ABC News Breakfast
Subjects: Quarterly report on the Australian economy; CFMEU; Australian ambassador in Iran; Russian attack in Ukraine.
E&OE Transcript
MICHAEL ROWLAND, HOST: For more, we're joined by the Workplace Relations Minister, Murray Watt, who's in Brisbane. Minister, very good morning to you.
MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: G'day Michael. Good to be with you.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: Is the government bracing for what could be a dismal economic report card today?
MURRAY WATT: Well, I think given the global pressures that we're seeing on the Australian economy and, of course, the fact that rising interest rates have been smashing our economy, it would be no real surprise if we did see pretty soft growth in this coming quarter. We've obviously forecast that the economy would be softening in our most recent Federal Budget. And as I say, there are immense pressures on the Australian economy at the moment. So, we'll wait and see what those national accounts have got to say. But we are expecting it to be pretty subdued growth.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: And, I mean, we're looking to the past with all these economic growth figures, as you know. Is it your sense the economy is still pretty much in the doldrums as we speak today?
MURRAY WATT: Yeah. Look, I think all the evidence indicates that the Australian economy is pretty soft at the moment. It's a self-evident point that interest rates are having a severe impact on household spending and on the economy generally. And of course, there are so many international pressures that remain on our economy. So, you're right, the figures that we'll get today will be for the June quarter recently passed. But I think it would be fair to assume that the economy in Australia is still pretty subdued at the moment.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: And the use of words smashing when it comes to the Reserve Bank board, when it comes to interest rates. Is this how the government's going to keep this argument going?
MURRAY WATT: I think it's a self-evident fact that interest rates having risen is having a very big impact on household spending and our economy. And I know that Jim Chalmers was picked up for that language this week, but it's not the first time that he's used that kind of language to talk about the impact that interest rates are having on our economy. I'm certainly seeing it in my own mortgage. I'm sure you and your listeners and your viewers are as well, Michael. It is having the impact that the Reserve Bank intended to try to bring down inflation. Of course, our job as a Federal Government is to use the levers at our hands and our disposal to bring down inflation but to do it in a way that isn't going to plunge the economy into an even worse situation. That's the fine balancing act that we're walking by providing that cost of living relief to Australians, but also doing everything we can to keep inflation coming down as it has since we've come to office.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: But also at the same time, isn't there a fine balance here between what treasurers say, and treasurers can commentate on the economy any way they like, that's their job. But a fine balance between doing that and potentially impinging on the independence of the Reserve Bank board.
MURRAY WATT: Look, we absolutely respect the independence of the Reserve Bank when it comes to setting interest rates, and I've lost count of the numbers of interviews that I've heard Jim Chalmers and other government figures make where we say that we don't give advice or predict what the Reserve Bank will do. But I think it's reasonable for the Treasurer of the country to observe what is happening in the Australian economy, partly as a result of those rising interest rates. As I say, our job is to do everything we can with the levers that we have at our disposal to keep bringing inflation down in the way that we have, while keeping the economy moving and making sure that we keep Australians in jobs. It's pretty remarkable that despite all the pressures that we've had on the Australian economy, we've created now nearly one million new jobs since coming to office, which is the most that's ever been created in a single parliamentary term. But times are tough, whether they be for the government's managing economies or more importantly, for Australian households.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: Ok, let's turn to this High Court challenge against the government's legislation putting the CFMEU into administration. You at the time, many times, Minister said the legislation pretty much was built to withstand said challenge, will it in your view?
MURRAY WATT: Yes, we're certainly confident that our legislation will be upheld by the High Court during this challenge. Michael, of course, you can never predict exactly what the High Court is going to decide, but we took every step that we possibly could to make sure that this legislation would withstand legal challenge. We absolutely expected the CFMEU, or more importantly, the former leaders of the CFMEU - they're not in those roles anymore. We fully expected them to challenge this legislation in court. The CFMEU has a long history of taking legal action, and you might remember, it wasn’t that long ago that John Setka took the ALP to court when we expelled him from the party. So, we did expect this legal challenge. We did everything we possibly could to make sure that the legislation is upheld, and we're confident that will happen.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: To other news you might have seen, news that certainly we're reporting this morning, Australia's ambassador to Tehran getting his knuckles wrapped diplomatically for this Instagram post celebrating 'Wear It Purple Day'. What does the Australian Government think about this?
MURRAY WATT: Well, I mean, certainly the Albanese Government's views and our values are that we support all Australians, regardless of their sexual orientation, their gender, their race. And I am concerned to see this reaction from the Iranian Government to the activities of the Australian embassy. We're very proud about the fact that our embassies promote Australian values internationally. And I'm very concerned to see an overseas government seemingly take action against an Australian embassy that is upholding Australian values.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: Will there be any counter reaction here in Australia with regarding the Iranian ambassador to Australia expressing that concern?
MURRAY WATT: Well, obviously this news has just broken this morning, Michael. It's probably a little bit early for me to be predicting that, but I'm sure these are things that Penny Wong and others will be taking into account.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: War in Ukraine goes on and we have this appalling news overnight of this big attack by Russian forces in Ukraine, the biggest this year. Lots of Ukrainians killed, amongst the facilities targeted a hospital. What do you think of Russia's actions?
MURRAY WATT: It's another disgraceful act from Russia in what is an illegal and immoral war that goes on. Despite the protests from Australia, despite the protests from the world generally, we have been calling on Russia to cease this conflict for a very long time now, as has most of the international community. I did see some of that footage in your 07:00 am news bulletin, Michael. And it's incredibly distressing to see any country attack a hospital in the way that it seems to have happened in Ukraine. You'd be aware that we've provided significant support to Ukraine in their battle against Russia and our support for them remains very strong.
MICHAEL ROWLAND: Ok. Minister Murray Watt, really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
MURRAY WATT: Thanks, Michael.