Interview, Hit 103.5 Cairns
23 January 2019
PRESENTER: ScoMo, how are you?
PRIME MINISTER: Good, Shad and Carly, it’s great to be back here and with you guys again today. We’ve had a great couple of days up here in Far North Queensland and thanks to all those who gave us such a warm welcome.
PRESENTER: Now more importantly, how is the first pup, Buddy, doing?
PRIME MINISTER: Buddy is doing great, he has made a number of appearances. When we had the Australian and Indian cricket teams around on New Year's Day, he took to howling every time Kohli spoke and he got himself on the news that night. But he was quite a hit with the entire Indian cricket team, I’ve got to say, as he was with the Aussies. Buddy is doing great.
PRESENTER: Can we chuck him on the team, because I think we’re struggling a little bit out in the field.
PRIME MINISTER: He’s a pretty good fielder, he gets after those quick ones towards the boundary I think. Very, very fast.
PRESENTER: Now, you’re also here for a big announcement around Cooktown and Captain Cook’s voyage around Australia. ScoMo, what is going on?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s an important part of our history and up in Cooktown, they’ll tell you all about it. I mean, if you go back to that day when they called him the ‘little old man” who came out of the bushes with the rest of his mates and they reconciled with Cook over a dispute that they’d had, it’s a beautiful story. And these stories are important about reconciliation in Australia, and they’ve been doing this in Cooktown for 60 years. So the voyage that will go up along the east coast of Australia, which is what Cook did obviously, so there’s a re-enactment element to that and Captain Cook is a big part of that, he’s a big part of the far north coast and Far North Queensland. It’s a big part of our tourism sector as well and I want to see those stories told. I’m proud of Australia’s history. I see Bill Shorten is out there today, he is sneering at Australia’s history today. This is the problem, he sneers from behind his...
PRESENTER: Can I just be honest here, ScoMo. I was questioning whether this Government’s priorities lie, because as a woman in this country living through a domestic violence epidemic, coming fresh off the back of the latest horrific crime that has happened against a woman, I was waiting to hear kind of the next move on that and then this kind of come out of left field. You know, then we’ve got what’s happening down you know in New South Wales with the Murray Darling and this just seemed to come out of left field and a lot of people were going where is this Government’s head at, why is this funding going towards this when we have way more pressing issues going on in this country?
PRIME MINISTER: We can do more than one thing at a time. We’re investing...
PRESENTER: I understand that, but it’s priorities.
PRIME MINISTER: $350 million to combat domestic violence. That’s what we’re doing on domestic violence. Almost half a billion dollars to invest in the Reef, we’ve announced further work that we’re doing on the Murray Darling Basin. All these things are happening at the same time. But focus on the things that matter Carly, and it’s good for you to raise the things that do matter.
PRESENTER: Well I hope so, because we want to keep you accountable, we are all voters.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
PRESENTER: And as a woman in this country, as a woman that watches these news reports time and time again, I just hope that this epidemic is really being taken seriously.
PRIME MINISTER: We have had three national action plans now on countering domestic violence in Australia. That’s been $350 million, we’re going to announce the fourth one. Now I was down in Melbourne on the weekend and I took my daughters and my wife and we went along and we went to the memorial for Aiia down there - I know there has also been a terrible murder here up in Far North Queensland as well - and I met Aiia’s father. I reached out to him and we had a private meeting that afternoon and, you know, as one dad to another, what do you say? I’m a father of two girls. The women of my life have been everything in my life and I fear for them as well, but in these horrific attacks, they start with disrespect of women. Disrespect of women doesn’t always, as Malcolm Turnbull used to say, doesn’t always end in that violence but it’s certainly where it starts. And that’s why respect for women is incredibly important and that’s why we’ll continue to invest in domestic violence initiatives and I really don’t want to see that issue - I’m not suggesting you are saying this, either - I don’t want to see that politicised at all. Because there is, I think, a bipartisan commitment to address domestic violence in this country. I don’t question any other MP’s commitment to that and I would be very disappointed if any other MP did likewise to another.
PRESENTER: Well, now we’ve covered the big topics, that got a lot more heated. Can we do the fun now? Let’s have some fun, ScoMo.
[Inaudible]
What I want to know is, and we were having a discussion about this in the office, what’s the toilet situation for MPs? Is there like a big group urinal area? You’re the PM, does Malcolm give you the keys to the fancy throne? What’s the sitch?
PRIME MINISTER: Well there is one in every MPs office.
PRESENTER: So they’ve all got their own?
PRIME MINISTER: They do.
PRESENTER: So there’s no joint urinal?
PRIME MINISTER: Well if you’re walking around the building, yeah there are those as well. And you can often have a quiet conservation.
PRESENTER: Is that where some of the secrets are all done?
PRIME MINISTER: There’s often the odd chat.
PRESENTER: Do you ever look?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: No.
PRESENTER: Oh everyone has had a look?
PRIME MINISTER: No, no.
PRESENTER: Just a peek, just a little, even an accidental look.
PRIME MINISTER: I think you’re sort of self-revealing there, mate.
PRESENTER: Has anyone ever looked at you?
PRIME MINISTER: I hope not.
[Laughter]
PRESENTER: What about Bill Shorten, have you ever...
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: No, we’ve never actually found ourselves in that situation to the best of my recollection. He’s probably as thankful for that as me.
PRESENTER: Because if you were yelling at each other across the thing and you know, it’s kind of like, it almost gives you a little bit of a prop up doesn’t it?
It’s the ultimate political move, the ultimate power play.
PRIME MINISTER: I think we’ve got to keep you out of Parliament House.
[Laughter]
And if you do see Shad, cover up.
PRESENTER: If you see me walking the halls of Canberra, I’m having a look. Go to the cubicle.
I do often wonder this, about you and Bill, because obviously you’re both doing a job and obviously that job requires you to be constantly in this debate against each other. But is that a personal thing? Would you have… if he invited you around for a barbeque, would you accept the invite?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, Bill and I, many years ago, before we were in politics, we travelled to Israel together on a joint delegation.
PRESENTER: Really?
PRIME MINISTER: Many years ago. And there are some pretty embarrassing photos of, you know...
PRESENTER: Got a bit loose, did you?
PRIME MINISTER: Ah no, more because we were… our wardrobes back then were a little different to what they are today.
[Laughter]
PRESENTER: And we both had a bit of a tease of each other about that. But look, politics is a serious business and you respect people professionally. Doctors disagree with each other, lawyers disagree with each other. Professional respect is always important/.
PRIME MINISTER: So would you go to the barbeque?
PRESENTER: I mean, Chloe and Jenny get on quite well, actually, because they’re conscripts to what Bill and I do.
PRESENTER: My last question for you - might have more after that though - is there a red phone in your office that you’re afraid if it rings?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: No there’s not.
PRESENTER: There’s no such thing as that?
PRIME MINISTER: There’s not. There’s one phone, and it’s this one, and it rings all the time.
[Laughter]
But you know, if Jen’s name comes up, obviously, or the girls - well they don’t have phones - but if Jen’s phone comes up, that’s the one that gets answered.
PRESENTER: That’s the one you answer straight away.
PRIME MINISTER: Not all the time, I’ve got to say, on occasion I have… that’s been raised with me on occasion.
[Laughter]
PRESENTER: Well ScoMo, it’s been a pleasure having you in the studio this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks guys.
PRESENTER: Good luck with running the country.
PRIME MINISTER: Well look, we’re getting stuff done, the economy is going well, but there is a lot of… you know, this year is going to be a tough year in the economy, so we can’t take this stuff for granted. And that’s my number one priority, because it pays for everything else.
PRESENTER: 100 per cent. Well don’t forget, make sure some of that money keeps coming up here.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Well as you can see, Entschy has nailed that for a long time.
PRESENTER: He kills it, he is a very tall human being as well. He intimidates me every time he steps into studio. Alright, thanks.
PRIME MINISTER: Good on you, thanks Shad, thanks Carly.
