THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC 774 MELBOURNE
WEDNESDAY, 12 JULY 2017

SUBJECTS: Vehicle emissions standards; Liberal Party division; Schools funding.

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY 

SHARON CLAYDON MP
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR NEWCASTLE

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
NEWCASTLE
TUESDAY,11 JULY 2017

Subjects: Liberals’ fee increases for university preparation courses (enabling programs); Dr Gillespie High Court challenge.

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
ACTING LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
SYDNEY
FRIDAY, 7 JULY 2017

SUBJECTS: NAIDOC Week; G20 Conference; North Korea; Dr Gillespie High Court Challenge.

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
ACTING LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
SYDNEY
THURSDAY, 6 JULY 2017

Subjects: Liberals’ cuts to universities and higher university fees; Liberals’ division and dysfunction; North Korea; Border force.

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP 
ACTING LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
MELBOURNE
TUESDAY, 4 JULY 2017

SUBJECTS: The Liberals’ cuts to universities; Medicare data leaks; Outside of school hours care.

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY 

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS
THURSDAY, 8 JUNE 2017

SUBJECTS: Labor’s plan for renewable energy; Malcolm Turnbull’s $22 billion cut to schools; support for students with a disability.

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
ABC ILLAWARRA 97.3
RADIO INTERVIEW
WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2017

SUBJECT: Malcolm Turnbull’s cuts to Illawarra schools.

NICK RHEINBERGER, INTERVIEWER: Tanya Plibersek is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and also the Shadow Minister for Education and joins us now. Good morning

TANYA PLIBERSEK, DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Good morning.

INTERVIEWER: We've got a lot of information here. It's very hard for our listeners to make sense of it -

PLIBERSEK: It really is hard when you've got people saying such different things isn't it?

INTERVIEWER: We had Ann Sudmalis saying every school in Gilmore is getting an increase and yet we have the Labor Party, and including yourself, talking about Nowra East saying it's going to be cut.  Who do we believe?

PLIBERSEK: Well, in fact every public school in Gilmore will be cut and can I explain the difference? Ann Sudmalis is saying there will be an increase on what the Liberals were going to fund schools.  Remember Tony Abbott wanted to cut $30 billion from the schools budget in 2014, so they're only cutting $22 billion, Anne Sudmalis calls that an increase - instead of cutting $30 billion, we're cutting $22 billion, we should be congratulated for it.  What we are saying is that, as is the NSW Government saying, this, the Liberal Government in Canberra, should be judged against the six year funding agreements that the states have with the Commonwealth Government and compared to those six year funding agreements, Nowra East will lose $1.3 million, Shoalhaven will lose $1.3 million, Ulladulla will lose almost a million dollars, Vincentia High School will lose $1.3 million. I mean, every school in Gilmore will lose compared with the signed funding agreements that the NSW Government has with the Commonwealth Government.

INTERVIEWER: Well this is what Anne Sudmalis was saying - you have to look at who this was signed up with, who they did the deal with. Are you basically holding us to Tony Abbott's statement that he was on a unity ticket with Mr Rudd when it comes to education, is that what it all comes down to?

PLIBERSEK: Well I think Tony Abbott said "You can vote Liberal, you can vote Labor, there'll be not a dollar difference to your school". I think we should be entitled to take that at face value.  But more importantly, this is not about political promises.  There's actually an agreement.  This is like you agreeing to buy a house and at the last minute pulling out of it. The Commonwealth Government and the NSW State Government have a signed agreement for a certain amount of money.  The NSW Government has to find extra money for its share and the Commonwealth Government had to find extra money for its share.  The Commonwealth Government is just reneging now. They've said no, too bad, we don't believe that any more, sorry, and they're trying to get credit for instead of cutting $30 billion, just cutting $22 billion dollars.  It's like, it's honestly like hitting someone and then hitting them again, not quite as hard, and saying oh that second one, that was good.

INTERVIEWER: Okay well the Liberal Party have gone back to the source, they're working with David Gonski, and he says that he's pleased that the Turnbull Government has accepted the fundamental recommendations of the 2011 report, particularly regarding the needs-based situation, so regardless of the Abbott promises, aren't we moving towards a reasonable solution, using the man who designed it?

PLIBERSEK: I don't think any proposal that takes $22 billion away from schools over the next decade is reasonable or fair. That number, that $22 billion cut, comes from the Government's own briefing to journalists at that press conference that you're talking about with David Gonski. That's not my number, that's the Government's own number that they distributed to journalists - $22 billion cut over the decade, compared with what schools would have go under Labor's original funding agreement.

INTERVIEWER: Are they really having money taken away though?  Anne Sudmalis would say that this is just fantasy money which was promised but never funded.

PLIBERSEK: If you were earning $100,000 this year and your boss said to you, next year you're getting $110,000, and then next year came and you still got $100,000, what would you think? Would you think you'd been ripped off?

INTERVIEWER: Well I just have to leave you to make that point yourself Tanya Plibersek. Alright, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks very much.

PLIBERSEK: Can I just make a point?

INTERVIEWER: Quickly yep. 

PLIBERSEK: That this is not just Gilmore schools.  This is actually Cunningham, it's Whitlam, it’s the whole region. Whitlam loses $20 million in just two years alone. Cunningham loses more than $15 million in just the next two years alone, and Gilmore loses $19 million over the next two years alone. Sharon Bird's fighting this, Stephen Jones is fighting this - why won't Ann Sudmalis stand up for her schools with the NSW Liberal Government which is also fighting this? If it's such a good deal for schools, why does the Liberal Government in NSW hate it? Why do teachers hate it? Why are principals standing up against it? Why do teachers hate it if it's such a great deal?

INTERVIEWER: Okay Tanya Plibersek sorry but we are four seconds away from the news. That's the Shadow Minister for Education.  It's 9 o'clock.

ENDS

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS BREAKFAST
TUESDAY, 23 MAY 2017

SUBJECTS:  One Nation, Medicare Levy, Malcolm Turnbull’s cuts to schools

VIRGINIA TRIOLI, PRESENTER: The Government is set to introduce its changes to school funding to Parliament today, so there’ll be an interesting discussion there. Shadow Education Minister and Deputy Labor Leader, Tanya Plibersek joins us now from Parliament House. Tanya Plibersek, good morning, good to talk to you.

TANYA PLIBERSEK, DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Good morning.

TRIOLI:  We’ll get to education in just a moment, I just want to start with our top story this morning and that is the James Ashby tape. Queensland Labor Senator, Murray Watt says he's referring that controversial tape to the Federal Police. Why has he decided to do this?

PLIBERSEK:  Well, I think there are very clearly questions to answer here. I know that a larger part of that recording was released today as well. I think it is very important for me not to comment on the specifics of the case, but, in fact, for the police to be able to investigate whether there has been any illegal behaviour relating to the tape.

TRIOLI: I guess that's the point of the question, because by anyone's assessment, this morning at least, there's no evidence that the issues raised by One Nation staff James Ashby were ever acted on and it's not suggested that any wrongdoing actually occurred, so then, what would be the point of doing this?

PLIBERSEK: Well, I think that that is really a matter for the police to decide, if, in fact, these things have been acted on, then some very serious issues arise. This is a defrauding of the Commonwealth and, of course, tax payers, if it has occurred. But we can't pass judgement without a proper investigation. Let's talk to some of those candidates and get to the bottom of the story.

TRIOLI: It's a tricky one, isn't it? Because we know what riles One Nation supporters is that it seems to them that the major parties are always out to use any means possible to shut their party down. We’re hearing from the Prime Minister that he’s going to take advice from the head of the Federal Police as well. Do you fear that such action will backfire against you and consolidate support for One Nation voters and others?

PLIBERSEK: I don't think that we can give a free pass for potentially criminal behaviour because it might have a political backlash. It is proper for the police to investigate. I'm not going to run a witch-hunt politically on television about this. I think that the proper course of action is to refer it for investigation. That's what we've done. And it's up to the police now to do their proper work.

TRIOLI: Now, why did Bill Shorten dismiss the advice of a majority of his shadow Cabinet to support the Government's across-the-board 0.5% rise in the Medicare levy?

PLIBERSEK: I don't talk about what happened in shadow Cabinet. There was a clear decision made. I certainly take issue with the proposition that it was a majority, but we made a decision that protecting 10 million tax payers, 80% of tax payers from a tax increase, at a time when wages growth is at historic lows, was the right thing to do. We had a clear alternative, which is to keep the temporary deficit levy on people earning more than $180,000 a year. The temporary deficit levy was introduced, the deficit is still there. In fact, next year's deficit will be ten times higher than this Government predicted when they first came to office. If you’ve got a deficit levy, let's keep it while we’ve got the deficit creating such a problem. The idea that this Medicare levy increase is to fund the NDIS is a cheap scare campaign from the Government. The NDIS was clearly fully funded. The Budget papers showed the 10-year savings projections. In fact, I was the Health Minister who had to means test private health insurance as a contribution towards funding the National Disability Insurance Scheme, so I know it wasn’t an easy thing to do but we did fully fund it. And what this Government is saying is that they can afford a $65 billion tax cut for big business. They can afford to give someone earning $1 million a year a $16,400 a year tax drop on July 1, but they can't afford to properly fund the NDIS without taxing ten million Australians more at a time when wages growth is at historic lows. It just doesn't add up. It is not fair - it is fundamentally unfair that ordinary people pay more while big business and people on very high incomes get a tax break and you try to cover that inequity up by saying that it somehow has to happen to fund the NDIS which is already fully funded and the Government should stop frightening people with disabilities by pretending that if this doesn't happen, the services that they rely on, frankly, to get out of bed in the morning, to get to work or to get to school, will somehow be compromised.

TRIOLI:  Tanya Plibersek you say it wasn't a majority of Shadow Cabinet that disagreed with what was announced by Bill Shorten. You clearly have a different figure in mind, but I guess more broadly, the leaking itself from your shadow Cabinet is really rare, so that in itself, doesn’t it, shows us that there must be real disquiet in the Opposition ranks.

PLIBERSEK: I think that the fact that a conversation, a friendly conversation between colleagues with different views makes it to the paper shows how little we talk about what happens in shadow Cabinet and that’s a good thing. At the same time, you have Tony Abbott, actually out there giving this Budget a B - refusing to clap it, saying that it is the second best Budget, that the gold standard Budget was his 2014 Budget.

TRIOLI: That's just Tony Abbott being Tony Abbott.

PLIBERSEK: That's what I mean.

TRIOLI: Are you happy to compare yourself to Tony Abbott, are you?

PLIBERSEK:  The simple point I'm making is we are a united disciplined team ready for Government, and the Government has constant sniping from the backbench about how incompetent they are, and a former Prime Minister haunting the current Prime Minister and Treasurer, talking about how hopeless they are.

TRIOLI: I don't know about that Tanya Plibersek. You've got one Labor source telling the ABC that Anthony Albanese is using, at this stage, just water pistols against his leader, against Bill Shorten, and of course, he's made many implied suggestions just recently that Labor is not taking victories where you should. So if these aren't leadership rumblings, as your side insists, then why aren't you pulling all in the same direction?

PLIBERSEK:  Isn't it a terrific problem to have that we've got people in our team saying that we're not spruiking how well we're doing as much as we should be?

TRIOLI:  I don't know if that is a terrific problem.

PLIBERSEK:  And if you compare that to what's happening in the Liberals where you have got open warfare from Tony Abbott and the people around him making no apologies for the fact that they think that this is the second best Budget and the 2014 Budget is the gold standard. There's just no comparison. We're a very united, disciplined team - it doesn't mean we always agree. It wouldn't be healthy if we had a culture where people didn’t have different points of view. That’s how you make good decisions, you listen to everybody’s point of view, and then you make a decision.

TRIOLI:  Where do you imagine that the education funding issue is going to end? We’ve clearly got a strong indication from the Greens as this legislation enters the house that they're going to support it, they can see a reason for it. Is there a compromise with the states that you can see?

PLIBERSEK:  I would be absolutely shocked if the Greens end up supporting this legislation. I'm not really sure how they missed the central part of this package which is a $22.3 billion cut to schools funding over the next decade because it is right there in the Government's own briefing papers that this is a difference of $22.3 billion. And I was very disappointed to hear the Greens say that years five and six of Gonski are dead because the state Education Ministers don't think that they’re dead. They met with the Federal Education Minister last week and said that they will not accept these funding cuts that amount to about $850 million over the next two years for New South Wales public schools. $630 million over the next two years for Victorian public schools. About $85 million for Tasmanian public schools. About $265 million for South Australian schools and the list goes on. These are enormous cuts to public schools. You've also seen the reaction of the Catholic systemic system. There is very, very strong opposition to this and if the Government, and the Greens, don't listen to that Opposition from teachers, from principals, from parents, from children, then I think that they've got a real mess on their hands and a real problem. I'll tell you that we will be opposing these cuts every day in every possible way.

TRIOLI: Tanya Plibersek, always good to you, thank you.

PLIBERSEK:  Thank you, Virginia.

ENDS

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 9 MAY 2017

SUBJECT: Liberals’ cuts to education.

THE HON. BILL SHORTEN MP
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS AND ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS
MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG

 THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
SYDNEY
WEDNESDAY, 3 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: Turnbull’s $22 billion cut to schools; Turnbull’s $50 billion corporate tax giveaway; Budget; infrastructure spending in Victoria