WEBVTT - The political calculations behind Albanese’s economic roundtable

0:00:01.200 --> 0:00:10.360
<v Speaker 1>Hi, I'm Daniel James and you're listening to seven AM.

0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:13.200
<v Speaker 1>Labour is laying in the groundwork for a major overhaul

0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.160
<v Speaker 1>of Australia's tax system. In just over a week, a

0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:20.040
<v Speaker 1>handpicked group of people from business, unions and government will

0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.160
<v Speaker 1>gather in Canberra for an economic roundtable. Already, a range

0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:27.240
<v Speaker 1>of ideas are being touted for debate, from lowering company

0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:30.800
<v Speaker 1>tax rates to rethinking negative gearing and a carbon tax.

0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:34.280
<v Speaker 1>The Prime Minister is watching carefully to see which ideas

0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:38.040
<v Speaker 1>gain traction and which are political poison before claiming them

0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:41.800
<v Speaker 1>as part of his own agenda. Today Press Gallery journalist

0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:45.800
<v Speaker 1>Karen Middleton on Anthony Albaneze's long game and the way

0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:51.320
<v Speaker 1>he wants to change the economy to change the country.

0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:56.600
<v Speaker 1>It's Friday, August eight.

0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.880
<v Speaker 2>Making our way forward depends on what all of us

0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:08.199
<v Speaker 2>can work together to achieve, and that's why I've asked

0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.600
<v Speaker 2>the Treasurer Jim Charmers to convene a round table to

0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:15.400
<v Speaker 2>support and shape our government's growth and productivity agenda.

0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:19.000
<v Speaker 1>Karen. Later this month, Jim Chalmers is locking business groups,

0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:22.480
<v Speaker 1>unions and NGOs in a room for three days. The

0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.000
<v Speaker 1>Government's talking about it as a major part of their

0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:29.200
<v Speaker 1>plans for economic reform. So how will it work and

0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:30.520
<v Speaker 1>what are they hoping to get out of it?

0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.319
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well they're locking them in the cabinet room, no less,

0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:37.400
<v Speaker 3>in the middle of Parliament House. Now, this concept, the

0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.120
<v Speaker 3>Productivity round Table, which has been renamed the Economic Reform

0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:46.200
<v Speaker 3>round Table, was the brainchild of alban Easy and Charmers together.

0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:48.800
<v Speaker 3>It seems it's not clear exactly whose idea it was initially.

0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:50.760
<v Speaker 3>I think the Prime Minister has taken some credit for it.

0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.560
<v Speaker 3>But the underlying theme really is to come up with

0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.880
<v Speaker 3>an agenda for economic reform that really goes beyond what

0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:01.080
<v Speaker 3>they've already said they'll do.

0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.520
<v Speaker 2>We want to build the broadest possible base of support

0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:10.000
<v Speaker 2>for further economic reform to drive growth. But it's productivity,

0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:14.240
<v Speaker 2>strengthen the budget and secure the resilience of our economy

0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:16.600
<v Speaker 2>in a time of global uncertainty.

0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:18.280
<v Speaker 4>It's a three day meeting.

0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.600
<v Speaker 3>The first day is titled Resilience, Day number two is

0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:27.000
<v Speaker 3>about productivity, and day number three is budget sustainability and

0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:31.160
<v Speaker 3>tax architecture. Now, we saw a guest list put out

0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.840
<v Speaker 3>in July kind of representatives of various sectors. So you've

0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:39.920
<v Speaker 3>got business the public sector, people from think tanks, the

0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:43.520
<v Speaker 3>unions will be there, and people with expertise and energy

0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:44.880
<v Speaker 3>and in the care sector.

0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:46.799
<v Speaker 2>And I expect that there'll be a whole range of

0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:51.560
<v Speaker 2>viewers put forward, much of which is contradictory with each other.

0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:54.200
<v Speaker 4>So it's a good spread of people.

0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.000
<v Speaker 3>But also the government has said they need to gather

0:02:58.120 --> 0:02:59.400
<v Speaker 3>consensus before they.

0:02:59.240 --> 0:02:59.919
<v Speaker 4>Get in the rooms.

0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:01.880
<v Speaker 3>So the treasure in the Prime Minister are trying to

0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:06.240
<v Speaker 3>marshal consensus behind various ideas, and they've laid out some

0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.480
<v Speaker 3>conditions for the ideas that come forward, and one of

0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.680
<v Speaker 3>those key conditions is they can't be a cost to

0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:14.000
<v Speaker 3>the budget bottom line.

0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.560
<v Speaker 2>What we want is a focused dialogue and constructive debate

0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:20.799
<v Speaker 2>that leads to concrete and changeable action.

0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:23.480
<v Speaker 1>Can you tell me about some of those ideas that

0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:26.200
<v Speaker 1>are being floated publicly already and why it's significant that

0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.680
<v Speaker 1>it's unfolding that way and there's a condition on that.

0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:30.040
<v Speaker 4>Yes, it's interesting.

0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.480
<v Speaker 3>The government lined up the Productivity Commission to roll out

0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:37.320
<v Speaker 3>a series of papers covering a number of the themes

0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:40.840
<v Speaker 3>that it wants to tackle. The first one, that talked

0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:45.400
<v Speaker 3>about tax, had some controversial ideas, including a cash flow tax,

0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:50.680
<v Speaker 3>we've seen some proposals around the environmental taxation that isn't

0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.080
<v Speaker 3>just a straight rerun of a carbon tax, but would

0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.760
<v Speaker 3>have a number of other dimensions to it with an

0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:58.880
<v Speaker 3>eye to the transition to more sustainable energy.

0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:00.920
<v Speaker 4>And most recently we've.

0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:04.080
<v Speaker 3>Seen a paper from them on artificial intelligence, and that's

0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:06.600
<v Speaker 3>ruffling a few feathers because there was a suggestion in

0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.800
<v Speaker 3>that paper that perhaps there shouldn't be.

0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:12.560
<v Speaker 4>Too much regulation on AI as far as.

0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:18.760
<v Speaker 3>Building language models and training AI by feeding it works

0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:20.120
<v Speaker 3>that might be copyrighted.

0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:21.640
<v Speaker 4>So that's causing some upset.

0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:26.520
<v Speaker 3>Business clearly is keen on getting some industrial changes. The

0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:34.560
<v Speaker 3>Union movement has resubmitted proposals to address concessions for property investors,

0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:38.000
<v Speaker 3>so negative gearing and the discounts for capital gains tax.

0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:41.520
<v Speaker 3>And will remember that was controversial for the Labor government

0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:44.359
<v Speaker 3>because it was a proposal put forward in opposition, but

0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:47.120
<v Speaker 3>they lost the election and they've been very reluctant to

0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.279
<v Speaker 3>embrace getting rid of those kinds of tax concessions ever since.

0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.040
<v Speaker 3>So there's a range of these kinds of ideas coming forward.

0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.240
<v Speaker 3>It's probably a bit bamboozling for the general public. And

0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:58.960
<v Speaker 3>at the moment we're not getting a hugely clear indication

0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.480
<v Speaker 3>of which those are likely to have consensus behind them,

0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:04.440
<v Speaker 3>And you do get the feeling that the government is

0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.120
<v Speaker 3>sort of watching to see what the public reaction is

0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.719
<v Speaker 3>to various things before it locks itself in behind anything too.

0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:14.360
<v Speaker 1>So what sense do you have, Karen, as to whether

0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:19.040
<v Speaker 1>the Albanezer government is genuinely canvassing new ideas versus staging

0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:22.000
<v Speaker 1>a conversation where they already know their intended outcome.

0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.200
<v Speaker 4>Well, it's an interesting question, isn't it.

0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:30.200
<v Speaker 2>Well, the government will make decisions and the roundtable isn't

0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.080
<v Speaker 2>a substitute for government decision making.

0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.960
<v Speaker 3>There was a complaint from some in the business community

0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:40.360
<v Speaker 3>after the Jobs and Skills Summit that they put on

0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.640
<v Speaker 3>in the first term that some of them felt that

0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.680
<v Speaker 3>they'd been used a little bit. They felt like the

0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:50.120
<v Speaker 3>outcome was actually preordained. I don't think we're in that

0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:54.080
<v Speaker 3>position this time. But you obviously have a government that

0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:57.080
<v Speaker 3>had a limited agenda going into the election and it

0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:59.039
<v Speaker 3>made a lot of the point.

0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:00.920
<v Speaker 4>That it was doing what it.

0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.080
<v Speaker 3>Said it would do, and it got re elected on

0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:07.200
<v Speaker 3>that basis as well. So they are trying to create

0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:11.480
<v Speaker 3>momentum behind economic reform that they weren't able to tackle

0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:14.080
<v Speaker 3>in the first term of government. I think they're genuinely

0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.080
<v Speaker 3>looking for ideas, but I think they also have a

0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:18.960
<v Speaker 3>few of their own, and they're going to try and

0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:21.120
<v Speaker 3>steer the conversation in that direction.

0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.000
<v Speaker 1>After the break. Does the government have the stomach for

0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:27.800
<v Speaker 1>big changes?

0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:37.599
<v Speaker 5>But at the end of the day, it's the treasure

0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:40.279
<v Speaker 5>is going to be spending your political capital from the

0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:45.040
<v Speaker 5>election campaign. How much are you willing to see done here?

0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.320
<v Speaker 5>Are you willing to take a really significant reform agenda

0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:49.480
<v Speaker 5>from this roundtable?

0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.560
<v Speaker 2>Be very clear, it's not a meeting at the cabinet.

0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:55.440
<v Speaker 2>We just have one of those to meeting in the

0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:56.159
<v Speaker 2>cabinet room.

0:06:56.400 --> 0:07:00.000
<v Speaker 1>So, Karen, this roundtable is really about the Urbanezi governments

0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.120
<v Speaker 1>turning out its agenda for the next term. They have

0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:06.520
<v Speaker 1>a huge mandate and figuring out what to do with it.

0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:10.280
<v Speaker 1>Do you think they have an appetite for ambitious reform.

0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.760
<v Speaker 3>I think they have an eye to reform that would

0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:16.880
<v Speaker 3>be lasting. So if you look at the last term

0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:22.440
<v Speaker 3>of government, they were elected as a global financial crisis

0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.800
<v Speaker 3>and a cost of living crisis in particular was becoming

0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:29.240
<v Speaker 3>full blown in the wake of the COVID pandemic, and

0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.480
<v Speaker 3>that really restricted the kinds of things that they could do.

0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.760
<v Speaker 3>They had to be seen to be addressing people's household needs,

0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:39.400
<v Speaker 3>and so they didn't focus as much on longer term

0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:41.280
<v Speaker 3>structural reform of the economy.

0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.960
<v Speaker 4>They focused more on relief for households.

0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:48.080
<v Speaker 3>But now they've been re elected, the economy seems like

0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:51.280
<v Speaker 3>it's turning around, interest rates coming down, people are starting

0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:54.360
<v Speaker 3>to feel more positive, so they want to do something

0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.640
<v Speaker 3>that is going to reshape the economy. They've also got

0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.480
<v Speaker 3>a huge problem with things built into the economy that

0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.720
<v Speaker 3>cost an enormous amount of money, like the Medicare system,

0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:08.800
<v Speaker 3>like the PBS Pharmaceutical Benefit scheme, like the National Disability

0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:11.840
<v Speaker 3>Insurance scheme, and they have to find ways to pay

0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.200
<v Speaker 3>for it. What we're not sure about is whether they're

0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.360
<v Speaker 3>inclined to cut back or misspending, or whether they're really

0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:20.760
<v Speaker 3>just looking for revenue raising measures to help pay for

0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:22.000
<v Speaker 3>what they want to do well.

0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.000
<v Speaker 1>It's likely to require some form of tax reform, and

0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.920
<v Speaker 1>of course it's impossible to talk about tax reform without

0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.840
<v Speaker 1>the ghost of the twenty nineteen election being raised. Many

0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:34.000
<v Speaker 1>of the topics that are going to be discussed were

0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:37.400
<v Speaker 1>contentious for labor during that election. How is the government's

0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:41.000
<v Speaker 1>layering around some of those thornier issues changed. I'm thinking

0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.320
<v Speaker 1>about things like negative gearing and capital gains tax for instance.

0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.640
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, So when we heard the ACTU come out with

0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:52.800
<v Speaker 3>that proposal again on the weekend, everybody looked to how

0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:57.320
<v Speaker 3>the government reacted, and the Treasurer was not really kiboshing

0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:01.280
<v Speaker 3>it completely. He was saying things like that the unions

0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:04.600
<v Speaker 3>are entitled to put forward their ideas and he's been

0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:09.080
<v Speaker 3>encouraging kind of a thousand flowers to bloom and people

0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:11.280
<v Speaker 3>to come forward with their ideas, provided that they fit

0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:13.920
<v Speaker 3>in with all the criteria that they've laid down, the

0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:17.360
<v Speaker 3>kind of guardrails they've put around this about building consensus.

0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:20.920
<v Speaker 3>But since then we've heard that the Health Minister and

0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.600
<v Speaker 3>then the Prime Minister start to suggest that they don't

0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.240
<v Speaker 3>have any great plans to change the tax system.

0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.560
<v Speaker 6>You know, I've said what our tax policy is, it's

0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:31.719
<v Speaker 6>very clear what it is.

0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.520
<v Speaker 3>What is starting to emerge is a message that the

0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:38.720
<v Speaker 3>government is going to stick largely to the tax agenda

0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:42.360
<v Speaker 3>that it has for the time being, but that may

0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.319
<v Speaker 3>not rule out some changes going into the future.

0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.160
<v Speaker 6>Is likely be he showed by the upcoming round table

0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:52.520
<v Speaker 6>power that can put forwardever idea they want. And what

0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.679
<v Speaker 6>you're saying is five or six ideas coming forward today.

0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.000
<v Speaker 6>That's a good thing. That's a good thing. It's not

0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:02.839
<v Speaker 6>government policy. Think government policies decided around a cabinet table.

0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:05.320
<v Speaker 3>The thing is, if they're not going to make changes

0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.600
<v Speaker 3>to tax, it's not very clear how exactly they can

0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:14.680
<v Speaker 3>raise revenues, So it seems impossible to do that without

0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:18.840
<v Speaker 3>tackling some substantial things around tax. Certainly, the Prime Minister

0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:21.679
<v Speaker 3>has been pretty direct on the subject of the Goods

0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.560
<v Speaker 3>and Services tax, he does not want to muck around

0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:28.240
<v Speaker 3>with that. But beyond that, it's very hard to tell.

0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.680
<v Speaker 3>And as I say, the messages are a little unclear

0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:34.160
<v Speaker 3>with two weeks to go, how willing the government is

0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:38.559
<v Speaker 3>to tackle some of those more difficult tax questions.

0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:41.079
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I guess one of the reasons the government's been

0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:44.240
<v Speaker 1>coy about some of these bigger reform issues is that

0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:47.440
<v Speaker 1>there's still a lot of debate as to whether shortens

0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:50.800
<v Speaker 1>ambitious reform agenda was actually poisonous, or if people just

0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.360
<v Speaker 1>didn't like he was selling it. So what sense do

0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.400
<v Speaker 1>you have, Karen as to whether there's public appetite for

0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:57.120
<v Speaker 1>BEG changes.

0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:01.679
<v Speaker 3>Well, I think people understand that the economy needs to

0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:05.760
<v Speaker 3>modernize and move with the times. We're seeing huge advances

0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.200
<v Speaker 3>in technology with artificial intelligence and the like, and that

0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.640
<v Speaker 3>does present huge opportunities. So I think people understand that,

0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.480
<v Speaker 3>but there's always caution about change, and the lesson that

0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:19.000
<v Speaker 3>the government has learned, well labor has learned when it

0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.079
<v Speaker 3>was in opposition and in government.

0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:22.360
<v Speaker 4>Is you shouldn't get ahead of people.

0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:27.160
<v Speaker 3>So whatever they decide to do, they're very, very focused

0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.079
<v Speaker 3>on making sure that they take people with them. Now

0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:31.600
<v Speaker 3>there is a lot of emphasis coming out of the

0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:33.760
<v Speaker 3>government that what really needs to be addressed in the

0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:38.959
<v Speaker 3>housing area is supply more than demand, and these tax

0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:42.760
<v Speaker 3>changes about negative gearing and capital gains tax would be

0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.240
<v Speaker 3>more focused on demand. But there's also an acknowledgment if

0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.679
<v Speaker 3>you talk to some people, that these issues do need

0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:51.920
<v Speaker 3>to be dealt with at some point. So the question

0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.400
<v Speaker 3>is when and whether this government, with this mandate that

0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.480
<v Speaker 3>it now has the size of its majority, whether that

0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:01.280
<v Speaker 3>is enough for it to be prepared to have a

0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:03.600
<v Speaker 3>look at how it could be the one to make

0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:04.440
<v Speaker 3>these changes.

0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.600
<v Speaker 1>And finally, Karen You've said that Alberdezi is someone who's

0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:11.080
<v Speaker 1>always thinking a long way ahead. So what do you

0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.520
<v Speaker 1>think his long term vision is here? How would you

0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:14.720
<v Speaker 1>like to change Australia.

0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:16.720
<v Speaker 3>Well, I think he'd say he wants to make a

0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:20.680
<v Speaker 3>better and fairer Australia and to reshape the economy to

0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:25.400
<v Speaker 3>make it sustainable and create opportunities for all kinds of people,

0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:30.360
<v Speaker 3>regardless of what their personal upbringing and economic circumstances are.

0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.480
<v Speaker 3>What he does tend to do, in my experience, though,

0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:37.600
<v Speaker 3>is to set a sort of a policy goal destination

0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:42.480
<v Speaker 3>that he doesn't necessarily reveal, and then take steps towards that.

0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.960
<v Speaker 3>And you won't always see where he's trying to get

0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:48.120
<v Speaker 3>through along the way until he's a fair way down

0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:48.600
<v Speaker 3>the track.

0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.600
<v Speaker 4>And I suspect some of this economic planning is about that.

0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:57.000
<v Speaker 3>It's about creating an economy that is sustainable, that can

0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:03.120
<v Speaker 3>pay for itself, and introduce a policy that cares for

0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:07.120
<v Speaker 3>people and can't be easily undone. And he's also got

0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.440
<v Speaker 3>to tackle this huge question of climate change and once

0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.880
<v Speaker 3>and for all make some changes to get the energy

0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:18.400
<v Speaker 3>transition complete. So there's a range of things that are

0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:21.600
<v Speaker 3>I think he is probably in his mind, and he'll

0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:25.760
<v Speaker 3>be looking at small steps that are acceptable to the public,

0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.920
<v Speaker 3>saleable to the public in a political sense, but that

0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.280
<v Speaker 3>will help set a course to ultimately get to this

0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.280
<v Speaker 3>better and fair Australia that I think he's looking for.

0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:38.800
<v Speaker 1>Karen, thank you so much for your time.

0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:39.600
<v Speaker 4>Thank you.

0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:52.160
<v Speaker 1>Also in the news, US President Donald Trump said reciprocal

0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:56.080
<v Speaker 1>terrorists have taken effect. Last week, the United States introduced

0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:59.480
<v Speaker 1>a rap renewed tariffs on training partners, but kept taxes

0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.439
<v Speaker 1>on Australia exports at the baseline rate of ten percent.

0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:06.160
<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump has also threatened India with a fifty percent tariff,

0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:08.720
<v Speaker 1>which will take effect on the twenty seventh of August

0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:13.240
<v Speaker 1>unless it stops buying Russian oil. Meanwhile, Health Minister Mark

0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:16.640
<v Speaker 1>Butler is planning to speed up medicine approvals as the

0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:19.360
<v Speaker 1>US president threatens to put tariff's on two hundred and

0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:23.560
<v Speaker 1>fifty percent on pharmaceutical products. Mark Butler said Trump's threat

0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:27.600
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't affect a discount Australians received through the PBS, but

0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:31.120
<v Speaker 1>says he's seeking ad vice about accelerating the approvals process

0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:35.160
<v Speaker 1>for new drugs in Australia. Thanks for listening to seven am.

0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:39.200
<v Speaker 1>The show is made by Adicus Bastow, Chris Dengate, Ruby Jones,

0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:44.760
<v Speaker 1>Sarah mcviee, Travis Evans, Zeltenfet Joe and Me Daniel James.

0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:47.640
<v Speaker 1>Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan

0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.840
<v Speaker 1>of En Below Bordeo. If you enjoy our work, please

0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.200
<v Speaker 1>share it with your friends. It's the best way you

0:14:53.200 --> 0:15:01.200
<v Speaker 1>can support the show. Have a great weekend you

0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:04.280
<v Speaker 2>And