forward in the budget. Is that a good idea?

SHORTEN: Listen, I've learnt in politics not to jump at rumours but income tax cuts will be part of the mix, perhaps, for the Treasurer's response. But, you know, it's not just about this. If you want to help look after people, you’ve got millions of people on the pension who are not getting a modest indexed increase, which they've got for the last 20 years. You've got people on JobSeeker and JobKeeper who are going to see their payments go down some at the end of September. We've got nearly an extra 400,000 people predicted to join the unemployment queues, but they're going to introduce liquid assets tests. So, in other words, you might have lost your job, taken one for the team in the pandemic in hospitality, accommodation, higher education, live events. And all of a sudden they're not going to be eligible to get even the reduced payment because they’ve got 20 or 30 or 50k in the bank. This government cannot forget the vulnerable.

CONNELL: And to that end, then, how do you balance that with what a lot of your colleagues thought was a lack of policy for aspirational voters? There was the infamous coalminer who spoke to the last election. Phase Three, the income tax cuts. Can Labor go to the next election pledging to scrap them?

SHORTEN: Tom, you and I both know that the election's not due for another year and a half, so I’m hardly going to sort of outline what we’ll say on day 31 of the election campaign. That'll be a collective decision. I don't accept that Labor doesn't support aspiration. We had an aspiration to try and tackle climate. We had an aspiration to make sure that kids could afford to go to university. We've got an aspiration that people get paid penalty rates. We've also got an aspiration that the poor and the vulnerable in this community shouldn't be forgotten. I mean, since the last election, I've uncovered the scandal of Robodebt, which is just simply illegal. The government were told seventy three times, and yet apparently no one can be found. So, we talk about aspiration but I’ve got aspiration for every Australian, regardless of their parents bank account, or what postcode they live in, or what God they worship or who they love. I've got an aspiration for every Australian to get ahead. And that's the Labor calling, isn't it? We stand up for everyone, not just a few people.

CONNELL: Bill Shorten, appreciate your time. Thank you. Talk again soon.