The Prime Minister's interview with Rad Hadley
- Written by Ray Hadley
RAY HADLEY: Prime Minister, good morning,
PRIME MINISTER: G’day, Ray. Yeah, yeah, you know, I think that's pretty fair. You and I, from time to time haven’t always agreed, but it's always great to come on the program, mate.
HADLEY: You know, we’ve had some barneys, some very good ones and [inaudible] ones in fact.
PRIME MINISTER: Very good.
HADLEY: We’ve been in the same cartoons from time to time when I [inaudible], but I’m not [inaudible] today.
PRIME MINISTER: They have. Here we are together.
HADLEY: Now, yeah, just on this. I don't often feel sorry for people, I felt a bit sorry for you yesterday. Some of the questioning that you were subjected to was in a manner to try and embarrass you and cause you as much pain as they possibly could. And I've been critical of you, premiers and anyone else during the last two years, and you admitted yesterday you haven’t always got it right. There are different things you’d do differently, and there different things you’d say differently. But at the end of the day, we've got through it almost, almost, bar Omicron, and we're travelling alright. But, I mean, I just don't know why the left want to attack you in the manner they did yesterday, when Anthony Albanese, your opponent, gets a rails run. That's not his fault, by the way, but that's the way things seem to work out.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, that’s, look, I'm I’m happy to face the music. I've been doing it all throughout my political life. And always happy to turn up and do that. So there really, the real question is, yep, it was pretty brutal yesterday. But, you know, I thought it would be, frankly. And if they're prepared to apply the same blowtorch to Anthony Albanese, then, fair enough. And, so, that's really a matter for them. You know, there's a big decision coming up for Australians, and there's a lot at stake. I mean, we live in a very uncertain world. We're continuing to deal with the pandemic. We're not out of it yet. And there's still challenges and you never know where the next turn in the road’s going to come from. But that's only one of many things. I mean, what we're seeing with the pressure on inflation over the United States and in the United Kingdom. Here in Australia, those pressures are less, but they're still there. So how we manage our economy through this, keeping that downward pressure on interest rates, keeping electricity prices down, which are down eight per cent over the last two years, that economic challenge is very significant. And then you've got the security challenges in the region, very significant, whether it's the contest between United States and China, what we're seeing in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, what's happening in Ukraine. This is a very, very dangerous time, and and the ability to manage and stand up for Australia's interests in this, be prepared to stand up to those who would bully us, is very important. So Australians will focus on that when they get into a ballot box. Answering a telephone call on a poll, yeah, people will express frustration, no doubt. And you know, I understand that frustration, as you've already said. So when you walk into the ballot box and you vote for Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party, that's what you get. And then you've got to live with it, and what that does to the economy and Australia's national security interests. And you can't take an each way bet on these things, but he's happy to have one every other day.
HADLEY: As is evident by Kurri Kurri announcement this week.
PRIME MINISTER: It will cost an extra $1.6 billion I hear for that. So he's really racking the spending up too.
HADLEY: Currying the favour in Kurri Kurri. I have suggested to him previously that Kristina Keneally needs to be put into witness protection. The last time she was trotted out by, the Newspoll, by the way, was saying the same thing in 2019. You were going to get bashed up, and it didn't turn out that way.
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah.
HADLEY: And she played a role in that. She's the most unsuccessful Labor Premier ever in the history of New South Wales politics. And then I keep saying to people, and I said to Paul Murray last night, If you vote for Anthony Albanese and, you know, you think he's going to be a pretty good Prime Minister, well, the package includes Kristina Keneally, Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten. Good luck with that.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’d keep going, and I think they’re the, they’re the right, the right comparison. I mean, when it comes to economic security, I mean, Josh Frydenberg has now delivered three Budgets and they've been very good Budgets that have helped us get through this pandemic and have one of the strongest economies coming through the pandemic. And we're now looking at getting unemployment down to having a three in front of it, the first time we've achieved that in 50 years. In more time than that we now have, and I know, I know lots of tradies listen to you Ray, because they tell me, there are more apprentices in trade training right now - 220,000 of them. That is the highest level that we've seen since records began in 1963. And one of the things Josh and I did right at the start of the pandemic is we were incredibly concerned that we were going to have a generation of lost skills, because the first people that were going to get put off site were the apprentices - first on, last off. And we said we can't let that happen. These these young people, and not just young people, people in mid-career transition and so on. I’ve met plenty of of middle-aged apprentices. We needed to keep them in their apprenticeship. And so we increased the wage subsidies for them. And I've spent the last two years meeting those apprentices, many of them now finishing their apprenticeships because they were two years’ in, and they're still on the tools, they're still in the job. And they are now going on, you know, to be full, fully paid employees on their own ticket. So, on economic security, you’ve got Josh Frydenberg, or you’ve got, or you’ve got Sneaky Jim. Or you’ve got on Defence, you've got Peter Dutton, who's a regular guest on your program, doing an outstanding job as Defence Minister, and someone most people wouldn't have heard of, Brendan O'Connor. But you might remember this about Brendan O'Connor. He was one of Labor's failed Immigration Ministers that couldn't control our borders. And Anthony Albanese thinks he's the guy that should be standing up for Australia's interests and Defence Forces in the most difficult circumstances we've seen since before the Second World War. And then you're right to say, when it comes to Kristina Keneally, well, her record in New South Wales is well known. But who do you trust to protect those borders, her, or Karen Andrews from Queensland, together with myself, and we've shown our resolve on those issues. So you can go right across the board, right across the line up and you see all of these contrasts. You vote Labor, you get Labor.
HADLEY: Just one final thing, I know you're pressed for time, but I've been concerned, as has many people in New South Wales, with your State Executive here. Philip Ruddock issued a direction, we thought, which was voted down by the State Executive, where people like Alex Hawke, Sussan Ley and others have to go to preselection. We are getting closer to May. When are we going to have somewhat of a definitive answer in New South Wales as to who's going to stand, and get rid of this nonsense that's coming from the State Executive, which seems to be, you know, promoting the fact they want you not to be Prime Minister by their actions, and disregarding the, you know, the directions of someone like Philip Ruddock, who's forgotten more than most of them know about politics.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is very frustrating, and there's some childish games going on there. You know, people who play games in politics rather than, and can often forget what it's all about, which is getting an unemployment rate down with a three in front of it, protecting Australia's security interests, and getting Australians into jobs and into trade training. And they need to sort this out. And if they can't sort it out, well, frankly, the Federal Executive, we're talking, Sussan Ley is an outstanding Cabinet Minister, and she's one of eight female Cabinet Ministers I have in my Cabinet. That is the highest number of females in a Federal Cabinet in Australia's history. And she's a standout, and she's been great for the people of Farrer, too. She is a great Liberal advocate for the bush and regional towns like Albury and and places like that. And so she's been magnificent. Now if they can't endorse her, well, they should get out of the way and let the Federal Executive ensure that we can get that done. But those playing games in the New South Wales Parliament, the Liberal Party, I should say, the the organisation need to ensure they focus on winning this election for the goodness of the Australian people and forget their factional rubbish.
HADLEY: Ok, when are you going to take the big stick to them then, if in fact they still are recalcitrant in the coming days, let alone weeks, when do you pull the pin and say, no, the games are over, this is what's happening?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, there's a process to follow, but, you know, I've been working closely with Dom Perrottet on this and he's been very supportive of what we're trying to achieve here as well. And so it's time for those who, you know, don’t do this for a living, to really allow those who really need to get on for the sake of the Australian people here. Now, I don't often talk about these things, Ray, as you know, very openly, these organisational matters.
HADLEY: No.
PRIME MINISTER: But you've raised it. And I think it's very important, for all Liberals out there, particularly New South Wales, to ensure that we're all very focused on the job we have. And that is to ensure we keep Australia's economy strong, we keep Australians safe, we grow together and not apart through our economy, keeping our region strong, and that's what we've all got to be focused on. That's what my team’s focused on. I know that's what the overwhelming majority of Liberal Party members and supporters want to see happen. And so I'm sure that the President there, Philip, and Chris Stone, will do, will get this matter on, sorted out. There’s there’s ample time to sort this. And we will. And and I’ve got to, you know, I thought I'd be candid with you in answering you honestly.
HADLEY: Ok. Now one final thing. I thought the best comment this morning came from Karl Stefanovic, my friend and colleague on Today, when he concluded the conversation with you by looking at Ally and saying, ‘Can I see your phone and look at the text messages you send to your friends after we finish a shift?’ Because I'm sure, knowing Karl is cuckoo, they're not very complimentary, and I'm sure that if I encountered some of my colleagues over the last 40 years I’d find, well, texts weren’t around 40 years ago, but more recently, I’d find some very unkind texts about me as well, as I’ve sent some very unkind texts about people.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you know, I thought that was pretty funny when I heard it later as well, and it goes to, you know, what people send as texts to each other, what does that mean for someone's job or whether their kids are getting training or what that means for the cost of living? I mean, these things that get focused on, they’re they're not the things that matter to people. I'm sure those listening in right now, they want to know we're focused on them. I am. And and what scuttlebutt goes around really doesn't distract me. You know, all you’ve got to do is look at anyone's Twitter feed and you can see more vile than you can imagine, that comes through, which is another problem. But, you know, you just, it comes with the job. You know, you're in public life. We’ve got big shoulders. We know it comes with the job, that this stuff flies around. So long as you keep focusing on the things that matter, that's what Australians expect of us, and that's what I've always sought to do. Whether it’s stopping the boats or dealing with reforms in welfare, balancing Budgets and now coming through this pandemic, that's the experience I believe Australia needs to go forward. And as we get closer to the election, I think Australians will really focus on that and they'll know there's a real choice here. With Anthony Albanese, what you see is not what you're going to get. What you see on the other side of the election is what you’ll get. And he's been very sneaky in not telling you about what he's about, and Kurri Kurri is a good example. He was against it. Now he’s for it. He's got to spend another $1.6 billion on it. I mean, the guy’s all over the shop. At least problem no where I stand, even if they don’t agree with me.
HADLEY: Well, my Twitter feed’s called The Ray Hadley Morning Show. Prime Minister, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Good on you Ray, good to chat.
HADLEY: All the best. Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister.
