Interview with Ben Fordham, 2GB
21 January 2019
BEN FORDHAM: Prime Minister, good afternoon.
PRIME MINISTER: G’day Ben, happy new year to you and all your listeners.
FORDHAM: You’re back into it.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah well and truly, I’ve been back into it for quite a while now and we’re up here in Cairns. We’ve made an announcement about some new hospital funding up here which has been well received. People who live in regional areas should be able to get medical treatment in regional areas. That’s what we believe, so we’re funding that from a stronger economy, not higher taxes like Bill on his tax bus.
FORDHAM: We spoke at the end of last year and I know that you were looking forward to having a little bit of time with your family as much as you could. Did you get a few weeks, how much time did you actually get to down tools and enjoy the family?
PRIME MINISTER: We got a week off, we went down to Shoalhaven heads and I bumped into Mark Leavy actually, he was there.
FORDHAM: I saw that, I saw a photo of you and ‘Piggy’ Riddell as well.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah they were down there, it was great. Shoalhaven Heads is a top spot, it’s sort of people from all walks of life and we had a great time down there and they had a big, the fishing club, had a huge fundraising afternoon so the family and I and friends went down and enjoyed that and they raised a bit of money for the local rural fire service and the surf club and so on. So you know, it was just Australia on holiday and it was great to be a part of it.
FORDHAM: I know we’re speaking to you because you’re the Prime Minister but I need to ask you a question this afternoon as Cronulla’s number one ticket holder. Coach Shane Flanagan has resigned today, he was deregistered for contacting the club while serving a ban related to players using performance enhancing drugs. Was it appropriate today for him to fall on his sword?
PRIME MINISTER: Well Shane sent me a text actually and let me know he was doing this. I know Shane pretty well and look, Shane always puts the club first. He puts his players first, he puts our community first. Shane, you know, lived his entire married life in the Shire and raised three great kids and he has been so good for our community. I just want to thank Shane for everything he has done for the club. Brought out first Premiership, of course, but he did so much more than that. Things like Make Bullying History, Red Cross, he has just been such a champion bloke. Now I will let the NRL sort out all the other stuff, I’m not going to adjudicate on that, that’s not my job. But I think today is a day to say thank you to Shane and I’m standing with Shane, that’s for sure, and I hope he’s got a role in the game in the future because he is a great coach and he is a great bloke.
FORDHAM: If I can get you to put your other hat on right now as Prime Minister, the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott told my colleague Ray Hadley today here on 2GB that “people would be better off voting Labor rather than an Independent”, he said, “because for all of Labor’s faults, at least they are a Party of government or potential government. Now, I know that you would prefer people vote for the Liberal Party or the National Party but do you agree with Mr Abbott that a vote for Labor is better than a vote for an Independent?
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t think you should vote for either of them. That’s my view, that’s my very strong view. Because neither of them can deliver a stronger economy, neither of them can provide what Australians need. Bill Shorten want to put $200 billion of new taxes on the Australian economy. That’s not going to help it. If you’re running a small business or work for one, how do you think that’s going to impact your business? $200 billion of higher taxes on the Australian economy. It’s a bad idea. So I’m sorry to disagree with Tony, I don’t think you should vote for either of them and I suspect Tony agrees with me on that too.
FORDHAM: There seems to be a lot more detail coming out about what this is going to do, some of Bill Shorten’s changes when it comes to tax. Whether it be relating to retirement or relating to negative gearing, there seems to be a lot more detail that’s coming out in the lead-up to the next election. Is that going to be what you need to get across the line?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’re just going to make that point really clear Ben and you’re right. I mean, people have always had their question marks over Bill Shorten. He has been their leader for the last five and a half years and people haven’t warmed to him. Now they’re also seeing that his policies are equally as damaging. $200 billion worth of taxes, I mean that includes taxes on housing, that’s taxes on investments, that’s taxes on people’s retirement savings, it’s taxes on their income, it’s taxes on their small businesses. It’s just tax, tax, tax, tax, tax. And that is what Bill Shorten is doing. Because he can’t manage his own budget so he is going to take money out of your budget. And that’s why he can’t be trusted. And I care about health services, we’re up here announcing $60 million for the Cairns hospital. But I’m paying for that from a stronger economy, not by putting people’s taxes up.
FORDHAM: Did I hear you right that you said that people haven’t warmed to him?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah that’s a very polite and kind way of putting it.
FORDHAM: Have they warmed to you? I mean you’ve been out and about over the summer break, do you get the feeling that Australia is now used to Scott Morrison being their Prime Minister and they like it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that’ll be ultimately tested at the election and that’s for them to make those commentaries, not be. But I’ve been very appreciative of the kind reception I’ve had wherever I have gone. People are always very respectful to their Prime Minister, whoever that is, and I think that’s nice and I appreciate that. But mate, I know one person they’re warming to and that’s Jenny. They’re loving Jenny.
FORDHAM: Well that’s nice to know.
[Laughter]
Now let me ask you about Kelly O’Dwyer. She announced last week, one of your senior ministers, that she will be leaving Parliament at the upcoming election for family reasons and we wish her well on that front. I see today that Victorian Premier, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett has sent a bit of a message to some long-serving Liberal MPs like Julie Bishop and Kevin Andrews, suggesting that they should leave Parliament and make way for some fresh talent. What do you think of Jeff Kennett’s advice?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, Jeff can make those comments. But I actually quite like the fact that we’ve got a blend of experience and new people in the team. I mean, I’m up here in Queensland, I’m up in Warren Entsch’s electorate. Now Warren has delivered season in, season out for the people of North Queensland and he is a great mentor to other members of our team. But then you’ve got people like Senator Amanda Stoker, who has just come in at the last election and she is doing a great job in Queensland as well. So it’s a great mix. You need youth, you need talent, but you also need experience. Now, the individuals in terms of Julie or Kevin or others, I mean they’ll make their calls. Julie has made her statement. But everyone has got a role to play, whether you’re older or you’re younger, you’re male or you’re female. All this identity politics, frankly, is getting a bit tiring.
FORDHAM: I got a few messages today when I promoted the fact that you were going to be calling in, from political journos who said, “Oh look, Scott Morrison kind of dodged a question today about Julie Bishop and when people asked whether or not she was going to run at the next election you said I refer you to her statement.” I have had a look at her statement, she said I am preselected as the Member for Curtin and it is my intention to run so, I’m guessing you don’t have a guarantee from Julie Bishop that she is going to run?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s just what she told you herself. That’s what she said, that’s what her public statement is and that’s a matter for Julie. I would love Julie to continue to remain but if she wants to do something else that’s up to her. But she’s been very consistent in saying she intends to run at the next election and good for her. Julie has got an enormous amount of experience. I have been in the Pacific bolstering our relationships there, particularly with Fiji over the last couple of days and she did a great job as Foreign Affairs Minister. She was an outstanding one and she was our Deputy Leader for 11 years so she has got a lot to offer.
FORDHAM: The images that we saw over the summer break, and I know you’ve commented on this but I haven’t had the chance to talk to you about this. All of those fish in the Darling River, the Australian Academy of Science is now preparing a report for your opposite number Bill Shorten. He is going to present a report to Parliament on this. I know there is still an argument about why the fish are dead, is it the drought, is it poor river management, is it both? Is it something else, what’s your take on the catastrophe that we saw there in the Darling River?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we’re listening to the experts and I understand that they’ve made it very clear that it’s not a million, that’s not a factual report, it’s in the thousands. And that’s still a great tragedy and something that I know Australians find deeply upsetting. We’ve convened those meetings of managers of the water flows and the environmental licence holder, they’re providing some advice. We’ve put $5 million down to support the native species fish regeneration and they’re issues of drought, they’re issues of management, and you’ve just got to work methodically through these issues. But the other thing you’ve got to do Ben is… the Murray Darling Basin Plan has been a bipartisan initiative for a long time, and that’s one of the reasons why we can all work together to provide the certainty and stability in how you manage the plan. Now, people playing politics with this I don’t think is very helpful for the Murray Darling Basin Plan and I don’t intend to do it. Now, the Labor Party back in 2012, they did a scientific report which has informed the plan and what we’re doing now, I’m not making any criticisms of that, I’m not throwing any stones at that. So I would just encourage Bill Shorten to actually stay on the main game here and that is to ensure that we maintain a bipartisan approach to how we manage this very sensitive issue. I do not want to see this become some sort of political football before the election. It’s too important, and we should just work professionally and carefully, listen to the experts, make the right decisions and work particularly with the New South Wales Government which has primary responsibility for managing water flows in that area.
FORDHAM: I have spoken to, in the first hour of our program today, a mate of ours Jamie Warden who is a farmer in Walgett. He was saying the rivers are drying up around Walgett as well, there’s algae growing around rivers there. He is worried about a similar thing happening where they are and he also said, ‘Look, we’ve got many band aid measures that have happened as far as drought is concerned but we still don’t hear those long-term plans are far as drought-proofing.” I know that you made this your number one priority when you became PM.
PRIME MINISTER: Well we’ve announced half a billion dollar water infrastructure fund. We’ve invested in farm water management with the major tax incentives and major financial support for water infrastructure on farms. We’ve provided a million for every single council in every shire in drought affected areas and that money is rolling out now. We’ve provided $30 million to support the charitable sector to ensure they can get funds directly into those areas where they know it’s most important and we’ve been coordinating through Major General Stephen Day to ensure that each of those charities are coordinating so we’re not doubling up and we’re directing the resources. The Drought Summit last year, that was very successful and we’ve re-negotiated the Drought Agreement between the states and the territories and the Commonwealth, we concluded that at the end of last year. So there has been a lot of activity there.
FORDHAM: Sadly, it doesn’t always flow through. The money doesn’t always flow through and I don’t expect you to be able to do anything about this and it’s a very specific case but Jamie has just taken us through Walgett, for example, where you’ve got money that’s been given to the council for a weir or an artesian board to help out with water supply and the council still hasn’t spent the money. I mean, sometimes you can hold the summits and you can hand out the cheques and whatever but it doesn’t always translate into water for the farmers though.
PRIME MINISTER: Well whether it’s water cartage or things like that but I do know those $1 million is getting to those councils and the Commonwealth Government has been working closely with those councils so they can get it ready. And of course there is the $5 billion water future fund that I announced at the Budget, sorry at the Summit, and that is now… we’re taking that through to establish that fund through the legislation and that means there will be funding there for capacity on water management into the future for generations. This is a water future fund. So a lot is being done there, but I can’t make it rain but we can do these things that we’re doing now and Major General Stephen Day our Drought Coordinator sends me a message every single night on the actions that he is taking and the places that he’s going and the people he’s talking to and we continue to listen and act each day.
FORDHAM: There has been a terrible spate of suicides in Indigenous communities. We have had five teenage girls taking their lives in two weeks. I saw a statistic today that only 5 per cent of the nation’s children are Aboriginal but they account for 40 per cent of youth suicides and we’ve got a long way to go, don’t we, when it comes to closing the gap between the lives of black and white Australians, don’t we?
PRIME MINISTER: Ben, you are absolutely right. And mate, I saw those same reports as I’m sure you did over the break and I’m not pleased you’ve raised it for the obvious reasons but I am glad you’ve raised it, if you know what I mean. It’s important that we know what you’ve just said and that has been and continues to occur in Indigenous communities and particularly girls taking their lives. Now, I spoke to Nigel Scullion the Indigenous Affairs Minister just a few weeks ago about this and I have spoken to my own Department, because I am very concerned about it. There are some very serious social issues in these communities and there are distressingly, not as many opportunities where people who are under threat are able to talk about these things. And they find themselves in the most awful of circumstances and these decisions are taken and it breaks my heart, as a parent, and we just have to keep doing everything we can to try and keep these girls safe in these communities.
FORDHAM: There seems to be an annual debate about Australia Day and whenever that debate comes up I think about issues like those young girls and think well this is what we really should be talking about.
PRIME MINISTER: Look that’s true. That is true and we have to confront our inadequacies as a country but we don’t have to be overwhelmed by them, equally. I mean, we’re an amazing country, we have achieved so much and I think that’s what Australia Day is really about. Focusing on Australians from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, Indigenous and non-indigenous, recent migrants, long-term migrants, young, old, the works from all across the country. We are an incredible country but we’re not perfect. But one of the reasons we’re, I think, such a great country is we want to be honest about our failings and we want to fix them. And that’s what I’m about, that’s what Government should be about. But we should never be running down our country.
FORDHAM: Australia Day is Saturday, you’ve changed the rules so that local councils will be forced to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day and you’re also bringing in a dress code for citizenship ceremonies. You’re banning thongs and board shorts. What’s happened to you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well not specifically those things, but what we’re saying is there needs to be appropriate standards of dress. I mean, I wouldn’t turn up to my kid’s graduation wearing thongs. If someone appeared in court in thongs you wouldn’t be too happy and why not? Because it’s not showing proper respect.
FORDHAM: But most people dress up for an event like this right, and if someone really wants to embrace Aussie culture by wearing traditional Aussie clobber, why stop them?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s not a traditional clobber, it should be a respectful ceremony. You should dress appropriately for occasions. By all means put the thongs on and the boardies when you’re having a barbeque or doing what you’re doing later, but you know, citizenship is the most important thing a country can give someone. And when you give something like that, you’ve got to treat it with respect. That’s all I’m asking for, Ben. I know some people, particularly others have mocked me for talking about this thinking I’m a wowser and all the rest of it, I just think citizenship is really important and I have been to so many of these ceremonies. I have signed… you know, it’s my signature on many of these citizenship forms from the time I was Immigration Minister and I know how important most migrants take it and I know most of them turn up when they get their citizenship form. They come, they dress impeccably, often they have a previous national dress on, the kids are there, and then you just get some who turn up and look like they just got out of bed. Now, I don’t think that shows appropriate respect to the others getting citizenship on that day and the great honour that has been bestowed on them for becoming an Australian citizen. I think, you know it’s an adult ceremony and the kids dress like adult too often because they know how serious it is and I think others who don’t feel like that need to know there’s a standard.
FORDHAM: You were photographed over the break wearing rainbow coloured board shorts. Have you thrown them out?
PRIME MINISTER: No, because I was at a community fundraiser at the pub. That’s where you wear them mate.
[Laughter]
That’s where you wear them.
FORDHAM: They were shocking, they were bad mate, they were bad.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Well they stood out in the crowd. I’ve had them for a very long time.
FORDHAM: Just ask your daughters, ask your daughters whether or not they should be consigned to the Vinnies Bin will you?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: I will, I’m sure they’ll have an opinion.
FORDHAM: We’ll talk to you regularly throughout 2019, thanks for joining us from Cairns.
PRIME MINISTER: Good on you Ben. And good luck to Ash Barty tomorrow, I was down there yesterday with Jen and the girls and we got to meet her. She did a great job and it was very exciting. And I think Nine is doing a great job on the coverage too, by the way.
FORDHAM: Well said, thank you so much for joining us, we’ll talk again soon.
PRIME MINISTER: Cheers mate.
