Interview with Peter Stefanovic, First Edition

29 April 2024

PETER STEFANOVIC: Well let's keep the money matters going now with the Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume. Jane, good morning to you. Thanks for your time. But before we get to those and talk about the budget, let's get to these protests that are building right across the country at the moment when it comes to violence against women. The Prime Minister was heckled yesterday at a rally in Canberra. Was that fair or unfair?

JANE HUME: He was heckled, to use his own words back upon him. Not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete. The women out there are hurting and they want action, not words. They want actions, not platitudes and quite frankly, the fact that the Prime Minister couldn't read that room, I think speaks volumes in itself. There has been significant changes to the approach that this government has changed towards domestic violence and women's safety. The last Coalition government made record expenditure in this space, and for ideological reasons, that's the only reason I can fathom. Changes have been made, for instance, there was money set aside in the March 2022 Coalition budget to expand a programme in Tasmania called Operation Vigilance that put electronic bracelets on parole, on offenders that were on parole, and have police monitoring of those electronic bracelets. Now that program was cut in the Labor October 2022 budget and think about the potentially countless lives that might have been saved had that program continued.

PETER STEFANOVIC: So the Prime Minister pointed out yesterday, the work that his government is doing, so he singled out the changes from the Jenkins report, he singled out the paid DV leave as well. But he did admit that more needs to be done. So on the question of what you think he should do more? Are you going to refer to ankle bracelets that they should be more widespread?

JANE HUME: Well, certainly that's what Mark Speakman has referred to in New South Wales where a number of these incidents have occurred recently. But the problem is we know what those practical solutions are. The discussions have already taken place. They have been done. Now it's time to implement those implementable practical solutions now to save lives immediately, not more talk fests, not more workplace solutions. We need something that works on the ground because that’s the only thing that saves women’s lives.

PETER STEFANOVIC: What else do you want?

JANE HUME: Well, there are organisations out there that are already doing good work. They know what works. Wraparound services to help women escape violent relationships with all the supports around them that they need, rather than simply platitudes at a rally.

PETER STEFANOVIC: What about a Royal Commission, either at a State or Federal level?

JANE HUME: I think the Royal Commission will simply take the time and energy and the money that we already know when we already know what the solutions are. There are great organisations at both State levels and local council levels that are doing good work today. That work can be expanded through government support, through government funding and the fourth national action plan on eliminating violence towards women and their children was part of that. I was part of that. Anne Ruston led that charge. It's been implemented apparently, by this Labor Government and yet the dial doesn't seem to be moved. We need to talk to those that are at the frontline that are dealing with the problem every single day to make sure that those women that are fleeing violent relationships have the support that they need and we put in preventative measures so we stop it before it begins.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Yeah, no, sure. I mean, as we hear time and time again, though, the problem for women in those relationships, though, is that they feel like they can't get out. One of the many issues that surely needs to be tackled. We're almost out of time Jane, I do want to sneak in a couple of questions about the budget, though. If we are a few weeks out now, you want to see some cuts to spending. Where would you like to see those cuts?

JANE HUME: Well, two years of a Labor government with wrong priorities and poor policy choices have essentially left Australians worse off, we want to make sure that this budget doesn't miss the opportunity to restore prosperity of all Australians, we need to restore those fiscal guardrails that were in place and budget discipline and honesty, making sure that surpluses are actually structural, not just windfall. We also want to make sure that inflation is tamed to restore our standard of living and most importantly, we want to see that there is opportunity and reward for effort instilled back into our economy.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Okay, well, when you say discipline, that means cuts, where would you like to see the cuts?

JANE HUME: Well, this government has spent an additional $209 billion over the last two years and I don't know about you, but do you feel $209 billion better off? Quite frankly, what you've seen, what everybody has seen as a drop in their disposable income, in fact it's around a 7.5% drop in disposable income in the last two years alone. It's not that you just feel poorer, you are poorer and that's because this government has failed to tame inflation and has allowed interest rates to rise higher and stay higher for longer and that’s also because they have increased taxes.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Inflation, it still exists, no doubt still a problem. It has halved, though, is that not a marker that it's that it's on the right track?

JANE HUME: Just last week, we saw that inflation still remains very sticky and the Reserve Bank Governor herself said that this is a homegrown problem. Unless the government tackles its homegrown inflation, interest rates will stay higher for longer. That's what economists are telling us now. They're not, the bond rate, the bond market is already factored in. No interest rate drops for another 12 months. That's not good news for mortgage holders who are already paying an additional $24,000 on an average mortgage, an additional $24,000 more every single year.

PETER STEFANOVIC: I’m almost out of time. Warren Hogan, he was on my program on Friday. He said that there could be three rate rises by the end of the year. Do you hope that doesn't happen?

JANE HUME: Well that's gonna be terrible news, cold comfort to those of us that have a mortgage out there that are trying to put food on the table for kids, send them to school, start a business or keep a business afloat. I'm here in Nowra today. It's a beautiful town with a great cafe community. But there are so many boards up with for lease signs on them in the main street. This is a real concern. Businesses are doing it tough and households are doing it tough. It's time that the government put the same discipline into its budget as households have to do.

PETER STEFANOVIC: Jane Hume, good to have you with us as always, we'll chat to you soon.