KIM LANDERS, PRESENTER: The Shadow Treasurer is Chris Bowen and I spoke to him a short time ago. Mr Bowen, good morning.

CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW TREASURER: Good morning to you Kim, happy Friday.

LANDERS: Thank you. Will Labor adopt this same formula if you win government?

BOWEN: Well Kim, there are some aspects of yesterdays announcement that we do welcome, for example, the 70 cents floor leading to a 75 cents floor for Western Australia is an overdue step, we have been calling for that effectively for 12 months with our Fair Share for Western Australia fund, which the Government poured scorn over when we announced that, theyve adopted a similar method. We welcome that. In relation to the other states and territories, many will clearly lose GST distribution, thats a statement of fact. Mr Morrisons proposal is to throw $7 billion at the system so that they are no worse off. I think the key questions that states and territories and we will ask, can and will ask, and the citizens of those states and territories are entitled to ask: where is the money coming from, this $7 billion into the future, will it be cut back from schools and hospitals from states and territories in other ways? And whats the level of guarantees that these states and territories will have

LANDERS: Well

BOWEN: with the vagaries of the Federal Budget that they will have that funding locked?

LANDERS: Will Labor be able to find the same $7 billion, will you be able to tell the states and territories I will be able to find exactly the same $7 billion for you if Labor take government?

BOWEN: Well Kim, in fairness, this is a Liberal Party proposal at the moment. Were doing the constructive thing and saying that we will take our time to sort through it in terms of our parliamentary processes. I know many of the states and territories are saying that they will be constructive but that they want time to work through it. No one, in fairness, is asking for a final response to the Government today. Of course, we are pointing to this Governments track record, we have the 2014 cuts to health and education. Youve got Kim and I think is a very relevant point, the Government baking in $140 billion of personal tax cuts and more than $80 billion of corporate tax cuts with $7 billion over the decade throw in on top of that.

At some point, if theres an international downturn, we know this Governments form, and our fear is they will say weve got all of these tax cuts, weve got this $7 billion, were going to get it back through cuts to health and education. Thats their track record. States and territories are entitled to work that through.

LANDERS: Well could Labor, for example, make that pot of money tamper proof. Would you give that guarantee?

BOWEN: I think the degree of guarantee is something that is worthy of exploration and the degree of legislative certainty and the top-up payments is something that the states and territories and us will be exploring as part of this process.

LANDERS: And when will you make your position clear on this?

BOWEN: Again Kim, in fairness to the Government, they are not asking for a response from states and territories today. This proposal will be worked through between the Government and states and territories over the coming months.

LANDERS: I am wondering, for example, will Labors position on this be clear before the Super Saturday of by-elections before the end of this month?

BOWEN: The final position will not be clear by then. The states and territories will not have signed up to that by then either, but of course, as I have indicated to you, we are being constructive, we havent ruled it out in total, we have welcomed the boost to Western Australia. But in terms of the voters of Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia, they are entitled to ask where is the certainty around our funding, where is the certainty that we wont lose health, hospitals and schools funding as a result of Mr Morrison throwing $7 billion at this problem.

LANDERS: Well certainly the WA Labor Government is grinning, the governments of Victoria and Queensland are saying, as you say, the devil is in the detail. Now theyre hardly howls of protest, so perhaps, is this a politically savvy move from the Federal Government?

BOWEN: You can solve many problems by throwing money at them Kim. $7 billion is a substantial amount of money to throw at this problem and thats what Mr Morrison has done. Okay, well lets just see where that money is coming from, lets see what the longer term implications of that are.

LANDERS: But as things stand now, Federal Labor cant guarantee it will come up with the same $7 billion pot. Nor are you suggesting that you will provide that same floor of 75 cents per person per dollar for every state other than WA?

BOWEN: No, we welcome the floor

LANDERS: For all states?

BOWEN: Well obviously if you apply a floor for one state, under the Governments ow logic, you apply it for all jurisdictions going forward. Having said that Kim, Western Australia is the only state to have fallen below 75 cents, and the only state to have fallen below 80 cents since the GST came in in 2000. So we are working with some pretty unusual and remarkable circumstances. We have said consistently that the people of Western Australia have a legitimate beef. Thats why we put our proposal out in Perth 12 months ago. And we have said our proposal is one that stands up to scrutiny in Perth, in Hobart and in Adelaide, because we would fix Western Australias problems through the Commonwealth balance sheet, now Mr Morrison is going to do the same for the other states and territories. Even yesterday, in one press conference, he said it was a mugs game to have perpetual top-ups and then he confirmed that his policy is perpetual top-ups. I think there are some legitimate questions to be answered here by the Government.

LANDERS: Labor has said some mixed messages here recently over company tax, so when it comes to this GST policy, who is going to decide Labors position on that?

BOWEN: The Shadow Cabinet through the ERC based on my recommendation, through the normal processes.

LANDERS: If I can talk about that company tax cut kerfuffle, how much damage did Bill Shorten do with business when he blurted out that Labor was going to repeal those company tax cuts for big businesses?

BOWEN: Kim, I dont accept the premise of your questions. We have been clear with business that we were working those issues through. I said to business leaders right from the beginning we werent reacting immediately, we were going to take the time to work it through

LANDERS: So no damage done?

BOWEN: Hang on, with respect Kim, let me answer your question. That we would be working through those issues and would have a policy that was affordable. I understand the focus on our process last week, I understand that. Bill reflected the disposition of the Expenditure Review Committee on what could be afforded at that time, but we had some more processes to go through. I am very confident and comfortable with the position, as Bill is, that we reached. It enables us to say, in answer to your question about damage to relations, that 99 per cent of businesses will be better off under Labors plan. We will honour the tax cuts that have been implemented but we will have the Australian Investment Guarantee over and above that, which is a tax relief mechanism on the condition of investment.

LANDERS: Okay, and a final question, on another topic, one of your colleagues, Jenny Macklin, Shadow Families Minister, the Member for Jagajaga is retiring at the next election. She leaves quite a political legacy doesnt she?

BOWEN: Firstly Kim, given Jennys 22 years of political service to the Australian people and to our movement, I will leave it to her to make that announcement. I think shes earned that right rather than me making any announcements on her behalf. Regardless of what she says later in the day, she has been an absolute champion of the Australian working people, of the Labor cause, and whatever announcement she makes today, she makes with the full blessings and best wishes of the Labor family. As I say, I have communicated with Jenny this morning, but I will leave it to her to make an announcement.

LANDERS: Alright, Chris Bowen, thank you very much speaking with AM.

BOWEN: Great pleasure.