TOM CANFELL [HOST]: You’re listening to 4RO Central Queensland, joining me on the phone is Senator Anthony Chisholm. Anthony, good to speak to you again. How are you doing?
ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: Yeah, good thanks Tom.
CANFELL: This news coming out about the Same Job, Same Pay order paves the way for pay rises at Callide mine. Can you explain the situation there?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, so it's part of the legislation we passed last year about Same Job, Same Pay and what the Labor Government have been concerned about is the use of labour hire to drive down wages and conditions, and we especially saw that in the resources industry, which is obviously a significant part of Central Queensland’s economy. So, the legislation we passed last year basically goes to helping ensure people who are doing the same work as someone next to them, but are employed by labour hire, have the ability to actually apply to Fair Work to ensure they’re paid the same as their colleagues for doing the same work. The first case was determined recently at Batchfire’s Callide mine, and that means that some of those workers are going to be $10,000 to $20,000 better off as a result, ensuring that they're paid the same as their existing colleagues.
CANFELL: Is there a risk of unintended consequences with these sorts of laws, for example, job layoffs?
CHISHOLM: Well, what we know, is that there is occasionally a need for labour hire when you’re dealing with demand peaks in the industry. But the example from what we saw at this mine, was that you had people employed on labour hire for more than five years and that's not really acceptable. So, what this does is ensure that those people are able to apply to fix this, in this case it was the Mining and Energy Union who did it on behalf of their members, and it proves the case, that these people are wearing the same uniforms, doing the same training, operating the same machinery, but getting paid less, and that's not fair, particularly over that long period of time.
CANFELL: Very good. On a couple of other issues that are happening. The last time you were on with me was just after the Federal Budget was released. How concerning is it to you that inflation has risen over the past week or so?
CHISHOLM: Obviously, inflation was high when we came to government and we've always been conscious of doing what we can to reduce inflation and it has been moderating, but it is still too high. That said, it does bounce around a bit as well. So, we want to ensure that we're doing what we can to ensure we don't put pressure on inflation, but also provide that cost of living relief that people need at the same time. Obviously, a couple of days ago on July 1 we saw the start of our tax cuts. We also saw energy bill relief, $300 across Australia, which means $1,300 for people in Queensland, as well as some other measures around cheaper medicines as well. So, we're trying to get that right balance between providing important cost of living relief, but not adding to inflation. That's been a real focus of the three Budgets that we've delivered in government.
CANFELL: There hasn't been an interest rate increase in a while and people have sort of expected that it would be coming down rather than going the other way. But let's be honest, with inflation rising it certainly doesn't help the cause. How much of that is a concern for the government?
CHISHOLM: Well, obviously, interest rates are set by the independent Reserve Bank and we accept their role in that, but we take on their advice as the Treasurer and Finance Minister talk about regularly. It just goes back to that point that I was making about the way we’re managing the economy. We're trying to bank as many of the profit uplifts that we see and revenue increases that we see. We've delivered budget surpluses, which is the first time that any government has been able to do for a long period of time. So, everything we're doing in terms of the economy is providing that fiscal discipline and ensuring we deliver surpluses, but being responsible knowing people are doing it tough with cost of living.
CANFELL: The other big topic, of course, is the nuclear debate that's come up since the Coalition has announced that they're planning to take nuclear to the next Federal Election. I’ll ask you this, does anything about the path that we're on at the moment concern you?
CHISHOLM: What we know is, there is going to be the retirement of coal fired power generators over the course of the next decade. For no other reason other than they’re going to reach their natural end of life. We've already seen examples of that around the country. We need new power generation to replace that and that is something that this new government has been focused on in the two years since we've come to power. What we saw from our predecessors over the 10 years they were in government, is twenty-two different policies and a failure to work constructively with the states that caused confusion and delay on important projects. We've set out a clear direction, around 80% renewable energy by 2030. We've set out policies by working constructively with the states to achieve that and we're seeing that new generation being developed and coming online. So, I do think that we have made significant progress in the two years since we came to government and the State Governments around the country have had their own various targets, that they've been working towards as well. So, I think for the first time in a long time, the Federal Government is setting the leadership that we need for the states to follow and I'm confident that we're on track to deliver. I also know that companies like Rio Tinto, considering they have smelters and refineries in Gladstone, are looking at extra renewable energy projects to ensure that those smelters and refineries can continue to operate in the future as well, but centred around green energy. So, it shows you what is happening, it shows you the jobs that are being created, which is important, but we know there needs to be a really strong focus from the Federal Government to continue to deliver on that.
CANFELL: There is a baseload power need though, and when coal fired power gets eliminated from the market, you're right there, there is going to be a significant void there because we’re still so reliant on it at the moment. So, to get there, the Australian Energy Market Operator’s. Transmission Expansion Report, which was released only a couple of months ago, and this is just for our area here in Central Queensland, has showed that ten of thousands of acres will be covered in transmission lines that cannot produce the baseload power that we need. So, you're doing all this stuff, and we're still not getting there? Surely, even if nuclear is not the answer and let's put that to the side, does there need to be a sort of re-evaluation of where we’re at currently? Because it seems like we're not going to be able to achieve these goals, particularly by the timeline that is set.
CHISHOLM: I disagree with that. I believe that the goals can be achieved and we see the Federal Government working constructively with states, and all states have similar targets to what we have set federally as well, and they've often been doing the heavy lifting over the last decade because there was a Federal Government that wasn't actually providing the leadership needed. So, I understand that there'll be hydro and batteries, and other mechanisms as well that will play an important part in what we're doing in regards to the national energy market. But there's no doubt that the cheapest form of new energy generation is renewables. That's why we're pursuing it and that's why companies are investing in it as well.
CANFELL: It's certainly a big topic. That'll be the topic of discussion over the next few months in particular, Anthony Chisholm really appreciate your time. Thanks very much.
CHISHOLM: Good to be with you.
