Subjects: Richard Marles’ prodigal son return to the Today Show; Labor’s housing crisis; Labor’s Big Australia policy; the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia; Australia Day.
E&OE.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has this week overtaken Anthony Albanese as preferred Prime Minister in fresh new polls from Resolve. To discuss, we’re joined by the Deputy PM Richard Marles and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in Adelaide. Cue Peaches & Herb, Reunited (1978)!
[Peaches & Herb ‘Reunited’ plays]
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Do you feel it, Richard?
RICHARD MARLES:
Lovely to see you Karl, Peter. Happy New Year!
KARL STEFANOVIC:
There you go!
You know, it’s actually been a while since you and Peter were together on the show. Since then, the Opposition Leader’s popularity has absolutely skyrocketed, Richard.
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, as we all know, what obviously matters is what occurs on election day later in the year. So, let’s see what occurs then. No doubt that Peter is feeling a little smug this morning as he wakes up in the new year, but let’s also not forget when Peter was the Health Minister and he was trying to introduce…
PETER DUTTON:
I’m feeling emotional!
RICHARD MARLES:
When he was trying to introduce a GP tax, he was voted back then as the worst Health Minister…
PETER DUTTON:
I’m feeling emotional, you’re back in the House, and it’s a nice thing!
RICHARD MARLES:
…that GPs in this country had ever seen. So, there’s a long way to go in the judgement of Peter Dutton.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Let’s have a look at the graphic that shows this only too well, compiled by the good people at Karl Doodles Graphic, eight minutes ago – eight months ago. This was Pete languishing in the doldrums, then whoof! The Shorten bluster hits and hey presto, we could have a new PM!
Peter, are you worried now that Richard is back, that’s the end of your stellar run?
PETER DUTTON:
I’m very worried now that Richard is back. Yes, that’s the short answer to your question. But I’m excited and I’m emotional about it because he was banned for a long time and he’s broken out and now he’s back and Australia is a better place for it. So, I look forward to speaking with Richard. He’s a good man and we’ve got a lot to talk about, but on the health issue, just quickly, to respond to that, when I was Health Minister, the bulk billing rate was 84 per cent, it’s now 77 per cent. We increased hospital funding every year, so I’m hardly going to take a lecture from a failed Government on what we should be doing around health.
RICHARD MARLES:
You tried to abolish bulk billing?
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright. I’m going to climb straight into it.
PETER DUTTON:
No, we actually tried to enhance bulk bulling.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The PM will announce today $10,000 bonuses to new apprentices. Richard, you’ve got 1.2 million houses to build. It’s going to take a whole lot more than apprentices to get that done?
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, it’s a big challenge, but the country needs it. This Government’s got a plan to provide that supply of housing. We all know that the supply side is really what we need to do to get the housing issue under control…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
How many have you built so far?
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, we are well on the way to doing this, but what we need to be doing is making sure that we have the workers in the construction industry. That’s what this incentive will do. A $10,000 incentive is going to encourage people into what is a fantastic industry, with a life-long, well-paid job. I think since we’ve come to power, our free TAFE policies have seen a half a million Australians go into TAFE. What that says is that when you provide these incentives, Australians take it with both hands.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
See I don’t think you are well on the way to building 1.2 million houses. That’s the issue. You wouldn’t happen to have that number? Or is that a cruel question?
RICHARD MARLES:
That’s a cruel question. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from you, Karl.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright. We’ll roll on, we’ll roll on.
Pete, just in terms – I think that the quest to build is a good one. We have to do it. Will apprentices make up that shortfall?
PETER DUTTON:
They will, in part, but 80,000 apprentices have dropped out since the Government’s been elected, so they’ve brought in a million people over two years – the biggest number of migration in our country’s history. We’re at an 11 year low in terms of building approvals. So, they’ve created this crisis.
I’ll tell you what, Karl, if your house was on fire, you wouldn’t want Anthony Albanese to be the fireman. He turns up to events two days late, and this Government’s on the eve of going to an election and all of a sudden they say that there is a problem which they’ve denied so far. So, we support a programme that’s going to get more apprentices into the system, but we’ve got a housing crisis that Labor’s created.
To answer Richard’s question, of the 1.2, close to zero have been built. They promised 1.2 million – it just hasn’t happened and that’s why people are feeling the crunch. They can’t rent a house, they can’t buy a house and people are right to be angry.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
On the subject…
RICHARD MARLES:
But Karl, we’ve put in place free TAFE. What we have seen is consistently, Peter and his Opposition opposing all of those measures. I mean, Peter can sit on the sidelines carping, but at the end of the day, he has done nothing to support new people into the industry, nor has he supported anything to see more housing approvals, to work with the states and local government to get that supply happening.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
On subject of late to the party, Richard, we’ve seen some highly offensive graffiti, burnt vehicles, even a childcare centre set alight. The PM waited until the final hour to call a Cabinet meeting, only to come out of it with a database to track these criminals in relation to anti-Semitic behaviour. You could have circled the wagons three months ago and didn’t. I just don’t understand, why not?
RICHARD MARLES:
Well, firstly, I don’t accept what you said, but to be clear, anti-Semitism is in a place and on the rise in a way that I have not seen in my lifetime. There is much that needs to be done to stand with the Jewish community in this country to see anti-Semitism brought to an end. We’ve actually, since being in power, criminalised more hate crimes than has ever happened before. We have criminalised the swastika. We’ve criminalised the Nazi salute. We have provided funding to the Jewish community to provide security for schools and other community facilities. We established Operation Avalite with the AFP to particularly look at anti-Semitism, back in December. It’s been working with its state counterparts around the country, already for example, in New South Wales we’ve seen 40 arrests. There has been significant action here, but we get that it is both action and words and we will stand resolutely with the Jewish community to stamp out anti-Semitism in this country.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. You’ve been vocal on it, Pete. Just quickly on that before we move on.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Karl, Richard says all the right things, but the problem is that that’s not the reality. The reality is that there’s a 700 per cent increase in anti-Semitism. We’ve got kids going to Jewish schools being protected by armed guards and it is as a result of the Prime Minister’s inaction – the university campuses, the protests went on for months and months and months, and the Prime Minister sat on his hands and he’s created yet another disaster.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. The latest survey…
RICHARD MARLES:
But, but Karl…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
I just want to finish with this Richard, we’ve got…
RICHARD MARLES:
Let just – I just want to make this point Karl. One point.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay.
RICHARD MARLES:
Peter was part of a government which said that Australians have a right to be bigots. Now, you know, it is that which underpins all form of bigotry and anti-Semitism in this country. It was Peter who was part of that government for nine years in which nothing happened. I don’t get why we’re trying to politicise the issue of opposing anti-Semitism. I get that Peter is opposed to it. We are opposed. But this is a moment actually where governments and oppositions need to come together and stand with the Jewish community against anti-Semitism rather than try and score political points on it.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay, look, it’s going to be a political hot potato. There’s no doubt about that, regardless. Okay, Pete, we know what your thoughts are on that. And in response, I just want to finish with the latest survey of Aussies, on a much lighter note, fellas.
Australia Day is back, baby! Richard, are you going to be jumping into your budgies and listening to the top 100 in your pool?
RICHARD MARLES:
I won’t be doing that because that would be a scary thing for everyone in Geelong. But I will be in Geelong this evening at the local council. Every year I, around Australia Day, I present the Geelong Young Person of the Year award, which is part of my Australia Day celebrations.
I mean we need to be obviously sensitive to our history, but this is a great country. Australia Day is the day on which we celebrate it. Australians are our right to do so, and that’s what I’ll be doing over the course of the weekend and Monday.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Hear, hear. Peter, are you a banana hammock kind of guy?
PETER DUTTON:
Yeah, we’ll it’s easy getting in. It’s that getting out that’s the problem, Karl. So probably as long as one of the kids is around to try and pull me out. Ah mate, look, I think it’s a fantastic result. I just think it says that our national pride can be something that we celebrate again. Be respectful to everybody, but these companies who are boycotting Australia Day, boycott them.
Let’s celebrate being the greatest country in the world. Let’s get the national pride back.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright. Good to see you. Thanks for being on, guys. Good to have you back.
[ends]