TOM CONNELL, HOST: Well, WA is Australia's most parochial state. Before you come for me, former sandgroper Andrew Clennell confirmed that earlier on the program. It is going to be a contested ground this time at the Federal election, that could go either way. Joining the panel now is Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, and always spruiking for WA, Patrick Gorman, thank you for your time.
ANDREW CLENNELL, HOST: I’m trying to figure out what's first and second. What are the three?
CONNELL: New South Wales and Victoria, I think through size, you've got Teal seats in both, are still going to be more important in a total seat number. But WA's third, that’s fine. On with the interview, should we talk to our guest? What do you reckon? The critical minerals tax breaks. Labor's ramping that up this week. Do you think that is going to be something that cuts through in WA when everyone's talking everyday cost of living? And this doesn't start for years, by the way.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: I think if you've got people who work in the resources industry, as in my electorate alone some 6,900 people in the inner-city electorate of Perth, work in the mining and resources industry. People know this industry, and they know that when you're planning, you need to make sure there's the next mine or the next piece of production coming down the line. So people do get it, and they get that you need to incentivise to make sure that we get more value-add happening here in Australia. There is lots of excitement when it comes to renewable hydrogen projects. We're seeing that start to come online. There's the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub. And when it comes to critical minerals, I've seen down at the Kemerton lithium processing plant, some of that value add starting to come online. I want to see more of that.
CONNELL: It's years away though from actually coming into effect. So you're saying while everyone's thinking, ‘how do I pay a bill next quarter?’ you're saying ‘vote for us because of this thing that comes in in a few years.’
GORMAN: I'm pretty confident, Tom, that people in Western Australia want to know there's not just cost of living relief here and now, which is what we're doing with energy bill relief. And the specifics for the Western Australians that we have $350 off their power bills in December because of the good cooperation between the Albanese Government and the Cook Labor Government. But they want to know that we've got a plan for the future as well, and this whole Future Made in Australia agenda - of which the critical minerals production tax credits and the incentives for renewable hydrogen are a key part. Yeah, people want to know that you've got a plan for the future. I'd like to see more plans for the future. I'd like to see the Coalition's plan for the future, because the only one they've put on the table, frankly is the Collie nuclear plan, and people down in Collie are really sceptical about it.
CONNELL: Are we having a budget in March?
GORMAN: It’s scheduled, I think it's the 28th of March. We released the sitting schedule on the 10th of October. That is all out there. It's up for your viewers on the Prime Minister and Cabinet website. So yes, there'll be a Budget, and in fact we saw -
CONNELL: In March?
GORMAN: We saw at the end of last week, the Treasurer and the Finance Minister put the call out for pre-budget submissions. They close at the end of January. So we're working towards a Budget in March. An election is due by May. That's the normal course of things.
CLENNELL: Because the Opposition's out there saying all over the place, you'll go in March, you don't want to deliver another budget. Not quite sure how that would go down in WA, your home state, frankly. But what do you make of the Opposition continuing to say this?
GORMAN: I think when it comes to the Opposition always trying to guess and tell us that they know what the Prime Minister is thinking about election dates. It wasn't that long ago they were running around this place saying the election was going to be in December. They were convinced it was going to be in December, and they were saying that very firmly.
CONNELL: First they said September, then November, then December.
GORMAN: You’ve just made my point for me Tom. I’ll just see myself out.
CLENNELL: I mean you're saying two surpluses, two surpluses, two surpluses, all the time. How does it play for you if you say two surpluses now deficit? I mean, do people care?
CONNELL: And a big deficit?
CLENNELL: Well, not necessarily.
GORMAN: l don't know what the numbers will be when we come to put together that budget for March, we'll do all that work over the next few months. We saw the Treasurer give a statement in the Parliament last week, his economic update statement, a serious Ministerial statement. Talking about some of the changes in the global economy, some of the domestic pressures on the budget, some of the changes that we've seen. We were just talking about the resource industry in Western Australia, we have seen a gradual decline in the price that we're getting for iron ore. We've seen that change happening.
CLENNELL: My question is, how will it play?
GORMAN: I think if a voter is going to go to the polls and the only thing they care about is who has delivered a budget, if that is their decision-making frame Andrew. They will have one Government that says we've delivered at least two surpluses, and they'll have a Dutton Opposition, who the last ten years they were in office, delivered zero surpluses. I mean, that's a pretty good, sharp contrast, if you ask me.
OLIVIA CAISLEY, HOST: Andrew Wilkie has described Labor's decision to walk away from implementing gambling reforms as ‘the worst betrayal of the community he's seen in 14 years.’ We know from the Peta Murphy Report that some gambling companies were grooming children essentially to encourage them to gamble. What do you say to those in Parliament today that this is essentially letting down Peta Murphy's legacy?
GORMAN: I'd say to those who are advocating for reforms when it comes to gambling ,and more action to prevent gambling harm, that I hear you and that we are continuing to work on that. This Government has already implemented BetStop. Twenty-eight thousand people using that service that the Albanese Government set up so they aren't able to access harmful gambling where they've needed help. The Albanese Government is the one that has prevented people being able to use their credit card to spend on gambling products, and the Albanese Government is the one that has made sure that every single person who has an online gambling account gets a statement each month, telling them how much they've won and lost. So they're actually getting some of that information. And we've got more to do. We are continuing to work when it comes to advertising, continuing to work on how we can prevent particularly for younger Australians, where it can cause really awful harm.
CLENNELL: Is a deal imminent? Do you know, on Help to Buy? On the Government's legislation?
GORMAN: We've been the consistent ones on this Andrew.
CLENNELL: You paused there, you do know.
GORMAN: If there is something that is going to happen on Help to Buy, you'll probably, hopefully, see something from the Greens or the Coalition. They're the ones who've been blocking this. We know that it's due for a vote.
CLENNELL: I think you gave it away there, there is a deal about to occur on Help to Buy. It’s being reported by other outlets and I foreshadowed it at the start of the show that it was a chance.
GORMAN: You and your parliamentary Press Gallery colleagues are very well informed on many things. But in terms of anything on Help to Buy, for us we've been the consistent ones on this. We've just been saying, as I was saying this morning, as the Minister for housing was saying, pass the bill.
CLENNELL: So you haven't given them anything for this deal? You haven't given them anything to achieve this deal?
GORMAN: I think that everything you need to vote for this is already on the table. It's a good piece of legislation, it’ll get 40,000 more people into their own homes. We were just talking about the great state of Western Australia, one of the many things that makes Western Australia an excellent place to live, is we've had Keystart for more than 30 years.
CONNELL: So this has been a take it or leave it from Labor, that will be your approach? But if we hear this afternoon, it's not going to be concessions to the Greens?
GORMAN: My view, and I've expressed this publicly as have many of my colleagues, the qualities and the inherent merits of this bill stand on its own.
CLENNELL: Have the Greens been mugged by reality? Do you think, you were with me on Queensland election night, when the Greens didn't do so well, do you think starting to see the political reality of some of their tactics?
GORMAN: I think for a period of time, and I've said this time and time again, when it comes to the Greens Party, they've gone from being a progressive party to being an aggressive party. People are starting to see that aggression, and they're starting to see that when it comes to hanging out with the CFMEU at those wild rallies where you had very inappropriate signage, when they're blocking housing - which is apparently one of their priorities - but they can't even vote for a really sensible piece of housing legislation that even their State Greens friend in the Western Australian Parliament have backed. They have been all over the place. If you think of a party that needs Christmas to come as soon as possible, it's the Greens. They need to have a really hard look at themselves, and the hardest of hard resets because they've really lost their way this year.
CONNELL: All right, I'm just picking up that pause from you said it all, deal’s coming. You heard it here first. Patrick Gorman, look at that face. Gee, no? Stony face.
CLENNEL: Sometimes it's just the pause, isn't it? It's not even the answer, it's the pause.
CONNELL: Patrick Gorman, thanks for coming.
GORMAN: Thanks for having me on.
CLENNELL: I’ll play you at poker.
CONNELL: When we come back we’ll talk through the cost of living issues facing voters.