Pensions, Promises & Power

Panellists: Marise Payne, Minister for Human Services; Penny Wong, Opposition Leader in the Senate; and Michelle Garnaut, Chef and restaurateur. -- Marise Payne A Senator since 1997, Marise Payne was recently sworn in as Minister for Human Services in the Abbott Coalition Government. Prior to this, she served as Shadow Minister for Indigenous Development and Employment, Shadow Minister for COAG [Council of Australian Governments] and Shadow Minister for housing for three years. Marise graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Laws from the University of NSW. In 1987 Marise became NSW Young Liberal President before going on to become the first female Federal President in 1989. Away from politics, she is a committed fan of the St George/Illawarra Dragons NRL team and the Geelong Cats AFL team, an enthusiastic supporter of the arts in Australia, spends as much time as she can in the Southern Highlands and she cooks for therapy. Marise is also a keen horse owner and racing enthusiast. Marise and her partner live in a newly built home in Mulgoa. -- Penny Wong Penny Wong is the Opposition Leader in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment. Penny was born in 1968 in Sabah, Malaysia, to a Malaysian-Chinese father and an Australian mother. She was eight years old when she, her mother and brother moved to Australia and settled in the Adelaide Hills. Penny graduated with an Arts/Law degree from the University of Adelaide, where she became politically active and joined the ALP. After graduating in 1992, Penny worked with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union before being admitted to the Bar in 1993. During the mid-1990s she worked for the NSW Government as an adviser, specialising in forestry policy, then returned to Adelaide to work as a lawyer and union adviser. She also won a position on the ALP’s State executive. Penny won top spot on the South Australian ALP Senate ticket for the 2001 election and entered the shadow ministry in 2005. After the 2007 election she entered Cabinet with the climate change portfolio, and took over from Lindsay Tanner as Finance Minister in 2010. She remained in that portfolio until Labor’s election loss. As well as being regarded as one of the most capable members of the Labor government, Penny is the first Asian-born member of an Australian Cabinet and the first to be openly in a same-gender relationship. She was instrumental in bringing about a change to the ALP's platform on the issue of gay marriage. She lives with her partner, Sophie Allouache, and their young daughter, Alexandra. -- Michelle Garnaut Melbourne-born Michelle Garnaut is a former cook and restaurateur with a culinary career that spans three decades, several continents and positions that have ranged from dishwasher to waitress to chef to caterer and proprietor. Over the past 25 years, Michelle has opened a trio of restaurants and a bar in China: M at the Fringe in Hong Kong (1989-2009) M on the Bund (1999) and the Glamour Bar (2001) in Shanghai and Capital M in Beijing (2009). Each became an icon in its city, sharing the characteristics that make it an “M” restaurant: simply good food – Michelle’s brand of delicious modern European cooking – stylish yet comfortable décor, superb, warm service and a real sense of place. Thanks to Michelle’s belief that feeding the mind and soul is just as important as feeding the body, M Restaurants has become a hub for cultural events and entertainment. Michelle founded, and continues to run, the annual Shanghai International Literary Festival (now in its 12th year), the four-year-old Capital Literary Festival in Beijing, as well as a regular programme of talks, monthly chamber music concerts and late night DJs and live music in the Glamour Bar. Michelle has actively worked with numerous charities and community projects over the years, and her restaurants consistently support charitable ventures. She is currently involved in the Village People Project, which seeks to improve the lives and health of women in rural China through the creation of community bathhouses. She has been a judge for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards for five years, and was Asia Jury President in 2011 and 2012. She is a Global Ambassador for Vital Voices. Michelle has been honored with awards that include the Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2003 International Woman of Influence Awards and the Business Entrepreneurial Award from the ANZ Australian Business Awards. -- Audience: Coalition 46%, ALP 33%, Greens 13%. RETIREMENT AGE Rob Jones asked: We are witnessing a generation facing a lifetime of renting property, low wage growth and widening wealth inequality. Given the proposed raising of the retirement age, does the panel think that we are going to see a return to the age of working until the day we die? RETIREMENT AGE Colleen King asked: I have only now just retired and I am 74 years of age and had my own business. I commenced working at the age of 15. Opportunities for woman to have rewarding careers have made working so much more interesting and enjoyable. I’m all for extending the working age though not compulsory and as they do in America where woman are working up to age 80. So why is it that the Opposition are so opposed to longer working ages? YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT Stuart Thompson asked: According to the Sydney Morning Herald there are currently 257,000 unemployed youth, which is double the national rate of six percent. How will Joe Hockey's proposal to increase the retirement age to 70 impact on this? Won't it just have the undesired effect of creating a larger demand for youth allowance and unemployment benefits as less jobs are freed up? What does the current government plan to do to ensure that I won't just become another unemployment statistic? NEW SENATORS/NEW FACTS Dr Eleanor Evans asked via video: For Jacqui Lambie. As a senator you will now have the opportunity to ask questions and benefit from the experience of specialists in every field. If during this process of self-education you came to a new understanding on a subject, for example the effects of carbon emissions on the survival prospects of your children and grandchildren, how would you incorporate this new knowledge into the decisions you will be asked to make? ABBOTT’S PROMISES Cara Egan asked: On the day before the last Federal election, Tony Abbott said, "No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS". Apparently he didn't write these promises down. On the list of the "untouchables" only the GST remains. Does Tony Abbott have such contempt for Australian voters that he believes they will forget that he is not a man of his word in three years time? PAID PARENTAL LEAVE & PUP Rodney Winterswyk asked: If Palmer United plans to oppose the paid parental scheme in its current form, what alternatives would the party accept to a paid parental leave scheme and should any scheme be backed by the government or business in your view? VETERANS’ PENSIONS Ted Chitham asked via video: The PUP has won public support by the announcement that they will block the Mining Tax Repeal Bill until the Government reverses its plans to axe the education allowance for 1,240 veterans' orphaned children. Jacqui, Would PUP apply the same willingness to support the 29,000 totally and permanently disabled veterans to raise their pensions? CONSERVATIVES & FEMINISM Kate Lamb asked via video: Women appeared to be missing on the recent trade mission with the PM. Can women be successful in a conservative environment? Or do they need to do as Michaelia Cash recently suggested and accept that politics is a boys’ game? Where does the fear of the word feminism stem from in conservative politics? FROM THE FLOOR An audience member asked: I’d just like to propose a new term, gender equalist, gender equality is really the issue we should be talking about in the media. CHINESE FTA Stewart Lung asked: Given Mr Abbott’s apparent successes in obtaining trade agreements with Korea and Japan, will these successes impact on Australia’s ability to establish a Free Trade Agreement with China? CHINESE INVESTMENT Melissa Spiteri asked: It was not too long ago that the conservative press and Mr Abbott in particular demonised the investment policy of allowing "foreigners" to buy up Australia, with Mr Abbott refusing a bipartisan policy when in opposition. Does the go vernment expect a backlash from the conservative press regarding Tony Abbott's statements in welcoming more investment by China? BOB CARR & PARODY Linton Chalmers asked: The majority of the rhetoric around Bob Carr’s new book focuses on a few of outlandish statements he has made, particularly relating to his inflated ego, his abdomen, and his prima donna demands. Current Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has gone as far as labelling him ‘an egotistical self-promoter’. Is this an example of taking self-parody literally, and in turn discrediting not only a well-written book, but also an individual who effectively navigated his tenure in the foreign ministry very effectively?