We’re told that Sussan Ley’s attack is going to be mainly on Chris Bowen, and you know, I read this morning, mate, you might have read it yourself, that COP Conference in Brazil, the statement from it virtually saying, you know, they achieved very little, and a lot of the poorer countries are saying, well, you’ve done nothing to make us even reasonably confident something is going to be done about climate change, all of those hundreds of people, all that jet fuel burnt for little or no result, and thank the good lord above, we’re not hosting one in South Australia, even though Chris Bowen’s the President, and he’s going to be the absent Energy Minister, Paul.
Senator Scarr
Well, firstly it is good news that we’re not hosting it in South Australia. It cost over a billion dollars. It’s just absurd, and then you’ve got this farce where Chris Bowen is going to be the Presiding Officer of the next conference in Türkiye. Our Australian Energy Minister is going to be President of the conference in Türkiye. It’s just bizarre.
Tim Webster
Doesn’t make any sense, does it? I mean, in the fair dinkim department, it makes no sense at all. Well, I’m sure Sussan Ley will have a crack at that in Question Time. Look, I want to talk to you about something that’s happened in Queensland, but it is important for the whole nation, this corruption inquiry into the CFMEU in Queensland. Now, you are calling for a further inquiry. This is the old BLF. They’ve never changed, have they?
Senator Scarr
No, they’ve never changed, and Queenslanders are paying for it, and I’ve previously spoken in Parliament about the fact that every single major infrastructure project, every school, every hospital, the costs have blown out by at least 30%, there’s been unlawful behavior, people are people working on the sites, small contractors, etc., have been put through absolute hell, and the CFMEU has never been held to account. So, I think it’s so important that David Crisafulli commission this inquiry, and we’re trying to find out the truth.
Tim Webster
When you read the reports, just the bullying, taxes, all the things they’ve been doing since I’ve been in this business, since the seventies. They’re just thugs really, and how they’ve been allowed to get away with it for this long beggar’s belief to me.
Senator Scarr
I think you’ve got to ask the Labor Party about that. The fact of the matter is that some of these characters have been sitting around the federal executive of the Labor Party, and the CFMEU has donated millions of dollars to the Labor Party, including to the Albanese Labor Government. I think that’s one of the answers.
Tim Webster
There are so many things to prosecute the Government against. Home Ownership is getting further out of reach for young people, renting affordability I’m reading today. Labor has spent billions on housing, but nothing seems to get done. Prices are going up, and people are being priced out of it, and construction going backwards. It’s all caught up in red tape. We’re told the red tape is going away. Nothing seems to be being done, Paul.
Senator Scarr
Do you know, Tim? We have 107,000 less apprentices and trainees in the construction sector since the Coalition lost government. I was talking to some owners of a carpentry business in Adelaide over the weekend, and they would love to put on an apprentice, but it’s the cost. They need assistance to put it on an apprentice and provide that training to someone and bring them through, and the Coalition used to provide that assistance to our small businesses. So, we need to have a look at this.
Tim Webster
Paul, as I said to you in the past, and said to my listeners, I’ve got family and friends all in the construction business, four or five of them, and you know what they say to me. This apprentice thing is all well and good, but the apprentices seem to be coming to builders, and they’re just not very good, and the builders are given a subsidy to get them, and once the subsidies over, they say, well, there’s not much point in keeping this young bloke. So, that says to me that the training is not adequate. I mean, we need apprentices to help the builders build the houses, but the builders are saying, well, you know, the whole system is broken.
Senator Scarr
It’s not good enough. We’re building less homes in Australia now than we were building 10 years ago, and the population has gone up by millions. So, it’s a serious problem, Tim, and it’s having a real impact on young Australian families trying to buy their first home.
Tim Webster
We touch on the issue of financial stress all the time, but last week, we spoke about it. It just gets worse at this time of the year, and it just bothers me. Another survey from Resolve says that 61% of people would struggle to buy a new fridge or pay for their car repairs. I mean, as I say, there’s so much you can prosecute this government on. Give it to them!
Senator Scarr
Absolutely. Seventy percent of people are saying they are going to spend less over the Christmas holiday period than they did last year. People are really struggling out there, and the focus of the Labor Government should be on attacking the cost-of-living crisis, not on Chris Bowen going over to Chair a conference in Türkiye. He should stay in Australia and do his job, and his job requires him to bring energy prices down, because now, they’re over $1,000 more expensive than they were when he came to power, before he became the Minister. It’s not good enough.
Tim Webster
Migration Policy is coming soon. Before or After Christmas?
Senator Scarr
We’re working on the principles now. I have a meeting with the Opposition Leader in a few hours. As we’ve consistently said, the current rate of Immigration is far too high. Before the COVID pandemic, it was 100,000 a year less. That’s 100,000 people a year less. So, we need action, and we need a plan.
Tim Webster
Just for my listener’s benefit. They keep saying, Well, why can’t you announce that sooner rather than later, we should say again, under the Coalition, there’s still going to be Migration. Explain to them why there must be some.
Senator Scarr
Well, there are different migration streams, and it’s important for people to understand this. For example, there’s the Partner and Children Reunion Scheme. That means, if I go overseas and work, if your child goes overseas and works, falls in love, has a family overseas. You want them to be able to come back to Australia with their family, and I think all Australians would agree with that. We also have a Trans-Tasman Agreement with our New Zealand brothers and sisters, and that gives Australians the right to go to New Zealand whenever they want, and it gives New Zealanders the right to come to Australia whenever they want. That’s the second part of it. So, I don’t see us interrupting those arrangements, given how close we are to New Zealand, and then we have our skill shortages. We’ve spoken about the construction industry. I’ve sat down with the Housing Institute of Australia, the Master Builders Association. They are desperate to get more electricians in, more plumbers, more carpenters, so we can build those houses. It’s just not realistic to say that we can have no Immigration. It’s all about trying to set the policy settings to make sure they’re right for our national interests and right for all Australians.
Tim Webster
Well, good luck this week. I’ll be watching Question Time with great interest.
Senator Scarr
Good on you Tim.
