Interview with Laura Jayes, AM Agenda

21 August 2024

LAURA JAYES: Within a half hour's time, the Teals are going to stand up. They’ve already set out a media release saying that they're going to hold a media conference talking about parliamentary standards, aggressive and misogynistic behavior. They're pointing their finger at one side, and that is the Coalition side of the chamber. Joining me now is Shadow Finance Minister, Jane Hume. Jane, thanks so much for your time. Good to see you. I don’t think they're talking about your chamber. They're talking about the lower house. But what do you say about these accusations at the moment? Because in the media release, we don't have examples of it, but it is very clearly pointing to the Coalition.

JANE HUME: I haven't seen the media release. I haven't seen the examples, and as you said, I'm not in that chamber. But you know, inevitably, both chambers of Parliament, particularly during question time, there is robust debate, and so there should be, this is a place where we have a contest of ideas. Now, if ideas are successful, that's terrific. But if they're not, I think resorting to name calling is possibly the lowest form of argument, and that's what we've seen from the Teals this week. So the irony, I think, here is not lost upon us. We should make sure that this is one safe space where you can have as robust debate as you need, because that's what the country deserves. This sounds to me like a political stunt potentially done for electoral convenience, because the Teals have run out of an agenda.

LAURA JAYES: What do you think about the standards of Parliament, though we're all for a robust debate, but does sometimes that slip, or is there over sensitivity from some in the chamber? Is that what you're suggesting?

JANE HUME: Well, I think anybody that was anywhere near a chamber would say that it's very noisy, it can be quite aggressive. But the important thing is that everybody has an opportunity to put their views forward in a place where that is allowed, this is what these chambers are built for. So I think that perhaps there is a misunderstanding as to what the Teals job is in this place, which is to prosecute their case in a robust place which can be challenged, and so it should be challenged. Now outside of those chambers, that's a different story. We want to make sure that this is a safe and respectful workplace at all times, and that should be the case for the most part. That is the case. But this is not something that is limited to one side of the chamber or the other, and there are plenty of examples of that. I think the Teals are just doing this for political convenience.

LAURA JAYES: Okay, let me ask you about the RBA minutes. We saw them come out yesterday again. Is this a surprise that the RBA says, essentially, we're not going to see a rate cut till at least 2025 that's kind of in line with the budget, isn't it?

JANE HUME: Well, it was quite a sobering statement that came out of the RBA, from the RBA minutes yesterday. First of all, they said that there was no real prospect of a rate cut this year, and in fact, that they had considered a rate rise, not a rate cut. So that's going to be pretty grim news for mortgage holders. They also said that they had pushed out the expectation of when inflation would come back to the middle of the target band to the end of 2026. Now that is the fourth time that interest rate projections have been pushed out by the RBA since the Albanese Government came to power. That's a real concern. And it also said that public expenditure, so that's government expenditure, public consumption is one of the drivers of inflation, which is why the Coalition has been saying for some time that the Government needs to be using its fiscal levers to get inflation under control, and not just simply turning it all over to the RBA, who only have that one tool in the shed.

LAURA JAYES: Okay, a bit of policy work being done there in parliament is not all just shouting at the moment. I'm starting to hear and we'll click to Andrew Clennell. He's got mail that there's a deal done on aged care. Is that true?

JANE HUME: Well, my understanding is that this is a conversation that's been going on for some time. In fact, Peter Dutton made it clear in his Budget in Reply, his first Budget in Reply speech, that if the Government came up with sensible reforms for aged care that that's something that the Coalition would be open to supporting. We want to make sure that we take a principled stance here. If the only reforms that the Government came up with was, you know, a tax on older Australians, well, that wouldn't be something that we would support. But if they’re sensible reforms, we'll come to the table.

LAURA JAYES: Okay, so deal close or done?

JANE HUME: Well, I think that the deal has been, negotiators have been going on for a considerable period of time. The Government have left this one a little late. This was something that they came to government committing to, sensible reforms in aged care. We’re yet to see anything that's been presented to the parliament. When we do, we'll make a decision, but I would hope that they have been presented in such a way that the Coalition can support.

LAURA JAYES: Jane Hume, thanks so much, we’ll see you soon.