26-October-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, The Economy, Workplace Relations
Topics: Proposed ASX merger, Gillard’s Hansonite nonsense, bank competition, workplace relations.
E&OE
MARIUS BENSON:
Andrew Robb, I want to ask you about the rhetorical battle between the government and the opposition over the economy, but can I ask you about one financial deal that is on the front pages first, that is the merger, takeover, depending on your view, of the ASX by the Singapore exchange. In fact how do you see it, is it a merger or is it a takeover?
ANDREW ROBB:
These things are always presented as mergers, but the principal party certainly would be the Singaporean exchange, if this did come off, if this investment did take place, but the important thing really in all of this is the national interest. And I think there is a fair way to go yet, to see whether this investment or takeover is likely to follow through.
MARIUS BENSON:
Just from your tone it sounds like you’ve got doubts about whether it is in the national interest.
ANDREW ROBB:
It’s a very big issue and there are many factors that I’m just simply not aware of and many that no one else would be either really amongst the general public. There is a process with the Foreign Investment Review Board who will lay the facts in front of the government and ultimately it is Wayne Swan who has the responsibility of demonstrating how it is in the national interest if this project, this investment, this takeover, is to take place.
MARIUS BENSON:
A Financial Review columnist is this morning arguing that only xenophobia is the only barrier standing in the way of this deal with the Singapore exchange.
ANDREW ROBB:
Well that’s unhelpful, those sorts of comments. The point is really, does this advantage Australia or not advantage Australia?
MARIUS BENSON:
You’re being excused of xenophobia yourself by the prime minister, she uses the phrase economic Hansonism and the suggestion you want to cut Australia off from global economic forces by controlling interest rates and the dollar. Has the opposition moved away from its traditional advocacy of allowing the market to run free?
ANDREW ROBB:
Oh look, it’s just rubbish, totally disingenuous. In fact it’s reminded me of the Gough Whitlam retort: ‘If you stop telling lies about me, I’ll stop telling the truth about you.’ In many ways I think it’s a ploy to cover the further collapse, as we have seen this morning, in voter support. The government is extraordinarily four points behind.
Usually a new government would get a kick in the polls and in fact the opposite has occurred. And I think it does reflect the fact that Julia Gillard really has failed to develop any authority or direction as leader. And on so many fronts things are just turning to custard.
MARIUS BENSON:
Do you support Joe Hockey in saying parliament should be doing something about interest rates?
ANDREW ROBB:
Joe is right in the sense that the plan he put out yesterday, which has very strong support of the ACCC, is to ensure that there is significant competition. The issue that Joe has been raising is that after the last 20 months or more we have seen the biggest collapse in competition in the finance sector. Over the last 20 years there’s been a great strengthening of competition in the finance sector, much of that is gone. RAMS is gone, Aussie Home Loans, they’ve all been bought up by the big banks, Challenger bank is gone, lots of the smaller banks have been absorbed into the bigger banks. All of this mainly because of government measures and support for the four big banks.
MARIUS BENSON:
Could I just ask you a quick final question on industrial relations, because the government is accusing you of trying to reinstate Work Choices from the Howard era, you have said that unfair dismissal laws and the reinstatement of individual contracts would be looked at. Is that the case or is it the case that all industrial relations laws changes are off the agenda for three years for the opposition?
ANDREW ROBB:
What we had said at the election, and it’s still true in opposition, we had said that we would not change the government’s legislation if we were the government for three years. But during those three years we would look to see how their changes, how their system was working or not working.
So we will look at the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and if we see there is a need for change we will put those changes to the people at the next election.
MARIUS BENSON:
Andrew Robb, thank you very much.
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