Doorstop, Parliament House Canberra

13 September 2024

JANE HUME: Good afternoon everybody. This morning, we had another hearing of the Senate Select Committee into the Cost of Living. The cost of living is not just a crisis for households, it's also a crisis for businesses. Indeed, the cost of doing business has gone up dramatically just in the last two years alone. We heard from international food manufacturers. We heard from some regional manufacturers as well, and some down in the south east of Victoria, and we also heard from some peak bodies. The messages were very consistent, particularly energy prices, pushing manufacturers to the brink. The ideological approach that the Government has taken to energy, particularly around gas, has seen energy prices soar for these manufacturers, cutting their margins to an unsustainable level, and pushing some of them out of business. Their industrial relations policies have seen people layoff workers, particularly in regional Victoria. We heard of a story of one manufacturer who has laid off 85 staff because to consolidate a business. He's done that because of the Government's redefinition, reworking and definition of a casual. So 85 people in regional Victoria have lost their job because of that industrial relations legislation. They spoke of a lack of a productivity agenda that's come out of this Government. A genuine productivity agenda that's going to drive and underpin economic growth in this country. The other thing that they mentioned was support for the Instant Asset Write Off policy that was first introduced under the Coalition Government, that has been continued on under this Government, but unfortunately wound back so that the threshold is now only $20,000 and it's only seen as a one off tax initiative. As opposed to the Coalition's alternative, which is to raise that threshold to $30,000 and also to make it a continuing feature of our tax system. That allows for manufacturers, and indeed all small businesses, to invest in the productive capacity of their businesses. But most importantly, it allows them to manage that process into cash flow, cash flow of their businesses.

Gosh there is something exciting going on down there, I know where I’d rather be.

Listen before we finish up, can I just say that I was really disappointed to hear the news when I walked out of that committee, that my colleague in the Senate, Senator Shoebridge, appearing at the protests in Victoria. Those protests have been quite violent. We've seen those police officers being threatened and those mounted police officers having their horses attacked. This is vile behavior, and it's been condemned by governments, both state and federal and the idea that one of my colleagues is participating in this protest and not just participating, but at the front line of them. He's not even from Victoria. I find that despicable. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Just on the scope of the cost of living inquiry, it's been going on for a few years now, and it also in the terms of reference, it says on all any related matters. So it's going to be quite broad. The report, no doubt, be quite lengthy. How targeted do you think any recommendations will be for households, in particular, how considered, like how specific can you be?

JANE HUME: When we started this process, we knew the cost of living was going to be a big issue for all Australians. The problem, of course, is that the cost of living crisis has rolled on and on and got progressively worse. You know, one of the things that we're hearing from is that, and I thought this was a really good analogy, is that the cost of living is not like a normal crisis. Let's say in a bushfire, communities get together, they help get through that event. But the cost of living crisis isn't like a bushfire. It's like a drought. It just continues to be on people that find themselves worse. Now it has been cooperation, because we find what are the drivers of the cost of living crisis in Australia, and most important that we want to find those implementable and practical solutions. And we've heard some terrific ones. One of the examples of that for instance is food bank, who told us, maybe if there was an incentive for primary producers and maybe the big super supermarkets to provide those food donations to the charities, maybe they could deliver better services, more services. So these are the sorts of things that you’ll be hearing about when the final report is delivered in November, it has delivered two interim reports on the way through. So it's been a very busy committee and very worthwhile.

JOURNALIST: Senator, can I just ask about the Government scams report. Fines of up to $50 million for businesses who turn a blind eye to scams. What does the Opposition make of this announcement? Do you think punishing businesses for customers getting scammed is the right way to go about this, or does there need to be more of a focus on personal responsibility?

JANE HUME: You’d understand if I haven’t read the exposure draft, it is just an exposure draft of the legislation, just yet. I’ve been here all morning. What I would say is that I can remember the Government talking about it in the election campaign, two and a half years and this is what they've come up with and it’s only draft legislation open for consultation until the start of next month. By the time they actually get to the final legislation, we could be well into November or even early next year. They’re a bit slow off the mark with this. We want to make sure that scams are dealt with appropriately, and I know that banks and the telcos are going their bit. The social media giants also do need to pick up the slack. But I would like to see this legislation go through our normal processes and better understand where the pain points are. Where you know, how we can live and stop them at the start, but who picks up the pieces at the end of the day (inaudible).

JOURNALIST: But on the principle of businesses being the ones that should be responsible for protecting their customers. What do you make of that, that fundamental principle of what the government is doing?

JANE HUME: I think those businesses are already doing that. Now whether the social media giants could be doing more, that’s certainly something that will be fleshed out, I'd imagine either during this consultation process or indeed during the committee phase when this legislation is introduced. The question is, will it ever be introduced? We are getting closer and closer to the deadline of an election. The Government (inaudible).

JOURNALIST: Senator, were you concerned by the APSC Report into the (inaudible) of Robodebt and the public servants who were in breach of that code?

JANE HUME: Yeah again, I haven’t read the Report because I’ve been in the Committee all morning. But the APSC is an independent Commissioner, who will do what he needs to do (inaudible).

JOURNALIST: A few of the businesses, Cadbury and Nestle, brought up the Instant Asset Write Off that you mentioned. How much more would it cost or would we lose in tax, if we gave bigger write offs to these companies and why is important that we increase it?

JANE HUME: Well, of course, it depends on size and the threshold for how much it would cost, it makes perfect sense. But it is an important initiative because it allows businesses to invest in a productive capacity of their own businesses. I remember when this started, we were talking about things like restaurants within a new oven or cafes (inaudible). But those manufacturers were telling us today that some of their investments are actually quite modest. That’s where the Instant Asset Write Off can make the difference between making the decision to invest in that productive capacity or not. And that’s why it's important to make it permanent.

JOURNALIST: On Robodebt, I know you’ve been in the Committee, but two of the formers bosses won’t face punishment despite being found to have breaching the code of the public service. What do you say to Australian people who say justice has not been served?

JANE HUME: I think that you have to leave this to the Australian Public Service Commissioner. It’s his report, and he understands what the codes are, which of them have been breached and what the appropriate sanctions should be.

JOURNALIST: So I just wanted to ask, the fact is they have breached the code but because they no longer work in public service, there's nothing that can be done. Is there a gap there? Or do you have any thoughts?

JANE HUME: I'm not totally sure what the alternative might be. Fining somebody that's already left their employment, that doesn’t occur in any other industry.

JOURNALIST: Just on the scam legislation. Do you think that social media companies are doing enough to stop scams, given that they seem to be where many of the billions of dollars lost by Australians come from?

JANE HUME: Well, I think that that's essentially the message the government is sending. That while the banks and the telcos have been doing their fair share of the heavy lifting in this space, as they have done for the last 20 years. At some point, the social media giants and the other technology companies need to step up and work out what it is they can do too. Again, I haven’t read the exposure draft. This has got to go through consultation, before it is legislation, before it even goes through committee. Now it will go through our processes, and we will make those assessments. It’s probably a bit early to say, but we certainly understand that scams are a really big issue for Australians. They're even a cost of living issue, because when you haven't got your money to spend, so it's important to deal with this. The most important thing is that we deal with it effectively.

JOURNALIST: Just staying on social media for a second, we've seen Elon Musk call the Government ‘fascist’ for the mis and disinformation laws. I'm sure you don't entirely agree with that sentiment. But will the Coalition be taking a close look at that legislation before they make any decisions on impact?

JANE HUME: Yeah, absolutely, of course we’re going to have a look at these laws. To get this legislation would have profound consequences.

JOURNALIST: What did you make of Elon Musk’s comments?

JANE HUME: (inaudible)

JOURNALIST: Just on the cost of living, (inaudible) the Government’s announced (inaudible)

JANE HUME: Isn’t it extraordinary. We’re an energy powerhouse here in Australia. We can do so much more and yet somehow we've chosen not to. And that's because what's happening, you know, renewable energy is going to be a really important part of our energy mix while we pursue nuclear. But we've seen that having a renewable only approach, putting all your eggs in that one energy basket is in fact, pushing up the prices of energy. Indeed, those interventions into the energy market continue to make the matters worse and push up energy prices. Particularly gas up further, and gas is going to be an important transition fuel as we move away from coal and into the future with a clean energy net zero approach. The coalition believes that nuclear is going to be part of that mix in the future, but we must transition gas. At the end of the day, the combination of gas, renewables and nuclear is the best way to be energy sufficient to put prices down and to reach Net Zero.

JOURNALIST: Regarding the Aged Care deal that was announced yesterday, do you have any outstanding reservations about how some older Australians might pay for their aged care?

JANE HUME: Again, this is a more than 500 pages worth of legislation, and it will go to a Senate committee and we will make sure that we hear from all stakeholders. But I’d remind you that Peter Dutton said in this first Budget Reply that the Coalition would be happy to work with the Government to make sure that we have a sustainable aged care system. We know that an enormous number of people are going to need aged care services in the coming decades. You have to make sure that the system is sustainable, because at the moment, it's not. We'll continue to work with the Government to make sure that we have a package that works for all Australians, both this generation facing aged care soon and also the next generations to come.

JANE HUME: Will workforce be part, of or was it part of negotiations? And would the Coalition be pushing for some sort of assurances around workforce capacity building, even potentially migration (inaudible) for people who work in aged care?

JANE HUME: Well again, I'm not entirely sure that's specifically within this legislation. The reason why I'm not, is because it’s 550 pages of legislation. Allow us our time to go through the right processes. Take it through the committee, make sure that we meet them stakeholders, make sure we understand where those systems are, and then we'll make a final call on what the outcome should be. But what we've seen is the demonstration of the Coalition’s willingness to work with the Government on aged care, as we did on NDIS, to find the best outcome, to make sure that whatever we do in these really important sectors are sustainable.

JOURNALIST: Perhaps I should rephrase, how concerned are you about these critical workforce shortages for the future sustainability of aged care?

JANE HUME: Well I think that’s something that will come out of the committee processes. I think I’ll leave it there, thanks guys.