THE HON.

CHRIS BOWEN MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR MCMAHON

JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO THE
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR TRADE
AND INVESTMENT
MEMBER FOR RANKIN


E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
FRIDAY, 23 MAY 2014
UNDERWOOD
SUBJECT / S: Tony Abbotts Budget of Broken Promises; GP Ta; Po!iti"a!
#onations; Cam$be!! %e&man'

CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW TREASURER Well thanks for coming everybody. Its
great to join the hard working member for Rankin, Jim Chalmers here in Underwood,
ogan City.
Weve been o!t today, talking to "eo"le aro!nd the electorate # Jims electorate #
abo!t the im"act of Joe $ockey and %ony &bbotts b!dget of broken "romises. $ere
in Rankin, "eo"le have been affected more adversely than any other electorate in
'!eensland. %his is a f!ndamentally !nfair b!dget. (ine o!t of the ten to"
electorates have been disadvantaged by this b!dget are re"resented by the abor
)arty. &nd the most adversely affected electorate in the co!ntry is my electorate of
*c*ahon and the most adversely affected electorate in '!eensland is Jims
electorate of Rankin.
Weve been talking to "eo"le abo!t the im"act of the family ta+ benefit changes, the
im"act of the "ension changes and talking to small b!sinesses abo!t "eo"le "!tting
their wallets away in the wake of this b!dget. Weve seen confidence "l!mmet,
cons!mer and b!siness confidence "l!mmet !nder this government and retail sales
fig!res today showing that since the b!dget, !ns!r"risingly, "eo"le have been
red!cing their s"ending, s!ch as the concern ca!sed by the rhetoric and the action
of %ony &bbott and Joe $ockey. %his is a bad b!dget not only for families, its been
a bad b!dget for b!sinesses, small and large right across the co!ntry. %ony &bbott,
of co!rse, "romised an adrenaline r!sh of "ositive confidence when he was elected.
If this is his idea of an adrenaline r!sh, weve got a serio!s "roblem on o!r hands.
I did see %ony ,he"herds comments this morning, let me make it very clear, my
-!arrel is with %ony &bbott, not with %ony ,he"herd. et me also make this very,
very clear as well, this not j!st a bad b!dget for families, for "ensioners, this is a bad
b!dget for &!stralia. %his is not a b!dget in the national interest. We will stand !" for
families, for "ensioners, we will stand !" for fairness, we will also stand !" for the
nation. We believe that &!stralia doesnt have to choose between being a fair nation
and a "ros"ero!s nation. We can and m!st do both and thats the contest of ideas
that abor will be engaging with now, tomorrow and over the coming years !ntil the
ne+t election.
Jim, Id invite yo! to say a few comments as well.
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO THE LEADER
OF THE OPPOSITION %hanks very m!ch Chris. I do want to welcome Chris .owen
to Rankin, here to Underwood. I want to thank Joe and /eb for having !s here at
,im"ly .eans in Underwood in my electorate.
&s Chris said, this is the most adversely affected electorate in '!eensland and
Chris0 is the most adversely affected nationally. %hose are the fig!res that we had
o!t last week.
We also had some modelling from (&%,1* that showed that the "oorest, the most
v!lnerable, the sickest and the frailest are being asked to do the heavy lifting in this
b!dget. ,o what %ony &bbott, and indeed %ony ,he"herd are doing is asking the
most v!lnerable "eo"le to do the heavy lifting when it comes to b!dget re"air and we
say that0s not a""ro"riate.
,o there were fig!res from (&%,1*, fig!res abo!t the im"act on vario!s
electorates, b!t the reality is that "eo"le aro!nd here don0t need economic modelling
to tell them that this b!dget is a direct attack on good "eo"le that are j!st trying to
make ends meet.
&nd what this b!dget is, is one b!dget which really creates two nations. & nation of
haves and have nots. It0s the most divisive b!dget in memory from the most divisive
)rime *inister in memory.
&nd one of the most heartening things from the reaction that we0ve had as we move
aro!nd the comm!nity today, and as I moved aro!nd with .ill ,horten and )enny
Wong earlier in the week, is "eo"le are saying even if they aren0t directly affected,
they0re worried abo!t their neighbo!r. %hey0re worried abo!t their relatives and their
friends in this comm!nity.
&nd what %ony &bbott and %ony ,he"herd don0t !nderstand is that if yo! attack one
member of o!r comm!nity via this b!dget, yo! attack every member of the
comm!nity via this b!dget.
&nd that was the "oint that Chris was making abo!t small b!siness in o!r area. %hat
when yo! take s!ch a big whack to ho!sehold b!dgets, that flows thro!gh to small
b!sinesses like this one at ,im"ly .eans in Underwood.
BOWEN $a""y to take some -!estions.
JOURNALIST ,o where does the b!dget sit in terms of the ,enate2
BOWEN Well, it0s the 3overnment0s res"onsibility to talk to the )arliament and get
their b!dget thro!gh. (ow we0ve made it clear we won0t be blocking &""ro"riations
.ills b!t we will stand !" for what we believe in. We will stand !" for those who have
been adversely affected by this b!dget. We0ll be constr!ctive 4 there may be things in
this b!dget that we don0t "artic!larly like b!t we0ll try and be as constr!ctive as we
can. .!t there are some things that we will fight, fight and fight again for. We will fight
for *edicare. We will fight for a fair aged "ension. We will fight against the creation
of a social !nderclass by free5ing "eo"le o!t of !nem"loyment benefits. We will fight
for working families when it comes to "etrol inde+ation and family ta+ benefits. We
will fight for those things.
(ow %ony &bbott0s the )rime *inister. $e can negotiate his b!dget thro!gh the
,enate. %here have been "revio!s 3overnments which had to negotiate things
thro!gh h!ng "arliaments in both ho!ses of "arliament 4 %ony &bbott0s got one
ho!se of )arliament where he doesnt have a majority. We0re going to be as
constr!ctive as we can be. We0re not going to take the wrecking a""roach that %ony
&bbott took consistently for five years. .!t we will be standing !" for o!r "rinci"les,
standing !" for those &!stralians who feel betrayed and let down by this b!dget of
broken "romises and well be voting accordingly in the 6ederal )arliament.
JOURNALIST 7o!re here talking abo!t b!sinesses today, the 3overnment has
indicated that it is a to!gh b!dget, will their b!dget hel" b!siness in the long r!n2
BOWEN Well, were already seeing the im"act of this b!dget on the economy. I
mean, retail sales # down. .!siness confidence # down. Cons!mer confidence #
"l!mmeting. What a 3overnment says is as im"ortant as what a 3overnment does.
When a 3overnment talks the economy down, it has an im"act.
%his 3overnment for their own "olitical "!r"oses has been talking down &!stralias
economic track record. Wo!ldnt yo! think that a 3overnment wo!ld celebrate the
fact that its b!dget is tri"le & rated by the three major credit rating agencies. &
sit!ation inherited by Joe $ockey. Instead of celebrating that fact, he talks it down.
8ne, to falsely acc!se the "revio!s 3overnment of things and secondly to "rovide
an alibi for c!ts he always intended to make. ,o, this is a bad b!dget for b!siness,
beca!se its a bad b!dget for &!stralia as well as being a bad b!dget for individ!als
and families.
JOURNALIST When will the 8""osition decide whether to s!""ort a deficit levy2

BOWEN Well, look well have more to say abo!t that in the not too distant f!t!re.
8!r "riority has been defending *edicare, defending the age "ension, defending
social fabric and fairness. &nd saying that the best way to ret!rn the .!dget to
s!r"l!s is economic growth and thats what I was talking abo!t at the (ational )ress
Cl!b d!ring the week.

(ow the deficit levy is something weve made very clear that we wo!ldnt do in office
b!t well be as constr!ctive as we can be and that means considering each meas!re
caref!lly and going thro!gh the .!dget "roviding a res"onse to each in d!e co!rse.

JOURNALIST .!t will it be "!t to the "arty room or j!st the ,hadow Cabinet2

BOWEN 8h look, we have "rocesses that we go thro!gh to determine these things.
%he "rocesses are well !nderway and well have more to say in the not too distant
f!t!re.

JOURNALIST /o yo! think %ony &bbott and Joe $ockey have been ca!ght o!t by
the reaction to the b!dget2

BOWEN Well, what I think is they are com"letely o!t of to!ch. Com"letely o!t of
to!ch and arrogant in their a""roach to this b!dget and to the nation. I mean they
have shown that they are com"letely o!t of to!ch with the "ress!res on families,
com"letely o!t of to!ch on what "eo"le are looking for and there arrogance of
ref!sing to even acknowledge their litany of broken "romises is an ins!lt to the
intelligence of the &!stralian "eo"le.

6or %ony &bbott and Joe $ockey to contin!e to insist that this b!dget isnt f!ll of
broken "romises is an ins!lt to the &!stralian "eo"le. ,o they show that they are
arrogant and then they show that they are o!t of to!ch with the concerns of
&!stralians right across the co!ntry. &nd thats certainly the message that Jim and I
have been getting today.

JOURNALIST /o yo! think that the medical research f!nd is worthy2

BOWEN (obodys got a "roblem with medical research of co!rse and .ill ,hortens
made it clear that science is at the forefront of abors agenda. .!t yo! dont f!nd
the c!res of tomorrow b!t ta+ing the sick of today. &nd Joe $ockey says theres a
b!dget emergency, hes willing to !ndermine the f!ndamental "rinci"le of !niversal
healthcare and *edicare not to fi+ the b!dget to "!t it into a new f!nd. Well thats his
"riority, hes entitled to do that b!t we will defend *edicare.
JOURNALIST /o yo! have a view abo!t Cam"bell (ewman increasing the "olitical
donation threshold to 9:;,<<< from 9:,<<<2
BOWEN Well right across the co!ntry we see the iberal "arty trying to red!ce
acco!ntability and we stand for greater acco!ntability and trans"arency when it
comes to donations to "olitical "arties. I think its what the &!stralian "eo"le want
and e+"ect. ,o in office we attem"ted to red!ce the threshold for donations, John
$oward towards the end of his government increased it dramatically. &!stralians
sho!ld know who is donating to their "olitical "arties, we sho!ld be more
trans"arent.
In the abor "arty the (ational ,ecretariat has a "olicy of disclosing donations over
9:,<<<, we dont need to b!t we do, o!r (ational ,ecretariat does beca!se thats
a""ro"riate. ,o while I will leave the details to o!r state colleag!es, the abor "arty
believes in more trans"arency and what Cam"bell (ewman is doing is in the iberal
"arty "laybook, the iberal=(ational "arty "laybook red!cing acco!ntability red!cing
trans"arency.
JOURNALIST ,ome are saying were back to the bad old days of brown "a"er
bags of cash2
BOWEN Well acco!ntability and trans"arency is im"ortant and Cam"bell (ewman
cannot j!stify nor can the 6ederal iberal "arty their addiction to red!cing
acco!ntability when it comes to "olitical donations. &!stralians e+"ect better.
JOURNALIST /o yo! think the relationshi" between the ,tates and the 6ederal
governments can be re"aired2
BOWEN When yo!ve got a )rime *inister who thinks its a""ro"riate to ri" 9><
billion o!t of schools and hos"itals, not tell the states in advance, not cons!lt with
them b!t let them read it in the b!dget. &nd then when they have the temerity to
"oint o!t the im"act on schools and hos"itals, to say? @they need to be gown !"s,
what an ins!lt to the )remiers regardless of what we think of any individ!al )remier,
they deserve better than that.
If yo! want to im"rove the nation, governments have to work together ,tate and
6ederal, abor, iberal, (ational have to work together. )!t aside "olitical
differences and what were seeing is %ony &bbott cant even work with )remiers who
are iberal=(ational "arty )remiers let alone abor "arty )remiers. )eo"le e+"ect
better from the )rime *inister and they frankly e+"ect more mat!rity in dealing with
matters between 6ederal and ,tate governments.
BOWEN If yo! want to im"rove the nation, 3overnments have to work together,
,tate and 6ederal. abor, iberal=(ational )arty, have to work together. )!t aside
"olitical differences, and what were seeing is %ony &bbott cant even work with
)remiers that are iberal=(ational )arty )remiers, let alone abor )arty )remiers.
)eo"le e+"ect better from the )rime *inister and they frankly e+"ect more mat!rity
in dealing with matters between ,tate and 6ederal 3overnments.

JOURNALIST Jim, do yo! have a view on Cam"bell (ewmans A.ogans from
oganB -!ote2

CHALMERS Cam"bell (ewman has smashed o!r comm!nity with his jobs c!ts and
his service c!ts and now he wants to r!n "eo"le down by re"eating this snobby sl!r
abo!t "eo"le from ogan. Im "ro!dly ogan born and bred, "eo"le here do a great
job raising kids, making ends meet and they dont need this snobby sl!r re"eated by
a )remier whos so badly o!t of to!ch.

JOURNALIST I j!st wanted to ask yo! one more -!estion. %he ,hadow
3overnment has anno!nced that they wont s!""ort that 9C co4"ayment in the
b!dget. ,ome of that will go towards the *edical Research 6!t!re 6!nd. ,ho!ld that
f!nd still go ahead even if it doesnt go thro!gh the ,enate2

BOWEN Well thats entirely a matter for the 3overnment. %he 3overnment wants to
set !" this f!nd, they claim it will be the biggest in the world, I see that claim has
been dis"!ted elsewhere. abor set !" a review when we were in office of health
and medical research from the former &!stralian of the 7ear, ,imon *cDean. It
made recommendations which are being ignored by this 3overnment. ,o they cant
lect!re !s and other "eo"le abo!t health and medical research when theyre ignoring
the recommendations of a very im"ortant and good review.

,o, what the 3overnment does abo!t health and medical research is a matter for
them. .!t we will not stand for, we will not stand for the trashing of *edicare. We will
not allow it. We will fight, fight and fight again to defend *edicare. abor created
*edicare, we will defend *edicare. We believe that the health of any one of !s is the
concern of all of !s in the nation and access to !niversal healthcare is what makes
that a reality. &nd we will not let %ony &bbott trash *edicare.

JOURNALIST %heres a re"ort today that %ony &bbott is now one of the most
!n"o"!lar national leader across the world. %his is money for jam isnt it, for the
abor )arty2

BOWEN Well its not money for jam for the "eo"le of &!stralia who are being
attacked. %his is abo!t a .!dget which is f!ndamentally !nfair, which is bad for the
nation and is b!ilt on a web of deceit. I mean no wonder the &!stralian "eo"le are
angry, %ony &bbott told them, %ony &bbott told the "eo"le of &!stralia that he wo!ld
ret!rn the .!dget to s!r"l!s with no new ta+es, with no s"ending c!ts to health or
ed!cation, and hes breached those f!ndamental commitments to the &!stralian
"eo"le and he said? @I wont !se the .!dget as an e+c!se to break "romises, he
even made that e+"licit commitment.

%his is a b!dget which is f!ll of broken "romises and he doesnt even have the
decency and honesty to admit it. ,o no wonder the &!stralian "eo"le are white hot
angry with this 3overnment, white hot angry with this 3overnment beca!se of its
!nfairness and the arrogance of its deceit.

8kay, thanks for coming.

E%#S