Subjects: Recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution; the Prime Minister’s divisive Voice, Treaty, Truth proposal; Labor’s sweetheart airline deal that will keep airfare prices higher; Newspoll.
E&OE
BROOKE BONEY:
Oh, to be the last two men on earth, hey?
SARAH ABO:
And save humanity while you’re at it.
BROOKE BONEY:
…Stuck in a dome.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Imagine if one of them was Peter Dutton.
SARAH ABO:
Well, maybe we should ask him about it.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
He joins us now. Pete, good morning.
PETER DUTTON:
Hey Karl – just you and I.
SARAH ABO:
Oh look out! Actually that would be something to behold. I wouldn’t mind watching that. Can we get that happening?
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Oh you’d be the only one!
SARAH ABO:
Who would eat who first?
PETER DUTTON:
I want to live my last days out with Karl Stefanovic in Noosa. How about that?
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Yeah righto.
SARAH ABO:
There’s a headline.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Love it up there.
Anyway, hey Pete, you’re suggesting a second Referendum if you get up in the next election. You’re not really serious about that, are you? I mean you don’t honestly believe Australians will have an appetite for another one.
PETER DUTTON:
Well Karl, I really believe it’s the right thing to do by Indigenous Australians to recognise just the fact of our history in the Constitution. Now, people can call it, you know, ‘tokenism’ or ‘symbolic’, but the fact is it’s a significant statement and it doesn’t mean that you can’t do the practical things that are required.
I’ve been moving around the country over the course of the last six, 12 months listening to literally thousands of Australians – I just don’t think the Prime Minister’s heard them. They don’t want the Voice. They do want constitutional recognition, but they don’t want the Voice in the Constitution.
The PM can change the question for October 14. If he asked people; ‘do you support constitutional recognition?’, I think there would be 70 or 80 per cent support for that. There would be a unifying moment for our nation; but at the moment the PM’s marching us down a path which is going to divide our country on October 14, and he knows that unless he provides the detail, people aren’t going to shift their vote and I don’t see how in good conscience he can continue to take our country down a path that he knows is not in our country’s best interests.
SARAH ABO:
But Peter, if you thought constitutional recognition was such a good idea, I mean you guys were in power for nine years. You had a long time to introduce it then, and the other problem is we’re hearing from within your own ranks, as well as those within the Indigenous community, that recognition simply isn’t enough. It doesn’t actually achieve anything practically.
PETER DUTTON:
Well Sarah, look, for some people it’s all about the power, and that’ll be about the Voice for them. But if you want to try and provide practical support for people on the ground, you don’t want another Canberra based Voice. It’s just another layer of bureaucracy in Canberra, and that’s the difficulty.
When you go out and speak to, particularly women, elders, in Indigenous communities, Alice Springs, etc., they want schooling for their kids, they want housing, they want jobs and activity that’s going to try and address the youth crime issue. So, that’s the Voice that they’re speaking now. The trouble is it’s not being heard.
I think the Prime Minister has just got a tin ear to the Australian public at the moment. In every poll they’re saying; ‘we don’t want the Voice in the Constitution’, ‘you’re not explaining it to us’, and I don’t think the PM’s going to change course between now and October 14. I just don’t think he’s going to give the detail. It’s a deliberate strategy, it’s deceptive and tricky, and I think the Australian public realise that they’re not going to vote for something that they don’t get the detail on until after the vote takes place.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay, so when do we get details of what you’re suggesting, and what are the timings of that? Because Jacqui Lambie on our show this morning said you were just ‘gobbing off’.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Jaqui’s got always a good turn of phrase. But I think you can work together as a Parliament to come up with a form of words. I think now, just to Sarah’s point that she made earlier, I think now the public is ready for recognition, whereas 10 years ago they weren’t.
The Liberal Party’s taken this to successive elections, but we’ve said that you want to have bipartisan support and you want to have a chance of the Referendum getting up.
The trouble is the PM at the moment is going to spend about $450 million to pose a question on October 14 that he knows is going to fail. I just don’t think he’s going to shift votes unless he gives the detail. As I say, it’s a deliberate strategy the PM’s got not to give the detail. He’s saying you’ll get the detail after you vote, but Australians aren’t stupid, they’re not going to fall for that.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The Transport Minister, I’m sure, will be under the pump in Parliament today. I’m sure you’re getting ready for all of that. Skroo Turner was on our program a little earlier, saying he expects some movement in regards to that story. You expecting the same?
PETER DUTTON:
Karl, I certainly hope so. I just think we need further competition because, as Skroo Turner points out – and he’s a great bloke – his customers are paying thousands of dollars more than they need to for airfares because of the decision the Prime Minister’s taken.
The thing is that it’s obviously a very close relationship between Alan Joyce and Anthony Albanese; they’re on the red carpet together all the time. That’s fine, but there’s a murkiness around this decision that the government’s made. They’ve given seven different reasons in seven different days for the reason to stop Qatar flying those new routes.
If you bring in additional people, it’s going to help tourism in regional communities, in cities, and it’s going to reduce prices because of the competition for Australians who want to fly overseas.
I just think the PM – I don’t know what’s happened to him – but he’s got to start listening to Australians, who if you want to go and visit family overseas, or you want to go on a holiday, you don’t want to be paying thousands of dollars more for the airfares – but that’s the decision he’s taken.
SARAH ABO:
You’ve got a bit of a pep in your step this morning, Peter. Have the primary votes polls got anything to do with that?
PETER DUTTON:
Sarah, no one reads the polls, you know that. No one takes any notice of the polls. There’s only one poll that counts – I’m just reading from my notes here.
SARAH ABO:
Um…what does it say?
KARL STEFANOVIC:
It says that!
All right, well, I’ll see you at the end of the world then Pete – just you and I.
PETER DUTTON:
Alright mate. I’ll see you there. Bring your boardies. See ya.
SARAH ABO:
Thanks, Peter.
[ends]