GLEN BARTHOLOMEW: Well, the Federal Government yesterday moved to break the deadlock which has seen key pieces of legislation stalled in the Senate. Five government ministers held a joint news conference to accuse the Senate of being the most obstructionist in 30 years, and a demand that its bills be passed. One of the ministers leading the government attack on Senate opposition, was the Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, he's just spoken to Marius Benson, who asked him if he was simply reflecting the impatience of executive government with the democratic process?
LINDSAY TANNER: Look, I don't believe so, Marius, we've had plenty of this occurring over the past two years, for example, our stimulus package had a variety of changes made to it, as a result of the minor parties, because it was opposed, voted against, by the Liberal opposition. We accepted that, we didn't like it, when we accepted it we didn't whinge about it publicly, but things have got to a stage now where virtually every major thing we are pursuing is being blocked by the Liberal Party in the Senate, whether it's action on climate change, whether it's getting the budget back into surplus, whether it's reforming youth allowances, so more lower income students can get access to youth allowances, whether it's the National Broadband Network, and restructuring the telecommunications sector, all of these things fundamental to the government's agenda, and important for working people in this country, being blocked by the Liberal opposition just in a mindless blocking, say no, stop the government every turn, strategy.
MARIUS BENSON: If you get the cross benchers on side, you don't need the Liberals, it doesn't matter what the Liberals do in the Senate, or the Coalition does in the Senate, but you seem to have written them off, you say talking to the cross benchers, or you indicated last night on The 7.30 Report, talking to the cross benchers is pretty much a waste of time, because you'll never get anything that is agreeable, both to the Greens, and Steve Fielding.
LINDSAY TANNER: I didn't say anything of the sort, Marius, I just indicated that it's difficult, because it's not a single, homogeneous group, you've got in effect three separate political forces there, and they are very divergent, so there is considerable disagreement on most issues, between the Greens and Senator Fielding, it's therefore very difficult to get them to agree on any particular proposition. That's fair enough, they've been elected, I'm just indicating that the notion that somehow or other you should be able to get all of these disparate forces into a line, and forget about the opposition as a solution to this problem, is fanciful. It does happen on occasions, but not very often. But the only reason their votes matter, is because the Liberal Party keeps blocking things, the only reason those votes are seriously important, and why we even have to make those kind of efforts, to cobble together a majority on critical things, like getting the budget back into surplus, is because the Liberal Party keep blocking things. And to be fair to the minor parties, they can't be expected to carry the big picture responsibility of getting the nation's finances back in shape, after the global financial crisis, it's fair enough for them to focus on specific constituencies, or specific issues, the Liberal Party do have that responsibility, we have that responsibility, they should start acting like an alternative government.
MARIUS BENSON: What about the argument some are putting that you could actually do with a bit more obstruction, because when unimpeded, the government has got itself into things like the insulation program, which is universally acknowledged now, to be a catastrophe?
LINDSAY TANNER: Look, I don't accept that argument, obviously we get hit from both sides with criticisms about process, we're on one hand being told that we're rushing things, or there wasn't enough consultation, then on the other hand we're constantly being attacked for not releasing the Henry Report, and coming up with an immediate response to the Henry Review of Australia's taxation system. People will always make those criticisms from both sides of the argument, that's fair enough, it's not something that distresses me, but ultimately I believe we get the processes broadly right, and that the government is proceeding in a methodical way, to govern and to fulfil its responsibilities and its commitments to the Australian people. There'll always be divergent views about that, I don't quibble with that, but I believe our process approach is broadly accurate, and correct.
MARIUS BENSON: What about the suggestion again, when people look at something like the insulation program, they say this is simply too centralised a government, that it's actually in the hands of four people essentially, the inner cabinet of Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan, Julia Gillard and yourself, Lindsay Tanner, that it's a sort of gang of four that runs this government, and perhaps there need to be a few more second opinions in there?
LINDSAY TANNER: Well, I don't believe those perceptions are accurate, Marius, we're dealing here with one cabinet committee that meets to consider some often quite detailed and complex matters, there are other cabinet committees, there's the full cabinet process itself, I don't believe those perceptions are accurate. But we of course are a bit hamstrung on these things, that we can't comment on the detail of inner government workings, these things have always been confidential, and so we can't go out there and start looking at all the detail of exactly who said what, or how things were processed within the government, because no government's ever done that, and to do that would impede the proper workings of a government.
GLEN BARTHOLOMEW: Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, speaking to Marius Benson.
-ends-
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