Interview with Pete Stefanovic, First Edition
17 June 2024
PETE STEFANOVIC: Well, the Coalition is looking at policies that would make it easier for female entrepreneurs and to access capital and encourage women to take more control over household finances. Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume, who'll be launching this pitch, joins us now. Jane, it's a speech that's on tonight. So you're going to accuse the Labor Party of patronising women? How so?
JANE HUME: Well Pete, the Women's Budget Statement that was released alongside the Budget really contains solutions for women that are all about welfare. It's all about compensating women for their gender, rather than enabling them to live their best lives, giving them the choices and the opportunities that all Australians deserve. Now the speech tonight is about just that choice and opportunity, that's been driven by sound economic management and presents Australians with the chance to take their own pathways, choose their own choices. Women, and particularly young people as well, are definitely the future of this country. They're the ones that are going to maintain Australia's status as the lucky country. We want to see them enabled rather than dictated to by government policy. We want to see an economy that gives them every chance to live their best lives and be the successful as they possibly can be. That's women and young people.
PETE STEFANOVIC: Okay, so the Labor Party will probably point to policies that encourages and increases female participation in the workforce. They probably point to childcare, cheaper childcare and such matters. Would that not be the response to that? Well, we're already working on it?
JANE HUME: This is the thing we tend to talk about women in either terms of economic units or as people that need to be compensated. But that's not what women want. Women are particularly, you know, women now are starting businesses at a more rapid rate than ever before. 24% of new businesses in Australia since 2006 have been started by women. There's such unlocked potential here, and we know at a time when Australia's productivity is not just lagging, but going backwards, unlocking that economic potential in young people and in women is the key to success.
PETE STEFANOVIC: So when you say, you know, for women to take more control of household finances, how do they go about that? And what does that lead to?
JANE HUME: Whether it be through traditional cultural roles or a reinforcement by government policy, women tend to turn over their financial management to the man in their lives and that can be a real mistake. Maintaining that independence that comes from confidence in their own financial capabilities, can empower women to make better decisions in their own lives. So we've always said that making sure that women look after their own superannuation, know where their investments are, what they're investing in and why they're investing in it, know where their bank accounts are and how best to use them. Understand the traps of debt, buy now, pay later, whatever it might be. Getting hold of your own financial future is part of that empowerment.
PETE STEFANOVIC: Would a lot already do that though?
JANE HUME: Well, actually, no statistics show that more women tend to turn over, even women that are at the top of their field, leaders in their own fields, tend to turn over management of household finances to men and that can be particularly dangerous because, let's face it, the men might not be financially literate. They might have a gambling problem. They might leave you, might leave them, they might die. It's so important for women to maintain control of their own financial future and that's something that we'll be looking at.
PETE STEFANOVIC: We've got a big day in Canberra today. The Chinese Premier has got meetings with Anthony Albanese, later on with Peter Dutton, before flying over to the West on the third day of his tour. What do you hope comes out of today on this trip?
JANE HUME: Well we welcome the opportunity for these bilateral talks with Premier Li and obviously Simon Birmingham and Kevin Hogan from the Opposition will be meeting with him today. But those conversations need to be frank and in the national interest, of course. We want to make sure that those outstanding trade and consular issues are addressed, and particularly issues around the safety of the defence forces, the ability for the Australian Defence Forces to undertake exercises safely and that's something that I think is worth talking about. That and the persistent cyber attacks that we're seeing coming out of China. Now, China would expect us to be honest. That's what relationships are all about, honest and frank discussions and there would be issues of grievance. There will also be issues of heated agreement, and there will be some issues of clarification. The most important thing is that we take this opportunity to put all of those issues on the table and stand up for Australia's national interest.
PETE STEFANOVIC: Okay, just finally, a Resolve Monitor poll today. You got yourself another good poll today. This is a bit of a trend emerging now, but this one is interesting because it puts Peter Dutton now ahead of Anthony Albanese as preferred Prime Minister. We are some distance away from the election, but, I'm sure you're taking it?
JANE HUME: Well, the only poll that matters, as you know Pete, is the one on Election day. But it is telling us what Australians already know, that they're doing it tough, that this is a Government without a plan for their economic future.
PETE STEFANOVIC: Jane Hume, appreciate it. Thank you.
JANE HUME: Talk to you again soon Pete.