Interview with Hon. Chris Bowen MP

“When the Australian dollar goes down that is good for Australia’s exporters”

ecently we interviewed the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Shadow Treasurer and Federal Member for McMahon at a coffee shop in his electorate. It was a pleasure to see Mr. Bowen meeting people from his electorate face-to-face with a cup of coffee. Chris Bowen MP is renowned as being dynamic and and keen to serve and interacting with the people in his electorate. He cares about their interests and their demands without any procrastination or delay.

Mr Bowen does not wait for people to meet him in his office. He meets them personally over coffee.

You are a man of Western Sydney. How did growing up in Sydney’s West shape you as a young man and influence your career decisions?

It is very important and good that I represent the area I grew up in; it means I understand the area; I went to school here and my kids go to school here, the same school I went to.  I understand the issues, I understand the people and I understand that people here work hard and just want a fair share and so it is my job to fight for them.

You have held impressive roles in Local Government, Government and Opposition. What would you consider to be the highlight?

I think the highlight was being treasurer of Australia, an opportunity to run the economy, to make sure the people have work, an opportunity to make sure our economy is strong and that is the job I want to do again.

What do you think of the current refugee situation and the decision of the Australian government? 

I think it is welcome and I think we can help.  The people in Syria have been very badly affected by Isis and if all the checks are done, we make sure that the people who come here are the ones we should have then that is ok.  We support that.

Where do you see your Electorate Mcmahon in the next decade as part of Western Sydney growth, particularly with its multicultural diversity?

I see it continuing on the path that it already has, which is a strong, vibrant, beautiful multicultural area.  I want to see it more stronger, beautiful investment in the area that is what is important to me.

How would a Labor Government approach the current deficit?

What we would do is we would see the deficit come down over time. We would have very careful plans over 10 years to have more savings than spending.  Australia needs a gradual careful plan.

There is a lot of speculation on increasing GST, what are your thoughts on what should be done to reduce the impact on every day Australians?

I don’t think the GST should be increased, I don’t support it.  Australian’s already have enough pressure on cost of living.  GST would just make things more expensive and the tax cuts would disappear.

Tax reform is always a hot issue with matters such as superannuation, negative gearing and a bracket creep receiving growing attention.  What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are we do need tax reform, I think we need to have conversations about things like negative gearing.  We already have a high income superannuation policy; those who make a lot of money from superannuation should pay a fair share.  Some of these things do have to change and Labor will lead the debate on changing it.

What is labor’s plan for productivity in technology industries, despite dwindling funds with a shift to primary industries gathering more attention? 

This is very, very important; investing in high technology industries is the most important thing we can be doing as a country to create jobs of the future.  Jobs which make a difference and jobs for young people and training young people to take those jobs.

What do you consider as the outlook for China and its impact on Australia and in particular the global markets?

I’m on the optimistic side for China; I think they will continue to grow.  They will grow more slowly than they have, but that is still a very big economy and if they grow more slowly than they did five or six years ago, it is still better for Australia, because they are so much bigger than they were before.  If they grow at 6% it is the same as growing at 14% in 2007.  Australian’s should take heart that China has changes and challenges but the Chinese Government is in good shape, they know what they are doing.  And that is very welcome.

What are you thoughts on the Australian dollar going down?

When the Australian dollar goes down that is good for Australia’s exporters, it has been a little bit too high.  The fact that it goes down doesn’t really worry me.

What thoughts do you have from your book ‘Hearts and Minds’ two years after publication.

It’s been good and I still believe in the things I wrote.  It is still very important to talk about the future of Labor, the future of Australia.  I’ve written another book since, ‘The Money Men’, which is only in book stores in the last few weeks.  Which I enjoyed writing as well, I think it is important for politicians to write books as well as just do TV interviews and show that we can think about the future and the past.

This morning you were talking to people here in Bossley Park. What makes you come to the people and talk to them?

It is my job to be accessible to people to let them know that I am here just doing my job, if they need help I do what I can.

What was the people’s reaction?

Good, people got some issues, some problems they need help with. They just want to say hello, doesn’t really matter.