Subjects: Franking Credits, Cost of Living, AUKUS Subs
KAREN ANDREWS: Well I think it’s particularly concerning. We now have a Labor government that is walking away from various commitments that it made during the election campaign and prior to that. But unfortunately they have come into government with very few plans as to how they’re going to deal with some pressing issues. Some of those issues were well known before the election.
Clearly any government needs to be able to look at cost of living pressures and this government has absolutely failed to do that. We know that energy is an issue, that’s an ongoing issue for us here, that should have been looked at. When you’ve got rising costs of living and how you’re going to tax people, it is very concerning because it’s affectively a double whammy. So I believe quite clearly that the Labor government needs to be looking at what its doing to support people, rather than make it difficult for people who want to try to get ahead.
What ever happened to Australians ability to aspire, to look for ways to progress themselves? I think it’s very disappointing that this government is clearly focused on making sure that peoples ability to look after themselves, particularly in retirement, is reduced.
QUESTION: Did Peter Dutton make a Faux Pas by publicly talking down the UK nuclear submarines?
KAREN ANDREWS: Peter Dutton as the former Defence Minister has access to a lot of information. He was fully briefed when he was the Minister for Defence. He has made some very strong statements in relation to submarines. What I would say is that he has access to information and he clearly understands the issues and he was very confident with the views that he put in relation to what Australia should be doing with submarines.
QUESTION: But it clearly upset the UK High Commissioner?
KAREN ANDREWS: Look that’s understandable as well too, because he made a very strong position. It’s the role of the High Commissioner of the UK to make sure that she is standing up for the UK. But the role of all elected members of Parliament and our Senators is to make sure that we are doing the best to support Australia’s interests.
QUESTION: What would it mean if Australia didn’t produce all 8 of the nuclear powered submarines?
KAREN ANDREWS: In terms of our capacity to build them, I think the first thing we need to look at is what our capability is and how we’re going to develop any capability. I am absolutely in favour of looking at maximising Australian content and Australian build in our defence capability. That clearly means what we can do with our submarines and also what we can do with our missiles. We should be looking at what those options are but we need to work very closely with our AUKUS partners and that is the United States and the United Kingdom.
ENDS