Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher

NATALIE BARR: There's been a lot of talk about the federal government's big Economic Roundtable, which is set to kick off in Canberra from tomorrow. And if you're wondering what on earth that actually is, don't worry, you're not alone. It's basically a chance for all our pollies, the union leaders, all the industry heavyweights, to get together and figure out how we can make our economy better. On the agenda – tax reform, a four-day work week, the housing crisis, and also AI, Artificial Intelligence. For more, we're joined by Katy Gallagher, Minister for Finance, live in Canberra. Good morning to you. So, a lot to get through, let's start with what you think about that four-day working week. That's what the unions are saying, that we're more productive if we actually work less, because we get less tired. Where do you stand?

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Morning Nat, thanks for having me on. Well, I'm a big supporter of workplace flexibility. As the PM and the Treasurer said last week, we've got no plans to look at a four-day week. But certainly, we support working with unions and others about how to make sure workers have the right flexibility to juggle all the different competing priorities in their lives. And you know, work-from-home is part of that, how you work your hours are part of that, but there's no plans around a four-day week.

BARR: Okay, so no on that one. How about a road user charge for electric vehicles? They're now 10 per cent of all car sales, should they be paying to use the roads?

GALLAGHER: Well this is something we've been talking with states and territories about. You know, as the transition from petrol cars into electric cars, we have to look at a way to fund our road system. You know, it's a big area of investment because of the size of the country and how dependent we are on roads. So, we'll continue those discussions. I imagine this will be very much a subject of this week's discussions, but it'll go beyond that as well.

BARR: Okay, might put you down for a maybe on that, Katy, because it sounded like there was a bob each way. Let's talk about housing, this is critical. Developers are telling us it takes 10 years to get a land release in this country. What can we do about that, stripping back red tape?

GALLAGHER: Yes, this will be a big focus, Nat, you can put that down as a yes. I am trying not to pre-empt the discussions this week, but I think everyone agrees that we've got to look at, and get serious about, how long it takes to build a house in this country. And that comes from the Commonwealth government, the state governments, and local government about how all that lines up and make the process still protect, have the right protections, but make the process a lot faster.

BARR: OK, stamp duty. Can you phase it out? Can you do something about it, it’s ridiculous.

GALLAGHER: Well, stamp duty is a state and territory tax. We think – there is a session on tax over the course of the next three days. We'll see what comes up through that. But that is, really – when I was Chief Minister, we wound back stamp duty in the ACT. We know it's a tax that annoys everybody, but state and territory governments rely on that to fund schools and hospitals. So, this is one of those discussions around tax, you know, it's easy for some to say get rid of that tax, harder for others. And so that's part of why the Roundtable is trying to bring people together and see if there is an area of consensus.

BARR: Okay, raising the GST or putting it on a broader base, and ruling out exemptions or tinkering with it somehow, would you do that?

GALLAGHER: Look, I think the PM and Treasurer have both been clear on that, that is not part of our thinking at all. So, I think you can put that in a no column.

BARR: Okay, we’ll put that in this other side of the page. Artificial intelligence, AI, do we regulate it or let it run free? Some people seem to think we're going to get lots of jobs out of it. Some people are worried that we're going to lose a lot. Where do you stand?

GALLAGHER: Well I've been looking at this really closely across the APS, because I've been trying to think of ways, as Minister for Public Service, to look at how we implement it safely across the APS. There are ethical considerations we need to have, and there are, we have to think about what it means for workers across industries. But it's coming, and so we really have to deal with it. It's not going to go away. And I think it's finding the right balance that gets the opportunities but also provides some protections, both from the ethical use, but also to make sure that improves the lives of workers.

BARR: OK, you've got some in the left, some in the middle, and some in the right. Sounds like Canberra, doesn't it? Katy, thank you. Have fun, we'll talk soon.

GALLAGHER: Thanks Nat.