Subjects: Foot and mouth disease; working from home; resumption of parliament.
ALLISON LANGDON
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Nice to see you both, and nice to see you back in the country, Richard.
PETER DUTTON
‘Morning, Ally.
ALLISON LANGDON
Are you well?
RICHARD MARLES
Good to be back in the country. I am well. Good to speak with you and Peter.
ALLISON LANGDON
I know you’ve missed each other, so it is very exciting to have you both on for our Friday pollies’ chat. A lot going on as you know. Richard, what will happen if foot and mouth disease gets into this country?
RICHARD MARLES
Well, we are doing everything we can to make sure that’s not a situation that we face.
It is obviously an extremely serious set of circumstances, but what the Government is doing is meeting it with the biggest biosecurity response that a government has engaged in. We’ve got more biosecurity officers, we’re providing more support to countries on the front line, like Indonesia , where there are outbreaks; we’re putting in place the foot sanitation mats. This is a really significant response because we understand the consequences, were it to ever happen, and we will be doing everything we can to make sure it doesn’t.
ALLISON LANGDON
Peter, I know some of your colleagues are pushing hard for the border to be closed. Do you support that and do you think enough is being done to keep the disease out?
PETER DUTTON
Well, Ally, we want to support the Government in whatever tough measures they are taking. I had a briefing yesterday with the Chief Vet and with other officials from the Department of Agriculture and I’ve got to say, I was really shocked by what I heard. There’s a herd of about 65 million livestock in Indonesia at the moment, there are about 400,000 cattle that have been identified with the virus. They’ve got 3 million vaccines for the 65 million herd; it’s across 22 provinces and It’s spreading like wildfire. So, it’s quite different than what we’ve seen where, yes, there’s a presence in China or in Thailand but it’s controlled. It’s not controlled in Indonesia, and given the significant two-way traffic between Bali and Perth and the rest of the country, through Jakarta, into Sydney, Melbourne, etc, this is a very significant issue.
I just want to make this really important point: if it is detected in one cow, or one livestock, one sheep, or one pig here in Australia, the industry closes down overnight. There are no exports. There is no processing of beef. The prices on our shelves will go through the roof but, more importantly, you would see countless numbers of livestock slaughtered in our country and devastation potentially for years for farmers.
So that’s why, I think, the National Security Committee should be meeting as a matter of urgency and it’s why we have called on the Prime Minister to stand up and say why shouldn’t the borders be closed. I really think we need to hear from the PM today. This is catastrophic potentially and that’s why we need to do whatever we can and I think laying mats out at the airport and doing a bit of social media into people who are coming back from Indonesia is just not going to cut it.
ALLISON LANGDON
I think that is a little bit unfair there. I think more is being done than that, Richard. But there is a good point to be raised here, that people aren’t being screened, you still don’t have the sanitation foot baths. You are relying on travellers to be honest and do the right thing, and it takes just one person who doesn’t with catastrophic consequences.
RICHARD MARLES
I mean, we understand the seriousness of this. It is right to describe it in the way that it has been. But, you know, Peter is now raising the question of whether or not the border should be shut. That does not seem to be the position of the Leader of the National Party, let alone the industry bodies, the National Farmers’ Federation, the Cattlemen’s Association, none are calling for that…
ALLISON LANGDON
Is it also not your position? You’re not considering it?
RICHARD MARLES
That is not where we’re at, at the moment, because to close the border would have a very significant impact on our trade and Peter for one ought to know that. The former Government faced outbreaks of foot and mouth in a range of countries where Australia had an open border. They were not recommending that measure then. It’s all well and good to do that in government but to take another position in opposition and it now seems – from what I’ve just heard – that the Leader of the Opposition is at odds with the Leader of the National Party on exactly this question. What we’re going to do is deal with this in a serious, sober way. What we’ve got in place now is the biggest biosecurity response that any government has ever done. That’s what we are doing and we’re doing it with more biosecurity officers and more work in Indonesia and countries on the front line here. We get what’s at stake and we are doing everything we can to make sure this is not an eventuality.
ALLISON LANGDON
Alright, I mean it’s a scary time at the moment with what is going on. Another issue I want to talk to you about – Richard, should employees have the right to work from home? The union believes so.
RICHARD MARLES
I think there is an understandable conversation that we’re all having in the aftermath of the pandemic about the way in which we work, particularly given that so many people have worked from home over the last few years. I think that’s a reasonable conversation to have. We’re not looking at changing the system now, but I think what we do need to do is in a way see where the new normal rests as we emerge from the pandemic and I think questions about how we work and whether we work at home are going to be ones that end up being thrashed out, but It’s an important conversation to be had. Right now, we don’t have plans for that.
ALLISON LANGDON
Peter, quickly – your thoughts on that one?
PETER DUTTON
Well Ally, you know a Labor government is in power when you see the unions exerting the sort of influence they are now. They are trying to muscle their way on to the board of the RBA and insert themselves into every public discussion – which never ends well – and it always ends in a disaster for the budget. Ultimately, this should be a discussion between employers and employees, but the employers are the ones who are paying the wages and if they don’t believe that it’s possible within their business for that person to work from home, then that’s the decision that should be made. I understand people want flexibility, and nobody wants to get on a train in the morning and go to work, and It’s easier to work at home and people want that flexibility – I get that. If it’s possible, that’s great, but ultimately the employer is the one that has to make the call there.
ALLISON LANGDON
And look, Parliament’s back next week. Can I ask, are you excited to be seeing each other again in person?
RICHARD MARLES
Of course. Although, we actually did see each other in America. I found myself going on my morning run and running into Peter on the Mall…
ALLISON LANGDON
You jet setters, you two.
RICHARD MARLES
…so, we’ve being seeing a bit of each other!
ALLISON LANGDON
So actually, what happens next week?
RICHARD MARLES
There is also a selfie that I’m not going to show you!
PETER DUTTON
No.
ALLISON LANGDON
You swap sides next week, don’t you? You switch sides in parliament?
PETER DUTTON
We do. He’ll be there. Hey Ally, he’s not telling you that he celebrated his birthday while he was in Washington as well. It was a gathering of about 900 people and he was centre stage. Too many birthday candles for me to report back to you, but it was a nice occasion!
ALLISON LANGDON
But he invited you, that’s nice, see. Oh, he disappeared.
PETER DUTTON
It was nice. I was really touched to be there!
ALLISON LANGDON
Alright, well you said that and Richard disappeared from our screens. So, there you go, anyway, you can talk about it when you’re in Canberra next week. Nice to talk to you both this morning. Thank you.
[ends]