Topics:  The Hon Stuart Robert MP, tax reform, indigenous recognition.

E&OE…

PETER VAN ONSELEN

Alright it is time to talk to Scott Ryan now, as I mentioned, he is the Assistant Cabinet Secretary in the Government and he joins me live from the Nation’s capital, thanks very much for being there.

SCOTT RYAN

Good afternoon Peter.

VAN ONSELEN

Help me understand how these things go, you’re a man of your word you said you would come on and you’re doing this interview, Stuart Robert said he would come on at 1.30pm with Kristina Keneally and what do you know, he is no longer our guest.

RYAN

We all do the best we can to comply with all the requests we get while we are in this place, it is always very busy when Parliament is sitting.

VAN ONSELEN

You’re a man with a sound legal mind, it is known as offer and acceptance I believe when you are studying law?

RYAN

I am not sure what the consideration was if I recall my contract law studies there Peter.

VAN ONSELEN

Alright, let’s move on I can understand that you may not want to go there. Let me ask you this though, this has to play out through the inquiry now, I know you can’t delve into the details, but let me ask you about timing. Surely as far as timing goes the Government needs this to be done as quickly as possible. Is there any capacity for the Prime Minister to not be getting in the road of this independent inquiry by the head of his Department to say ‘look, can you at least make it as quick as you humanely can?’ Because the Government is bleeding, let’s be honest.

RYAN

I think with respect to the public service it is always very cognisant of the pressures upon Government and demand placed upon the and I have little doubt that Dr Parkinson when he conducts this will be doing it as quickly as possible. The Prime Minister has asked for some advice, that is going to be one of the highest priorities for Dr Parkinson and I am sure he will provide it quickly.

VAN ONSELEN

Well, when you say ‘when he does it’, is this to say he hasn’t started?

RYAN

I’ll be honest, I haven’t had a conversation with Dr Parkinson, I am certain that when the Prime Minister asks for advice on these matters – that when the Prime Minister asks for something, that it goes to the top of the list. I would be certain that he has already commenced work on it.

VAN ONSELEN

Do you know whether or not there is a timeframe that has been provided to the Government or the Prime Minister?

RYAN

No, I don’t. I am afraid I don’t. I think realistically, though, what we have got is a situation where there has been some sort of statement, occasionally an allegation by some people, but the Prime Minister quite rightly said ‘look, I want to seek advice on this, I want to ascertain the facts and I want some advice on how that applies to the Ministerial Guidelines’, cognisant of the fact that there appears to be from the media reports permission sought to travel and undertake these activities previously by the Minister involved. I think the Prime Minister has done entirely the appropriate thing, not jumping the gun, not jumping to a conclusion, but actually living by what he promised which was a Government of due process and seeking formal advice.

VAN ONSELEN

Let me ask you on that issue, but let’s talk about this in the abstract so that we can actually just talk about it as a sort of theoretical construct, how does it work if the Ministerial Code of Conduct stipulates something that you can’t do – which may well have happened – but you have got a letter from the Prime Minister, the former Prime Minister now (or his office), saying ‘yep you are a-okay to go ahead and do that’? Which supersedes which, the get out of jail letter, so to speak (not formally) from the Prime Minister and his office or the original Ministerial Guidelines, if they do conflict?

RYAN

There is a couple of hypotheticals that you have in there Peter, and I think this is exactly why Malcolm Turnbull has said ‘can I have some formal advice on this?. Let’s ascertain the facts, not necessarily any accusations but the facts, what happened, when did it happen, what was permission sought to travel for, and then look at the Ministerial Guidelines. That is entirely the appropriate thing to do. Jumping into hypotheticals or the confected outrage of Mark Dreyfus – which I am sure he will turn up for you again at 1.30pm – is not going to actually deal with this problem sensibly and thoughtfully. That is exactly what Malcolm Turnbull said he is going to do, and that is exactly what he is doing.

VAN ONSELEN

Let’s move onto some policy discussions now , at some stage in the next Parliament we are likely to see an indigenous recognition referendum you would think, we’re likely to see a plebiscite at some stage in the next Parliament on the issue of same-sex marriage, we may or may not see a GST election campaign, it looks like superannuation taxes and possibly negative gearing are in the mix, there is some suggestion that sections of Medicare in a digitised sense are going to be privatised, we may or may not see the Republic back on the table – that depends on the Opposition – there is a lot going on. How do you stuff it all in together and create a narrative for re-election as a Government?

RYAN

You prioritise and that is what the Prime Minister and the Treasurer have done on the economic front. They have both made it clear and everyone in the Government has agreed with this that the test for economic policy, the test for tax policy – which is only one part of that – is: does it support economic growth, does it support employment growth? And secondly is it fair? We’re actually looking at all possible tax measures and economic issues through the prism of those two tests. What the Labor Party cannot adjust to is the fact that we are genuinely thinking about these things. I think it is actually a strength of this process that we have had a full and free debate, not only publically but within the Coalition Party Room. I like the fact that my colleagues feel free to express their views and I think that generates public support for change because they know it has been genuinely considered. It hasn’t been tightly scripted, it hasn’t been controlled, and it is not just controlled by talking points which is what Labor do. On the other issues that you mentioned, this is the challenge of Government. It is not just about ‘what do we do, what is the direction we want to take’ policy, it is also about prioritisation. You will only have a plebiscite on same-sex marriage if you vote for the Coalition, we have made that commitment, the Labor Party and the Greens have said there won’t be a plebiscite, so that is a clear choice for the Australian people. With respect to the proposed referendum on indigenous recognition, that has a long way to go, they still have to come to the point where they get to a question for a referendum and I think we are a long way from that. There is a whole range of issues over the next few years. The key narrative, the key reason to re-elect this Government is that we are considering things seriously, we are not just doing things for political purposes, we are not just doing things to print on bumper stickers and we have seen that in the tax reform debate over the last few months.

VAN ONSELEN

Well, hopefully we will get more details in the coming few months. Scott Ryan I know you have a 12.30pm meeting you have to get to. We appreciate you finding time for us here on News Day, thanks.

RYAN

Thanks Peter.

(ENDS)