HOST: Prime Minister, good morning and welcome.PM: Good morning Sabra.HOST: What can you tell us about these latest reports of another boat in distress in Indonesian waters?
PM: There are some early reports of a boat in distress. We have our official agencies now trying to ascertain the accuracy of those reports. Of course, when information comes to hand we'll make it available.HOST: On the parliamentary debate yesterday, wasn't it a Pyrrhic victory for you? This will not get through the Senate today.PM: The Senate today meets and each and every senator needs to examine their conscience. My door is certainly open to any senator who wants to come and speak with me this morning about the bill before the Senate.I want us to leave Parliament today with laws that enable us to process asylum seekers offshore with laws that will send a message of deterrence.The House of Representatives achieved that yesterday, a compromise bill moved by an Independent.
This is not about the Government or the Opposition, someone winning, someone losing - this is about getting laws which enable us to act.HOST: Do you think it's acceptable though to send, for a people swap bill where you allow a 13 year old child to be sent to another country unaccompanied, without supervision, as Joe Hockey suggests?PM: Well I don't want to see a 13 year old girl drown at sea in the weeks between now and when this Parliament comes back in the spring. I don't want to see that. We've seen too many people lose their lives at sea. We have to act. It's time to put the politicking to one side.Now let's just be clear about the arrangement with Malaysia. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been consulted every step of the way. We have assurances from Malaysia about the treatment of people there.We have been advised by the same people who advised the Howard government, the experts that advised them and now advise us, that this is the most effective message we can send to people smugglers to break their business model.But Sabra, at the end of the day I don't ask anybody in this Parliament to agree with all of my arguments about Malaysia. I understand that many people have got reservations about it. They've got a different view.But the truth is, if everybody just sits with their own view then nothing will get done. We as a Government have been prepared to compromise; we've agreed to the Opposition's plan for Nauru.Now we have to see today the Senate in good conscience enable the laws that went through the House of Representatives to clear this Parliament and to be enacted.HOST: Labor is in government because of the deal it did with the Greens. Have you spoken with Christine Milne about this? And why not make this an issue of confidence and say to the Greens we need this passed?PM: I'm prepared to say to every senator, I don't care what political party ticket they've got in their pocket, I'm prepared to say to every senator through your show today and with my door open today as well, that this is the right thing for them to do in all good conscience. That's true of every senator irrespective of their political party.HOST: You say your door is open. Are you prepared to negotiate further or not?PM: We have said very clearly that we are willing to talk. But we are in a situation now Sabra, where the only way we are going to leave this Parliament today with laws that enable us to process asylum seekers offshore is if the Senate passes the bill that went through the House of Representatives last night.This is now a yes or no proposition. Do you want laws or you don't want laws? If you do want laws then the only bill that can get through the Parliament today is the bill that went through the House last night.HOST: Well based on the current sentiment, and we only heard from Senator Christine Milne a short time ago, she is not for bending on this one. Neither is the Opposition. We heard their impassioned speeches yesterday. Some people hold very deeply held views about this and they've consulted their consciences.We are going to break from Parliament today and there will still be no deterrent in place.PM: People have to look at their consciences and say: am I prepared to act, am I prepared to compromise.Sabra, we have embraced the key element of the Opposition's plan in order to compromise.There are many members of my backbench who would have had tears in their eyes voting for a detention centre in Nauru.
Many of them time and time again on the public record have said how worried they are about a detention centre in Nauru, how inhumane they think such a centre is.But in order to get a compromise, in order to try and stop people drowning at sea, people who have got that deeply held view have been prepared to say: to get something done I will embrace the central element of the Opposition's plan.All I'm asking for from the Senate today is that senators, Opposition senators, Green senators, every senator, shows the same degree of goodwill and spirit of compromise. This is now a yes/no proposition.HOST: What about embracing Malcolm Turnbull's idea of trying Nauru and having a 12 month sunset clause on that?PM: Well what about actually getting laws today? We are on the verge of having laws that can pass this Parliament. They passed the House of Representatives yesterday.
If they don't pass the Senate today, we will leave this Parliament with no new laws, no new policies to prevent what is obvious to everyone now is a circumstance that can too easily end in tragedy.And I'd say to Malcolm Turnbull, I mean across the last few days and more generally over many months I have said to the Opposition, I'm prepared to talk, I'm prepared to talk, I'm prepared to talk and they have moved not one millimetre.So if Malcolm Turnbull thinks that they should be moving, he should be battering down the door of the Leader of the Opposition.HOST: I think that's unfair but Tony Abbott yesterday offered to drastically increase the number of asylum seekers, refugees that Australia would take.PM: Sabra, that's not a compromise on offshore processing. Whether you and I agreed right now to increase Australia's humanitarian intake would not make a difference as to whether or not a boat set to sea tomorrow. It wouldn't.In order to make a difference to whether or not that boat sets to sea and the people on it risk the dangerous journey, we need to come to an arrangement about offshore processing. And on that the Opposition has not compromised one millimetre.HOST: Parliament looks like it will reject this. Will you look at reintroducing Temporary Protection Visas as possibly another way of trying to deter people from making this dangerous journey?PM: Well Sabra let's be clear about the degree of compromise that's on the table here.
We have said, I said in the Parliament yesterday and I've said it very clearly: if these laws go through the Parliament as I believe they should, they went through the House of Representatives yesterday, we will operationalise our arrangement with Malaysia, we will create a detention centre on Nauru and we will work with the Opposition on an expert review of Temporary Protection Visas with an agreed reviewing panel and agreed terms of reference.We have been prepared to move, we have been prepared to compromise. Many Labor people find this very, very difficult too, many tears for them as well.
But they've understood that we cannot just sit in this Parliament and watch boats capsize and people drown and do nothing.Now the choice for the Senate today isn't a choice about, you know, a huge range of options, let's have a think about everything. There's one clear choice before them. The House of Representatives has spoken. There is a bill on the table.
That bill can be law by the end of today if senators in all good conscience say ‘I cannot leave this Parliament with the many weeks between now and the spring session knowing that there are no effective laws in place.'HOST: Onto another matter, the Financial Review today says the Government wants to introduce a strong public interest test for media owners. Are you looking to do that? Why do you need it?PM: We've received the Convergence Review and the report by Mr Finkelstein and we are still considering both of them. So when we are in a position to respond to those reports, we will.HOST: Okay, Prime Minister, thank you.PM: Thank you.