Interview with Ian McNamara, Australia All Over
26 August 2018
Prime Minister: G’day Macca, how are you?
IAN MCNAMARA: Mate I’m a bit frazzled here this morning, I’ve got studio full of people and emails coming everywhere. I mentioned that you might be coming on this morning and I’ve got 7,000 questions to ask.
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t know if we’ve got time for 7,000 mate but I’ll be happy if you pass them all onto me because I think they’re really important mate. I particularly wanted to speak to you today because I wanted to thank you for just the role you’re doing in just talking to people and listening to people. This is a big problem, we all know that. But I think what you’ve done in, and what you’ve always done on your program, is just tremendous. I was listening last weekend, I often listen as you know, and you’re making a big difference mate. We can’t make everything happen but what you’re doing is making a difference.
MCNAMARA: It’s really about, isn’t it, taking to people. It’s as much about, as I’ve always said, when you’re in times of trouble, and I remember a lady rang up and her son had just been killed and she was crying and all you can really do is have a cup of tea and have a cuddle really.
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
MCNAMARA: And that’s the same thing when you’ve got a drought like this which continues on and on, we need to cuddle one another if you know what I mean.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah I know what you mean, I think that’s true.
MCNAMARA: And Graham with his 100 trucks going up to Dubbo and all those places and stuff is what it’s all about. Prime Minister, tell me about the last two or three days, and are you used to getting called Prime Minister? You’ll get used to it after a while.
PRIME MINISTER: I keep looking over my shoulder to see if… Someone said ‘Treasurer’ the other day, I was with Josh and I turned around. But you do get used to that, it has been a very busy couple of days and as I said in my first press conference there’s a lot of important things we need to do to make Australia even stronger. But right now, my first set of meetings have been to meet with Major General Stephen Day, who is coordinating all the drought relief and support from the Federal Government’s perspective and to work with the state and territory governments, that’s on top of many other things that are already being done and I can run through those. That’s really been my principle, what is the issue that I’ve really got to get on top of straight away. There are plenty of other issues, there’s no doubt about it, electricity prices, taxes and all of these things. We’ve got to deal with all of those, healthcare, Medicare, but this is the thing that I think Australians very much want the attention of their Prime Minister on and right now, I’ve only been in the job a couple of days, and for Major General Day it’s really about listening, planning, acting. I know people are frustrated, that they would have liked to see things happen sooner, I mean in these circumstances I think we always feel like that. But we’re here and we’re going to do everything we must do and need to do and we’ll get it done.
MCNAMARA: Len rang this morning from Muswellbrook and he was delivering water and it was raining and he said he was really disappointed because he said I might be out of job here in Muswellbrook, because I’ve had a lovely time in the last few weeks or whatever delivering water to these people. He said they’re such nice people and he’s not going to be sad that it’s raining but yeah he just loved his job. Water is one big problem, I was driving past Shepparton about five weeks ago and we went past this huge big shed with hay. It was obviously a centre for a hay distribution company and it might’ve been going overseas. I don’t know, but people ask questions about should we stop sending hay overseas because it’s been a big export business for Australia hasn’t it?
PRIME MINISTER: Yep.
MCNAMARA: All those sort of things, and water and people ring me here with pipe plans and dam plans and putting water into Lake Eyre and stuff like that. I suppose when you’re in a situation like yours it’s really good because you’ve got problems, it’d be different if you’re just there and there’s nothing much to do, but you’ve got some big problems…
PRIME MINISTER: Well there’s plenty of work, yeah that’s right, there’s plenty of work. But the focus we’ve got here… It was pleasing to see the reports on the rain yesterday in the last 24 hours, 19mm in Dubbo, 23mm in Bourke, St George 35mm, 8mm in Charleville and 26mm in parts of the Darling Downs. Look that’s encouraging but we know that’s nowhere near what’s obviously needed. You’ve got to first focus on the people and make sure you’re looking after them and you’re getting the resources to look after them. I know there’s some frustrations in that and getting access to that support. The people who need to get feed for their stock, all that needs to be coordinated. Mate then there’s the towns. I was listening to that lovely woman, I think she called in from Hughenden last week.
MCNAMARA: Yep.
PRIME MINISTER: She was telling the story, that we’ve got to look after the towns. I’ve previously just been the Treasurer and we can’t make it rain, but we can keep these towns alive. That’s why we put that extra money into all the councils in those areas so they can be bringing forward projects and programs so people in the towns can get work, the money will go through the towns, the hairdresser will stay open…
MCNAMARA: Exactly.
PRIME MINISTER: That will… I mean we can’t make it rain but that can be a bit like the effect of rain in those towns. So we deal with that first and then we look at the medium term, and longer term it’s about how we’re even better prepared and we are better prepared next time this inevitably hits.
MCNAMARA: It’s a bit like a future fund really, isn’t it, but a future fund for drought.
PRIME MINSTER: Well I heard that idea you mentioned last week. Look, everything’s on the table, Macca. That’s what Major General Day is tasked. People might remember many years ago when we came into government and I was involved in stopping the boats. Like with any project, you need someone to coordinate your response, you’ve got to pool resources and people from everywhere to focus on it. That’s the same thing we did back then. States and territories, particularly the states obviously, very important here and getting their cooperation. Everybody wants to try and help and do the right thing, but the frustration often in government is getting it coordinated and getting it to where it needs to get. Mate, that’s what we’re going to do. There’ll be no shortage of effort and no shortage of resource.
MCNAMARA: I was at the football about, well it was ANZAC Day actually, and I was lucky enough to get an invite to the Trust, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust box, I don’t know how it happened but I think I said I wanted to go to the football but I think it was booked out. Always is booked out, like the AFL match Collingwood and Essendon in Melbourne, they get about 80,000 or 90,000. The then Treasurer turned up, we said g’day and I said g’day and I had little Cameron with me. And I said, “Cameron this is Scott Morrison, he’s the Treasurer”, and he said, “Very pleased to meet you”; he’s a lovely little kid. Then we went away and he said, “Is he a treasure hunter?” And I said no, so we spent that next five minutes spelling Treasurer because some kids are challenged, so anyway we watched the football and you departed, we all left and then I was…
PRIME MINISTER: St. George had a good win that day.
MCNAMARA: Yeah they did, that’s the last one probably. Then we were on the bus on ANZAC Parade, don’t mention ANZAC Parade, and I was sitting there thinking to myself, and I thought, “Yes you really were a treasure hunter, because you were hunting treasure to try and get down the debt. How’s all that going?
PRIME MINISTER: Well with debt we’ve turned the corner now. Our net debt is actually falling this year, it peaked last year and it comes down $30 billion over these next four years and it comes down over $200 billion, $230 billion in fact over the next ten. Last year was the last time we had to go out and borrow extra money to pay for the everyday expenditure of government. So you didn’t have to put the groceries on the credit card as of last year as a government. So that any debt that you need is for infrastructure, the stuff that you’d normally use debt properly for to build the things we need to build, roads, infrastructure and so on. So the debt is turning the corner, the Budget is coming back into balance, it’s projected to be in surplus next year. That’s all good but the one thing that I really want to see us do, mate, is if you have a strong economy, you can do all the things – you can respond to a drought, you can pay for schools, you can do all the things you need to do in the towns but you’ve got to have a strong economy. If you don’t have that then all the other things, they’re all just words. So there’s that, we’re going to keep Australians safe mate, but like you’re doing on your program, we’ve got to keep Australians together. We can’t have them thinking that, “Look, you’ve got to do worse for me to do better.” That’s not what we’re about.
MCNAMARA: That’s your struggle. I mean, you’ve got problems on all fronts but that’s good, as I said, I think it’s great to have – it’s no good sitting around, “Well, what will I do now?” You don’t know where to look and in some ways, I feel sorry for you because you’re there in this new job and everybody’s coming at you about all these – because we’ve got lots of problems and so, anyway, good luck. Listen, I understand, I’m getting all these questions for you and I can’t possibly ask them, we’re not a current affairs program but I understand your great-aunt was Mary Gilmore, is that right?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, yes.
MCNAMARA: Great-aunt?
PRIME MINISTER: My great great-aunt. Yes, and Billy Gilmore and all those guys up in Cloncurry, I was up there last year and Greg Campbell, the mayor up there, he’s a good bloke and we went and visited my great great-aunt’s grave there with Billy and we went out to a property called Longford which they used to run and there was another one called Greenwood which I went there when I was a kid. It was great to go back around there but gosh, it was dry and that was before the rains they had up there. They had been sending me photos of the rain since up there and the transformation was just unbelievable.
MCNAMARA: Prime Minister, I’ll let you go very shortly. I just wanted to – Dick Smith’s rung, he’s said, “Are you going to get country aviation going back again which will help jobs in the bush?” That’s what Dick says. Jade from southern New South Wales says, “Keep grain stocks here in Australia for periods of low supply.” Kerry says, “Are you going to stop exports of fodder overseas?” There’s a million here but you get the drift.
PRIME MINISTER: I do. Well, mate, if all of this, if someone in your studio there can package it up and send it across to us, I’ll put that in front of Major General Day. I’m going up to western Queensland with him tomorrow and we’ll be visiting some areas there and getting on the ground because we’re doing that listening which is needed to then plan and then act and right now, we are rolling out a lot of things at the moment but it’s got to be coordinated and it’s got to get to where people need but for all of your listeners, the way that they’ve responded to help people out there, please keep doing that. Australia’s an incredible country and listening to your program, you just find out how good Australians are.
MCNAMARA: Thank you, Prime Minister. Listen, just tell me where are you this morning? You’re in Parliament House?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes. I’m down in Canberra and I’m going to miss that Sharks game this afternoon against Newcastle unfortunately. It’s Luke Lewis’ last game at Shark Park but I wish ‘Lewy’ all the best and I hope the boys bring home a good one because there was a few upsets this round so Sharks could find themselves in the top four.
MCNAMARA: Yes, exactly. And have you had breakfast? Are you sleeping in Parliament House? All these questions that people want to know.
PRIME MINISTER: No. I’m still sleeping in my flat down here in Canberra but the family’s going home today. It’s been nice to have them about the last couple of days.
MCNAMARA: So do they move down to – do they all move to Canberra now?
PRIME MINISTER: No, mate, we’re not thinking about any of that at the moment. We’re just focusing on the job. That stuff can sort itself out when it needs to but we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re restoring the stability – I mean, I just want to assure everyone, there’s a lot of change this week. I know people would have been pretty miffed by it would be an understatement. I think a lot of people would have been absolutely disgusted by it but, you know, we’re a great country. The people are going to get back to where they have to have their heads and where they should have their heads and that’s where I’m going to get their heads so we can get on and make this country even greater than it is now.
MCNAMARA: Prime Minister, thanks for talking to us.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Macca. Hope to do it again soon.
MCNAMARA: Good on you. Bye.
