Interview with Natalie Barr, Sunrise

EO&E TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
FRIDAY, 19 JULY 2024

SUBJECTS: Queensland election; Cost-of-living. 

NATALIE BARR, HOST: Queensland Premier Steven Miles could be staring down the barrel of an election wipeout according to the results of a new YouGov poll, 67 per cent of voters saying they are going to focus on the current offerings of the party when they cast their ballot. Only 33 per cent said the last nine years of state government would influence their vote. They say policies of the party matter to them most, more than the party's proposed leader or who their local member is. For their take, let's bring in Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Morning to you. Murray, this is your state, the projections are it will be a landslide loss for Labor. How worried are you?

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY, MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, good morning, Nat. I'm actually coming to you from beautiful Cairns in Queensland at the moment. Look, obviously this poll indicates that it will be a tough race for the Queensland Labor Government, but anything can happen during election campaigns. We've seen all sorts of polls be reversed during the middle of election campaigns and that may well be the case here as well. As you said in your introduction, what the poll also shows is that people will be making their decisions about the future policies that each party is offering rather than what's happened or not happened in the past. And I think that this is going to put a lot more scrutiny on David Crisafulli and the LNP. If they are in front in the polls, they need to start telling people what they're going to do about the cost of living, what they're going to be doing about the environment, what they're going to be doing about housing and all the other things that Queenslanders care about.

NATALIE BARR: But when you've got Labor MPs like Don Brown saying the youth crime crisis is a beat up, that's obviously not helping, is it?

MURRAY WATT: Oh, well, I mean, there's all sorts of different comments made by different people, and I think everyone acknowledges in Queensland, including the Premier, that youth crime is something of concern to Queenslanders. He's taken enormous action since becoming Premier, including putting in place police helicopters in some of our regional towns that didn't have them before, increasing police powers and, of course, at the same time keeping a really close focus on the cost of living pressures that Queenslanders are feeling. I noticed in that poll that there were some encouraging signs for Labor, that people thought that some of the measures, like cheaper car registration, the $1,000 energy rebate the Miles Government has provided might influence their votes. So, I think there's some encouraging signs there for Labor in that poll. But we know it's going to be a tough race.

NATALIE BARR: Sussan, this comes on the back of another federal poll, of course, a week ago showing the Coalition, the Federal Coalition, pulling ahead further in Queensland and pulling ahead in NSW. You guys crowing yet?

SUSSAN LEY, DEPUTY OPPOSITION LEADER: Not at all, Nat, because David Crisafulli is not focused on the polls, he's focused on Queenslanders. And Queenslanders know that they deserve so much better than they're getting under this Labor Government. David Crisafulli has the right priorities for Queensland's future, and I know that Queenslanders absolutely are thinking, are we doing any better off under Anthony Albanese? Are we doing better off under this awful Steven Miles Labor Government? They're looking to the future and whether you're, you know, feeling absolutely despair at no housing policy, no health policy, you've been affected, as so many Queenslanders have by youth crime, you will be looking for a change. And I've never seen a more hardworking Opposition Leader at state level than David Crisafulli. He is outstanding. He is everywhere. He comes from the North, he's in the South, he's listening. And it's just not about the personalities and the politics, Nat; it's about Queenslanders and their future.

NATALIE BARR: Yes. Speaking of money, which everyone is worried about the cost of living, a new RBA report shows that growing number of Aussies are going into arrears as successive interest rate rises and the cost of living crisis drive more Aussie households into the red. Murray, this must be concerning for you.

MURRAY WATT: Yeah. Obviously, any report that indicates that people are doing it tough is definitely of concern to our government. I think everyone understands that Queenslanders and all Australians are doing it tough at the moment. But this report is further confirmation of that. And that's exactly why the Prime Minister's focus, our cabinet's focus, our whole government's focus is number one on cost of living pressures and what we can do about that. Obviously, in the last couple of weeks, every Australian taxpayer has started receiving a tax cut in their pay packet. Every Australian household is now receiving the Federal Government's $300 energy bill reduction. And in Queensland, as I say, we're fortunate enough to be getting another $1,000 off from the Queensland Labor Government. And I have to say, every single one of these measures that we've taken was opposed by Sussan and the Coalition. So, they like to talk about cost of living, but every time we try and do something about it, they vote against it. They opposed our tax cuts. In fact, Sussan said that they would roll them back. They opposed our energy bill relief, they opposed our cheaper medicines, they opposed our cheaper childcare. Every single thing that we have done to take pressure off people with cost of living the Coalition has voted against--

NATALIE BARR: And yet--

MURRAY WATT: So, we're going to just keep on with that job and do everything we can to take that pressure off.

NATALIE BARR: And yet there's still a 50/50 chance that we could get an interest rate rise next month. People are so worried and there are reports that there's too much money in the economy and that's what's pushing rates up because people are still spending money. Sussan, what do we do here?

SUSSAN LEY: Well, I'm really worried about this forecast further interest rate rises, Nat, and it's a simple proposition. Do you feel better off under Anthony Albanese's Labor Government after two years in? Three failed budgets, twelve interest rate rises, the average mortgage of 750,000 is experiencing a $35,000 out of pocket increase per year. People just simply can't cope with these costs. And Murray can talk about relief and help, but I just want to ask Australians, are they feeling any better under this Labor government? Unfortunately, they are not, because costs are spiralling out of control and there are worrying signs for the future. So, unless this government, after three failed budgets, gets that economic plan right, sadly, we're going to see more of the same.

NATALIE BARR: Yep, that help has just been eaten away, hasn't it? Thank you very much. We’ll see you next week.