Interview with Sarah Abo, The Today Show, Channel Nine
SARAH ABO, HOST: The Reserve Bank is this morning poised to deliver another blow to household budgets. Joining us to discuss the headlines is Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth in Canberra and New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane. Good morning to you both.
KELLIE SLOANE, NSW OPPOSITION LEADER: Good morning.
ABO: Amanda, we’re all bracing for that rate hike that’s looming. Inflation is well ahead of the RBA’s target range. This is all happening on your watch. Does the government take any responsibility here?
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Well, first I would say I'm not going to comment on the independent Reserve Bank but, of course, we've been very clear that we've seen inflation higher than we would like. We've been doing a lot of work to bring inflation down, but there is still more work to do. And, of course, we now see war in the Middle East, which presents another challenge to the global economy and, of course, to the Australian economy. But our government is absolutely committed to taking very practical measures to look at how we tackle inflation but also support households.
ABO: There have been 13 rate hikes under your government, Amanda. That's two terms of Labor government. It's not all the Middle East's fault.
RISHWORTH: Look, I didn't say that. I absolutely recognise that there are inflation challenges. There were inflation challenges when we came to government. When we came to government, there was a six in front of the inflation number. And we've been working very hard to put measures in place to manage that inflation challenge. The Middle East has contributed, of course. The war in the Middle East, it would be not right to say that hasn't had an impact, but we will be looking across the board, of course, and we continue to about how we manage the inflation challenge and we will keep doing that.
But to suggest that this was not a problem when we were elected, there was a six in front of it that the previous government presided over. But, of course, we are working towards that challenge.
ABO: Thirteen hikes is not a great marker, I think, Amanda. And this is the issue, Kellie, because it's the families who are feeling it, right? The mortgage owners, mortgage payers out there. And they're paying for the high inflation that the government can't keep a lid on. And they're paying for the high fuel prices now. And now there's also the prospect of food shortages.
SLOANE: Yeah, absolutely. And today is going to be a really tough day for families if interest rates are high, because they're paying more for groceries, more for fuel, more for electricity. And this is happening on Labor's watch, and it's not okay for them to keep skirting the blame back to the former government, talking a lot about the war, when spending on their watch is out of control. It's the highest it's been outside of a recession in 40 years. They're presiding over the highest debt levels, almost a trillion dollars, Sarah, a trillion dollars. It's a figure that is even hard to comprehend. And it means each and every one of us every day is paying for that. Our kids are paying off Albo’s credit card debt. And this is what's contributing to inflation in this country.
ABO: Yeah, and then Amanda, of course, the prospect of fuel shortages which we're seeing. We're hearing, of course, that you're releasing now the 762 million litres of petrol and diesel. When is that actually going to be released to the market has it come too late?
RISHWORTH: Well, first I would say that we know that there are shortages, particularly in rural and regional Australia. We've taken a number of decisive actions, including reducing temporarily the fuel quality standard to get-
ABO: Which hasn't been approved yet.
RISHWORTH: Well, which will get fuel into the market of course.
ABO: When?
RISHWORTH: There are supply chains. You have to make sure that you can get the fuel to places it needs to go. But we are responding, and we are responding decisively to make sure where there has been significant demand increases, that we're responding to that by making sure that we're getting fuel into the supply chain. But of course, we've got to get that fuel on trucks and get it to the places it needs to be. But no doubt we will see that flowing through the system.
ABO: Distribution seems to be an issue at state level as well, Kellie. The New South Wales government held those crisis talks yesterday. What realistically can anyone do at a state level?
SLOANE: Well, at a state level, we can ensure price stability, reliability, making sure that the distribution happens. But I feel like the governments at state level, federal level, are playing catch-up at the moment in a situation that they are pretty unprepared for. A situation that, you know, federally, they're calling- you know, saying, nothing to see here one day, there's no problem, and the next day saying this is a national crisis. Well, what is it? They are very mixed signals to the market.
You know, at a state level, the opposition, we are putting forward a proposal that would see fuel servos locking in a price for 24 hours. That would give at least consumers, motorists, a bit of stability so they know if they're driving to work, the price is going to be the same as when they go home. And that's a system that's worked well in WA as well.
ABO: Amanda, does the extra powers the ACCC has received actually mean that some of these fuel bosses will be held to account?
RISHWORTH: Well, yes, I do believe that they will be held to account. In fact, they're being hauled in today with the ACCC for a please explain. We are concerned about price gouging. That's why we've doubled the penalties. So there is a lot of work to be done, but the ACCC is doing that. In particular today, we'll be asking for a please explain and an explanation when it comes to these high fuel prices. There should be no exception for fuel gouging. It is unacceptable. And the ACCC is now taking action.
ABO: Amanda, are you confident, as it stands today, that the Australian government is doing all it can to avert this disaster? I mean, we're ignoring pleas from the US President to provide assistance when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz. Not sure whether we can actually help there at all. But what are we actively doing to help this situation?
RISHWORTH: Well, what we're actively doing here in this country is, of course, releasing fuel into the supply chain to get it where it's needed. But in terms of what-
ABO: [Interrupts] But you're held hostage, basically, by what's happening in the Middle East. You literally can't do anything, right?
RISHWORTH: Well, of course there is a challenge in the Middle East, and what we have done is, as a request from the UAE, has provided assets to support them in their defence. They are not party to this war, yet they are being attacked, and so we have taken their request seriously and acted on that request. So that is the action that our government has taken in this international circumstance. But you're right, Sarah, this is unpredictable. There is war in the Middle East. And in some ways, we are not a significant player here. But we will do practically what we can domestically to shield our country from the worst aspects, and as we- as I've indicated, play our part for our friend, the UAE, in their self-defence.
ABO: Alright, guys, we've run out of time, but thank you both so much for joining me today. Appreciate it.
ENDS