GLEN BARTHOLOMEW: Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the Federal Government's introduction of its $42 billion stimulus package to combat the global financial crisis. The ministers were celebrating their own achievements. But while the Government was keen to talk about the performance of the economy, the Opposition was pressing its plans to combat climate change. Among those claiming credit for the performance of the Australian economy was the Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner. He spoke to Marius Benson.
REPORTER: Lindsay Tanner, the Government was doing a certain amount of patting itself on the back over the success of its economic rescue package, but if you are winners in that regard, should you be sharing the podium at least with say China and the former government for handing on an economy that was so strong?
LINDSAY TANNER: There's obviously a range of complicated factors that have contributed to Australia's relatively good performance compared with other major nations through the global financial crisis. For example the decisive actions by the Reserve Bank who have also been very important. We have had a situation where our stimulus strategy was opposed by the Liberal Opposition, yesterday my new opposite number, Senator Joyce said it had no impact on the economy, when in fact all the evidence and indeed all the economic commentators with any creditability indicate that one of the central factors in Australia's strong performance has been the Government's quick decisive action.
REPORTER: But looking at the $42 billion stimulus package which is something that's been done by the Commonwealth Coordinator-General, he has looked at the spending, nearly 50,000 projects have been funded and one point that's made in the Commonwealth Coordinator-General's report is that achieving value for money given the number of projects had been difficult. That's code for saying a lot of money's been wasted.
LINDSAY TANNER: I don't believe so. It's always going to be challenging when your suddenly pushing out a lot of money for infrastructure projects large and small, that's something we understood from the start but we were in a crisis situation. At the beginning of last year the global outlook was desperate and the potential impact on Australia could have been devastating. We'd face the serious risk of unemployment in double digits, that's what's happened in the United States it's happened in the United Kingdom, unemployment's increased dramatically in a number of other countries and so we were always going to face some of those risks. Nonetheless, we took decisive action and the end result has been that Australia didn't go into recession, like virtually every other developed nation and our unemployment has managed to stay with a five percentage figure in front of it.
REPORTER: This Commonwealth Coordinator-General's report also seems to be critical of the pace of spending saying that only about a third of projects of the $30 billion in projects, only about a third have been commenced or about to commence.
LINDSAY TANNER: The entire strategy was always intended to spread over two or three years and we had individual payments - the $900 payments going out the door very quickly because we needed to get money circulating quickly, particularly into the retail sector but the economy more broadly, then we had smaller projects, the School Pride program with specific maintenance activity in schools, much of which happened very quickly because it was straight forward - projects already had been scoped out and usually they might be $100,000-$200,000, and then of course the larger projects are emerging. Now some of those really big projects take years to get moving. We need to do them anyway, they're important for our long-term productivity improvement so this always intended to be a gradual approach.
REPORTER: Now another issue that's on the table in financial reforms is the Henry Review of the tax system, the treasurer the other day seemed to indicate it would be months before the Government released the Henry Review. Will it be months?
LINDSAY TANNER: I'm not in a position to say Marius, we're obviously studying the detail of the proposals, tax is always very complicated, you've got to look through the implications, not only on the immediate effect of a particular proposal but also it will tend to have knock-on consequential effects on behaviour, on what happens in other areas, so it's a very, very complex thing to work through. The treasurer of course is in charge of these things, I'm not in a position to say when the Government will ultimately make decisions and release the report.
REPORTER: Speaking of tax, a very specific tax, a carbon tax, Bob Brown was on Lateline last night and he was saying the Government is now taking seriously a Greens plan, a plan B for a way of dealing with carbon emissions by imposing a carbon tax on the biggest polluters. A very different approach to the ETS, is that being seriously considered by the Government?
LINDSAY TANNER: Look I haven't been in the discussions that have occurred with the Greens and I'm not in a position to really comment on his assessment of the negotiations. But we did indicate, given that we have been unable to get our proposals through the senate, as we talk to Malcolm Turnbull who's leader of the Liberal Party, and we have to make some changes in order to, at that point, hopefully get our emissions trading scheme through the senate. We've indicated a willingness to talk and to all the other players in the senate hear their points of view and treat with respect any proposals they put to us, that doesn't mean we're going to agree with them, so Senator Brown may be getting a little bit ahead of himself in his description of these discussions, but nonetheless we are stuck with the senate as it is, if we want to get legislation through, we need to get votes of other parties so that means even if we think they're wrong, even if we in the end don't support a particular proposition, it's encumbered on us to at least talk to people and treat their views and proposals with respect.
REPORTER: Lindsay Tanner, thanks very much.
LINDSAY TANNER: Thank you very much Marius.
GLEN BARTHOLOMEW: The Finance Minister in the Federal Government, Lindsay Tanner, with Marius Benson there.
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