MATT “MACCA’ Maccarthy, HOST: About this news at Qantaslink, affecting fifty of our families here with this aircraft carrier or hangar - I guess you could say maintenance terminal - being closed down, affecting fifty of our families. You were going to go away and make some phone calls on that. What did you find out?
SENATOR TIM AYRES, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR A FUTURE MADE IN AUSTRALIA AND TRADE: It's certainly disappointing news. As I said on the program last week, I used to come up in my old job as a trade union official and work with members and the local management there. It's a really important regional aircraft maintenance capability. I understand that there are discussions going on between the union and Qantas at the moment - I'll be interested to see what the outcome of those discussions is. So, the union's doing its job,
representing its members there and looking at the future of Qantas maintenance capability. There is a decision that sits at the heart of this which is about retiring some fleet. So I understand that that is going to have an impact upon the business, but I would just say that
this aircraft maintenance capability in regional Australia is really important, whatever can be done to support workers, but also to support the maintenance of aircraft maintenance capability in Australia, should be done. I don't want to pre-empt those discussions Macca, but I understand that they're going on and understand the local members are being very active about these issues as well, and that's a good thing. We'll certainly keep everybody posted.
MACCA: Hopefully you can keep us posted, if you hear anything before we do. Home Affairs in Tamworth tomorrow as well, I believe, to discuss issues regarding regional immigration.
SENATOR AYRES: It's really important that that we manage the migration process, and particularly those schemes that are there for supporting regional businesses. So, in Tamworth, I've been engaged with local businesses and workers that are on the PALM scheme - the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. They are just so important for those businesses in Tamworth, particularly the meat industry. The two big meat industry businesses - the two abattoirs there – the PALM workers are making a really important economic contribution, making a really important cultural and sporting contribution to Tamworth as well, and also making a contribution back in their home countries in terms of remittance payments. The management of those schemes is really important, making sure that workers have a good experience of work while they're here. And also, more broadly, making sure it's part of an effort to make sure that young school leavers, young people locally, are picking up the skills and working in those businesses as well. We're all in it together, and it's good to see Home Affairs up there doing their job.
MACCA: What are you thinking about the Coalition, Tim, proposing to ban all visas from people from Gaza? Is this a bit racist?
SENATOR AYRES: Well, what it is, is deliberately divisive. I mean, it is just the regular pattern for Peter Dutton. It's what he does. He hasn't changed. There's no personal growth there, that's for sure. He is the same divisive character that he has always been. The truth is, that exactly the same arrangements are in place in relation to this group, as they were in relation to Afghanistan when the previous government was administering, was in charge of, these things. The same security arrangements, the same vetting processes, the same focus. The only difference here is Peter Dutton is in opposition. So, he is complaining about it in an effort to create division. The other element of this that Peter Dutton is, you know, he said last week that there should be a pause. Well the truth is, Macca that nobody is leaving Gaza at the moment because they can't leave. It is just partisan politics. It is not a serious point that has been made here. It is just partisan politics and I think people will just move on. It's the traditional politics of division that this bloke plays.
MACCA: I just want to talk to you about materials for a second, $3 billion expected to be lost in revenue to the Federal Government in declining ore prices. Has this come across your desk?
SENATOR AYRES: Yeah, there's ebbs and flows in iron ore prices that, of course, there's royalties there that the Commonwealth Government receives. We have to - Jim Chalmers and the Treasury team - have to deal with these things as they come along. It's not a surprising development. It's why we've been so cautious in our budget settings. That's why we've delivered the savings that the government, the Albanese Government, has had to deliver, to deliver two budget surpluses back-to-back, in a row. That is the first time that has happened in nearly twenty years. And budget surpluses aren't an end in themselves. We saw the last government congratulate themselves on a budget surplus and then not actually deliver it. We have done the planning work and the savings work that is required, but we've done it because we’re delivering downward pressure on inflation through the Commonwealth budget. That’s the objective here; is to deliver that downward pressure at the same time as very carefully delivering cost of living relief for families. So, all of the things that we have done, whether it's every Australian taxpayer getting a tax cut, whether it's cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, energy bill relief, all of these measures are within the savings envelope that the government has delivered through its budget surpluses, but are designed to do two things. Number one, support families through what has been a challenging period, but also put additional downward pressure on inflation, and some of these measures, Macca, like the 15% wage increase for childcare workers at the same time as we've delivered an 11% decrease in fees and put a cap on a four and a half percent over the future fee rises. They are about relief for families, better wages for childcare workers, improving the number of childcare workers that come into the system, but also delivering better childcare is an economic reform in itself. It's good for workforce participation, and it's good for productivity, and over the long term, that's good again, for putting downward pressure on inflation and making the economy fairer for ordinary people.
MACCA: The Federal Government looking to make a second attempt to put CFMEU into administration. Tim, what's your information on that?
SENATOR AYRES: We will be working on this very hard over the course of today and whatever is required to happen through this week. This is a very important piece of work here to put this union into administration. It's what I think most Australians would expect. It is the toughest measure that can be undertaken in this area. And I have to say that it is, you know, we support effective unionism in the construction sector. But I think Australians expect that it's going to be good governance, no allegations of corruption. And this administration is designed to deliver that. We will work very hard on this. The only thing that's standing between the government and delivering administration at the CFMEU is the Liberals and Nationals and the Greens are currently blocking it. Well, we're going to keep we're going to keep doing this in the interests of the construction industry and the interests of fair dinkum unionism and the construction industry and the interests of construction workers.
MACCA: On the subject of Liberals, Tim, just before I let you go, is the government going to give the local council candidates from the Liberals that didn't get the nominations in on time, they going to get an extension, do you think?
SENATOR AYRES: Oh, mate, honestly, this is the funniest story, really. It must be deeply frustrating for Liberals who put their faith in the Liberal Party. They’ve submitted their nominations into the Liberal Party, filled out all the forms, and the party that says they can be a party of good government, forgot to put the forms in. Extraordinary development. I don't know whether it's affected regional councils like Tamworth or not, where the Liberals are running for the council up there. Liberals out there would just be tearing their hair out at the hopelessness of their party organization that have really, you know, just, I mean, if you can't run your own party, if you can't run a nomination process, then you can't argue that you should be able to run the country. You know that it's just an absolutely extraordinary turn of events, and I suppose it's a matter for the Liberal Party how they account for this, but it'd be pretty hard to explain.
MACCA: Absolutely. Senator Tim, thank you for the chat today. We'll talk to you next week.
ENDS.
