Interview - National Nine Morning News
DAVINA SMITH: Let's bring in a Federal Minister, Jason Clare, who's in Darwin this morning. Minister, welcome. The Federal Government promised to fix inflation by Christmas. Are you happy with these figures?
JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: It's still the biggest challenge that we face, Davina, cost of living and helping Aussies out. We've seen inflation drop from something like six per cent down to with a three in front of it. But there's still a lot of work to do, and I think you'll see the Treasurer talking about this in just about half an hour's time.
SMITH: The problem is that Australians are hurting and looking at these numbers, while it's on track with what the RBA is certainly hoping, it still proves that we're spending money where we don't want to spend it, but we have to – on clothing our children, buying shoes, and food and vegetables. Things are expensive in Australia right now.
CLARE: Whether you've got a mortgage, whether you're renting, anyone who goes to the supermarket knows that. And we're seeing inflation coming down. We're seeing real wage growth. That's a good thing. The cost of living is still a real, real challenge, and that's what we're focused on. That's why the tax cuts in the Budget are so important. It's why the relief by providing every household with $300 off their electricity bills are so important. That's why the extra rental assistance is important. In my portfolio, it's the $3 billion we're taking off HECS debts. It's all an important part of tackling this, but there's still a lot of work to do.
SMITH: What's your advice to Australians? Should we be bracing for a potential rate hike by the end of the year?
CLARE: I'm not going to pre-empt what the RBA do. They're independent. And they'll meet again next week. But the full focus of the Government is taking action to see inflation coming down back within that two or three per cent band, because we know how important that is to the cost of living of ordinary Aussies.
SMITH: Let's talk about Rex Airlines going into voluntary administration, a huge blow for regional communities in particular. They'd be very worried. Will the Government step in?
CLARE: For all of their staff, it’s a massive concern. And all of their customers, everybody who's booked flights, all options are on the table here. And Catherine King, who's the Transport Minister, is meeting with the administrator to go through all of that. But obviously, for anybody who works for Rex, anybody who's a customer of Rex, this is a really, really tough day.
SMITH: Our thoughts are certainly with them today. This morning you're announcing $16 billion in extra education funding. But to get their share, the states have to sign up to the reforms the NT has. Are you confident the rest will follow suit?
CLARE: I hope so. I'm signing a billion-dollar agreement with the Northern Territory Government today. They go into caretaker mode tomorrow before their election. What this billion dollars will do will mean that some of the most underfunded public schools in the country will become the best funded public schools in the country. And as you say, that's part of a $16 billion offer that I've provided the states and territories.
But it's not a blank cheque. We've got to fix the funding gap for our public schools, but we've also got to make sure that we use that money in ways to help kids who fall behind at school when they're little, to catch up, see more kids finish school. At the moment, we're seeing a drop in the number of kids finishing high school. It's unbelievable when you think how important it is today, more important than when we were at school, to finish high school, because all the jobs today require you to finish school and then go on to TAFE or to uni.
What I'm releasing today is an agreement that says we want to tie that $16 billion to real practical reforms that are going to help here. Things like a phonics check for kids in year one, a numeracy check to make sure that kids have got the reading and math skills they need early. And if we can identify that they're falling behind, intervene early with things like catch-up tutoring. So, a child gets taken out of the regular classroom and for maybe 40 minutes a day, four or five days a week, they're in a class with one teacher and two or three other kids to get that extra support that can help them catch up and get back into the mainstream class.
SMITH: Well, after having a little girl in year one, and I know how important it is to catch them just at that end of that year before they move on, because it's such a crucial time of their learning. So, Minister, best of luck and thank you so much for your time today.
CLARE: It certainly is. No worries, thanks, Davina.