Subjects: Trump Presidency; Labor’s cost of living crisis; Labor’s energy policy shambles; Lidia Thorpe’s latest rant.
E&OE.
BEN FORDHAM:
Well, Peter Dutton is turning up the heat. The Opposition Leader says he’d be the best Prime Minister to drive an anti-woke revolution in Australia. He says political correctness isn’t cutting it when people can’t afford to pay their bills and their mortgage. And with Donald Trump back in the White House, Mr. Dutton says he’s the man to deal with the President. The Opposition Leader joins me on the line.
Peter Dutton, good morning to you.
PETER DUTTON:
Good morning, Ben.
BEN FORDHAM:
Are you happy that Donald Trump’s back?
PETER DUTTON:
Yeah, very happy. He’s, I think, really hit the ground running. He’s obviously somebody with a great deal of business experience, and would’ve learned a lot of lessons from the first presidency, and I think it reflects the priorities of the American people. He’s won the Senate, he’s won the House, and obviously there is an overwhelming view in the United States that they want a different future and I think he’s going to provide that for them.
BEN FORDHAM:
You’ve used the word revolution when talking about the Trump effect. What do you mean by that?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Ben, I just think, as is the case in our country, people who can’t afford to pay their bills, seeing their insurance bills go through the roof, their kids can’t afford a house, their grandkids can’t find a house to buy for love nor money, and they’ve got a government that’s more interested in pronouns and a $500 million Voice campaign and other issues that they just don’t see as a priority.
So, there’s a real disconnect between where the Government is and where the people are. I think that happened in the United States, and I think it’s certainly part of the last few years here. I think our country’s had a wasted two or three years under Anthony Albanese. I think people really are getting quite angry as a result of it because they know that the economy is tightening, they know that their own circumstances are deteriorating economically and they just don’t see any future under the Prime Minister.
The inability to deal with the issues around law and order and what’s required to keep our country safe – he just seems incapable, or out of his depth, in terms of making those decisions.
BEN FORDHAM:
The latest Resolve poll out today is good news for you. You’ve edged ahead of Anthony Albanese as preferred Prime Minister. Thirty-eight per cent of voters say you’re the man for the job, compared to 34 per cent for Anthony Albanese. So, are you feeling confident now? Are you feeling like this might be on? You might be just months away from being in The Lodge?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Ben, we’ve got a long way to go. A first term government hasn’t lost since 1931, so history is against us. But I do believe that we’ve been a disciplined Opposition. We’ve put a lot of work into policies, and a lot of those we’ll announce as we get closer to the election. But I think we have demonstrated that we have the capacity to be the alternative government and we’ve kept pressure on a bad government.
I’ve had experience working under four Prime Ministers and worked with Peter Costello as Assistant Treasurer, and I have clear in my mind what I want to do for this country and the vision that we have. I think our best days are ahead of us, but we have to have a serious government in Canberra and at the moment I think we’ve got a Prime Minister that – I mean, the wheels are just falling off this Government.
BEN FORDHAM:
Donald Trump’s made the decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. This was something that Tony Abbott signed us up to back in 2015. He regrets doing so. He says it was a bad decision. So, there are calls for Australia to follow in Donald Trump’s footsteps. I know you’ve said you’re not going to do that, so I’m giving you the floor now. You’ve got the microphone. Can you explain to everyone in Australia, why it’s in our interests to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement? Why is it going to help us? How’s it going to help us?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Ben, first point, we’re an export nation. So, unlike the United States, we’re a small nation, we’re a population of only 27 million people. We produce more than we can consume. Farmers and manufacturers rely on markets in Asia, in Europe, in America, to export our products. We’ve signed up to an international agreement, which I think will have continuing relevance for countries in Europe. The future dynamic can change, but we have to act in our country’s best interests. To have European countries, for example, but not exclusively, applying tariffs to our exports would mean a loss of economic activity here, a loss of jobs. So, we have to have a sensible balance.
I think the Government’s renewables-only policy which has resulted in us paying the highest electricity prices in the world, is unsustainable, which is why we’ve spoken about and committed to the latest technology of nuclear power. That will help us bring down power prices. We need more gas in the system to provide shorter term relief on energy prices. If we have a stable environment in which to invest, then we’ll continue to attract the mining and agricultural investment that we desperately need. But we can’t pretend that we’re an island nation, self-reliant, that we don’t need export markets – we do.
Like all of these debates, if you look at where the energy debate’s gone over the last five years, I’m sure it’ll be a very different space and very different discussion in five years’ time. That’s the reality of [inaudible]…
BEN FORDHAM:
So, your reason for staying in is based on trade, not the environment?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, the reason that we’ve gone for nuclear, as Bill Gates points out, is that you need to adopt a model which maximises the energy yield out of every square metre of impact on the environment. Why on earth Labor wants to put 28,000 kilometres of poles and wires through productive farming land and destroy the amenity of many regional communities, is beyond me. Well, it’s not actually, they’re doing it because they want to win Green votes in the inner city, so they’re hanging people out to dry in regional areas, in outer metropolitan areas. We need to operate in the most efficient way.
We’re one of the highest-cost economies to do business in in the world, and we need to be competitive, we need to be productive, and if we want to maintain our living standards and improve it for the next generation, then we can’t continue on the path that we’re on at the moment under Mr Albanese.
BEN FORDHAM:
Alright. But just on that theme of staying on the same path, under Paris; China, India and Russia have been increasing their emissions – this is under the Paris Agreement – now the US has gone, so the deal is effectively useless. Aren’t you tying yourself to a loser?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Ben, for the reasons that I’ve outlined and the fact that we’ve entered into an international agreement, and I believe that when we do that, we should honour the agreement. Ultimately, though, we make decisions that are in our country’s best interests, and we’ve done that in a number of things. I think we’ve saved our country from what would have been a disaster with the Voice if that was being legislated now with Adam Bandt and Anthony Albanese. All of a sudden it would have been worked out that it does impact on education policy and the Voice does need to be consulted in relation to law and order matters, etc., etc.
So, we make decisions that are in our country’s best interests. But as I say, we’re a net exporter and I want to grow our export markets and make it easier for investment to take place in our country so that we can grow the productive parts of the economy. Rio Tinto paid $10 billion in taxes and royalties last year. We want their operations to expand. This is our competitive advantage and over this last three year period, manufacturing businesses in this country have closed threefold compared to the years before that. That’s what happens when you have a bad government. That’s why I want to get the country back on track.
BEN FORDHAM:
The independent Senator Lidia Thorpe is getting a bit of attention this morning for some comments that she’s made about you on a podcast called the Green Left Podcast. With a title like that, you can imagine what’s coming. This is what Lidia Thorpe has had to say about Peter Dutton:
[excerpt]
LIDIA THORPE:
Dutton is a racist. Dutton is a violent person. Dutton used to be a Queensland police officer.
[end excerpt]
BEN FORDHAM:
Your response, Mr Dutton?
PETER DUTTON:
I just don’t want to give her the publicity that she’s craving – obviously just absurd statements, but she’s a publicity-seeker. Just don’t give her the headline, Ben. I just don’t think she deserves promotion. She shouldn’t be in the Senate, she’s not stable enough to be a member of the Australian Parliament and I think people recognise that through her actions. Her model is to attract the attention of the Lunatic Left and she does that.
She was elected as a Greens member of Parliament and I think it’s just another reminder to Australians to not vote Greens or Teals. The Greens, are at least out there and open about the lunacy of their own positions. But many of the Green-Teals are hiding behind a thin veil. People like Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel and Zali Steggall, they are Greens and they will only ever support an Albanese Government if there’s a minority government to be formed after the next election.
So, I think categorise all of these people into the same basket and please talk to your kids and grandkids and talk to them about the fact that the Greens are nothing to do with the environment, they’re a radical, extreme communist movement and they would be a disaster. But Anthony Albanese will give them preferences at the next election and the left of the Labor Party, the extreme left of the Labor Party, which has been led by Anthony Albanese for the last 20 years, would probably have more sympathy to the Greens positions. We’ve seen that on environmental decisions to try and close salmon farming and forestry in Tasmania and to try and close down the mining sector in WA.
BEN FORDHAM:
Thank you very much for joining us this morning. It’s going to be a big year and we’ll talk to you regularly. Thanks so much.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks very much, Ben. See you mate.
[ends]