TRANSCRIPT: DOORSTOP INTERVIEW - SYDNEY - MARCH 13, 2021

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
SYDNEY
SATURDAY, 13 MARCH, 2021

SUBJECTS: Industrial relations, parliament, vaccine rollout, Mathias Cormann, Christian Porter.

TONY BURKE, SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: I wanted to start with three issues and then happy to take any questions. First of all in terms of industrial relations, then the Parliament and then the vaccine. The legislation that the government saying it's going to press ahead with in the coming week fails the basic test. We said right back when the working groups were happening, as far as any industrial relations changes were concerned that what mattered was a very simple test: whether or not the legislation delivered secure jobs with decent pay. The legislation the government's wanting to press ahead with makes casualisation easier and pay rises harder. That's what they put in front of us. Our position remains: we're voting against this bill when it comes up. We voted against it in the House of Representatives, we'll be opposing it in the Senate. We urge the crossbench to do the same. As far as Parliament is concerned, we put a request in to the government that on Monday we have an agreement that there be no divisions prior to 1:30pm. This would allow any member of the House of Representatives who wants to go and attend the rally that will be happening outside the Parliament to be able to do so without there being any risk of votes taking place. I want to acknowledge that today the government has agreed to that request. And I welcome that. And it does mean that any member of Parliament who wants to make sure at different points they can attend that rally that starts at midday, will be able to do so without there being a risk that divisions are going to be called from one side of the chamber or the other. The final thing I'll say is with respect to the QUAD announcement on vaccines. We certainly welcome any global cooperation, and welcome the announcement that's been made overnight. Getting the vaccine out and as quickly as possible throughout the world is in everybody's interests. I will say though, I hope with global cooperation it's done more successfully than the rollout has been so far in Australia. The Prime Minister had told us we were looking at 4 million people being vaccinated by the end of March. At the moment, the number's around 100,000. And we've got something in the order of 7000 vaccinations happening a day. At that pace, it's going to be something like 10 years before everyone in Australia has received the vaccination. That's absurd. So we welcome the global cooperation that's been announced overnight. But here in Australia, the competence of the government in making sure that this gets out at the pace that they'd originally flagged is nothing to be proud of. And certainly Labor stands ready, as we always have, to encourage people to get vaccinated. We want to make sure that this rolls out through the community. But the government needs to do its work too.

JOURNALIST: To pick up then on the QUAD, are you pleased to see the first leaders meeting overnight?

BURKE: Very pleased, pleased that the meeting has taken place and pleased with the outcome with respect to vaccinations that's been referred to.

JOURNALIST: And how do you think China will have viewed this meeting?

BURKE: Look, I'm not going to get into that part of it. I'd refer that to Penny Wong. But certainly at all meetings where you get global cooperation from different parties that are in a meeting, that's a good thing.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)

BURKE: Well, I think that remains to be seen. And the answer to that will be whether or not we deal more competently with the international work that we've dealt so far with what we've had to do on our own shores.

JOURNALIST: I have some questions on Mathias Cormann. He's moderated his views fairly significantly on things such as climate change thorough this election process. Do you think that represents a genuine shift in mindset?

BURKE: Well, first of all, I want to welcome the successful appointment of Mathias Cormann. And I think the way Labor has handled this, compared to the way Mr Morrison and his colleagues behave really says everything. Labor has had a very simple view that it's in Australia's interests to have Australians in significant international roles. We said that we would support Mathias Cormann in his quest and where we're pleased that he's got there. The government of course, let's not forget, they refused to even support an Australian becoming Secretary-General of the United Nations. There's a thing with Mr Morrison and it's that there's politics about everything. Every single issue that Mr Morrison goes near he sees it through a political lens, never a lens of national interest. It was in the national interest for Mathias Cormann to get this role, we supported it. Certainly, when the national interest doesn't suit the partisan interest of Mr Morrison, the politics always wins.

JOURNALIST: Well, as to my question though, do you think, Mathias Cormann, this does represent a genuine shift in his way of thinking?

BURKE: I think only he knows the answer to that. But you know in terms of climate change, the evidence is really clear. I'm not going to try to psychoanalyse him or try to get inside his mind. But what I think the most likely outcome is this. I expect that what he says on climate change now is what he believes. And I expect what he said when he was in government is not what he believed. Because what this government does on climate change never matches the evidence, never matches the science. Could you imagine where we'd be at now with respect to coronavirus if the government had dismissed the experts the way they do on climate change? So I think what's telling isn't that Mathias Cormann has had a change of view - it's that when they're in government, in Mr Morrison's government, they don't tell the Australian people the truth then.

JOURNALIST: Labor was somewhat critical of the use of the RAAF to get him around to various appointments. With the benefit of hindsight, would you say that maybe that was an appropriate use?

BURKE: Look, the criticisms we made of the RAAF jet remain. But today, he's got the position. We said we're always supporting it. The real frustration, in terms of the use of the RAAF jet of course is we've got stranded Australians all around the world, being told there's no flights for them. And a whole lot of them want to come back to their jobs in Australia, their jobs matter too.

JOURNALIST: Just lastly from me, will Labor put forward a motion in the House of Reps next week to call for an independent inquiry into Christian Porter?

BURKE: We already have called for independent inquiries. In terms of motions before the House of Representatives, we don't flag those sorts of issues in advance. We never have. But the issue of an inquiry is something that government's already voted against. And can I say, this issue is not going to move forward until there is an inquiry, for the very simple reason that each day new revelations come out that have new questions that need to be answered. Let me just put it in those terms. If you simply looked at the facts, the logical thing is to say there is a question here about fit and proper person for a job where it's in everyone's interest that there be an inquiry to determine that. But for Mr Morrison, even a rape allegation gets looked at through a political lens of how can he make manage an issue? Now, that's appalling. And what needs to happen here is we look at these issues through a lens of responsibility and a lens of a level of transparency. Of all the things for Mr Morrison to try to politically manage, it should not be this allegation.

JOURNALIST: How concerning is it that the government doesn't seem to be answering these questions about the vaccine timeline?

BURKE: The problem here with the timing of the government on the vaccine rollout is they always provide information at the announcement. And the delivery never matches the announcement. The announcement's all about the politics, all about the photo op. But what people need now is the delivery. A photo op from Mr Morrison doesn't stop coronavirus. A photo op of Mr Morrison getting a vaccine for himself doesn't protect the rest of Australia. All we need is for what he announced to have some relationship to what he does. But everything with this bloke, everything he does is about image, is about political messages, is about the photo opportunity. All Australians want is for him to start delivering on this. And I've got to say here's a fair bet. I reckon, given that we've had around 100,000 vaccinations to date, it's a fair bet that by the end of the month we won't reach the 4 million that he told we were told us we'd get. And by that time, he'll probably be denying he ever said. That's what Mr Morrison does.

ENDS