DAVE HUGHES:
We’ve got the Prime Minister on with us, Kate, Good afternoon Mr Turnbull.
PRIME MINISTER:
Hey, how are you? Great to be with you.
KATE LANGBROEK:
That introduction you did just made it sound like you’re a sketch character but you’re not – you genuinely are the Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
The very one.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Yes.
PRIME MINISTER:
It’s good to be with you and all of your listeners too.
DAVE HUGHES:
You must be annoyed that there is a sketch character out there who is doing a lot of your work? Is that annoying Malcolm?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, it’s very flattering, it’s very flattering.
(Laughter)
KATE LANGBROEK:
Well you are very impersonatable and particularly when you talk about Lucy.
PRIME MINISTER:
When I talk about Lucy? Well, I love Lucy.
(Laughter)
KATE LANGBROEK:
You do love Lucy! And it is very attractive – a man who loves his wife.
DAVE HUGHES:
I’m worried now. I’m worried that it’s not really the Prime Minister. Is it definitely the Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
It definitely is but you know, look, it is great to be on your show and it is good to have the opportunity.
DAVE HUGHES:
What is our show called, Mr Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it’s Hughesy and Kate isn’t it?
(Laughter)
KATE LANGBROEK:
Did you just have an aide next to you who-
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no – I pick these things up. The only thing I don’t want to talk about is this vampire facial stuff.
DAVE HUGHES:
Oh god, he’s done his research.
PRIME MINISTER:
That sounds more gory than Game of Thrones.
KATE LANGBROEK:
More gory than a session in Parliament? Which is a blood sport.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it is definitely more gory than that. And more shocking than a frozen dragon being dragged out of a frozen lake and brought back to life by the Night King.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Are you a Game of Thrones fan?
DAVE HUGHES:
Yeah, that’s the last episode.
KATE LANGBROEK:
A bit of GOT!
DAVE HUGHES:
How do you find time? You actually – now be honest Malcolm – do you find time to watch that show or are you just being given information about the show?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no – actually, I like Game of Thrones – I do. I mean it is very confronting at times.
KATE LANGBROEK:
It’s confronting!
(Laughter)
PRIME MINISTER:
It is! Look, you know, when you think about it -
DAVE HUGHES:
Do you fast-forward through the nude scenes?
(Laughter)
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, you know at my age I can handle them alright.
DAVE HUGHES:
Oh, you’ve still got it Malcolm!
KATE LANGBROEK:
What does Lucy do? Do you watch it together?
PRIME MINISTER:
Lucy is not a great fan of Game of Thrones to be honest.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Right.
PRIME MINISTER:
But she dips in and out of it but she’s not as – my absolutely favourite book that I read again and again, literally, probably, more than a dozen times I would think when I was a kid was Lord of the Rings. And so, I have always loved the sword and sorcerer type genre.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Right, yes.
PRIME MINISTER:
And of course Lord of the Rings was basically where it all started. All of this stuff has spun off from that.
DAVE HUGHES:
But Malcolm, can I ask, if you’re watching Game of Thrones alone and then as a really racy scene comes on and then Lucy walks in – is it a bit weird or not?
(Laughter)
PRIME MINISTER:
Now, maybe we should get onto vampire facials.
(Laughter)
KATE LANGBROEK:
Alright, now you wanted –
PRIME MINISTER:
Or you’ll trick me. You’ll ask me whether I’m ‘Netflix and chilling’.
(Laughter)
KATE LANGBROEK:
Alright – we know you can’t be tricked.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, I dunno. I am sure you’re very tricky.
DAVE HUGHES:
Is it really him?
KATE LANGBROEK:
It is him! Now, Mr Turnbull-
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes?
KATE LANGBROEK:
Now today you’ve been, this is very interesting because this is like a big policy thing - drug testing for-
PRIME MINISTER:
It is. This is about the drug testing. It is a very big deal.
KATE LANGBROEK:
People who receive the dole.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yep.
DAVE HUGHES:
5,000 are going to be tested?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it is a trial. Look, I know there have been some people who have said how do you know it will work? Well, if we knew it would work we’d do it nationally and we wouldn’t be doing a trial. I mean, people always want governments to be innovative, to try new things.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Yes, true. And people are sick of ‘crackheads’.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, people don’t want people on welfare to be spending their welfare dollars on drugs.
KATE LANGBROEK:
However-
PRIME MINISTER:
And equally – just let me make this point – if you love somebody and you care for them, you don’t want them doing drugs and you certainly don’t want people on welfare doing drugs because if, this is people on Newstart and so forth, because that’s going to stop them getting a job, right?
DAVE HUGHES:
That’s true.
PRIME MINISTER:
So the whole objective is to get them off welfare and into a job and so if they’re doing drugs, then you want to stop them doing it. So I think this is a very, look, this is a trial – it’ll be 5,000 people that will go through this trial, we’ll see how it works. If it successful, we hope it is, then we could do more of it.
And, you know, if you can get people off drugs and into a job, it’s a great thing.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Marijuana seems a bit unfair. I understand ice, ecstasy-
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it’s a bit illegal however. You may say it’s a bit unfair but it’s also quite a bit illegal.
DAVE HUGHES:
Yeah, but I mean, well its not very illegal.
KATE LANGBROEK:
It’s not very illegal. Its slightly illegal. And do you know what? Really, probably, there’s only two more years illegality in it.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, I wouldn’t agree with you on that but - it has very addictive qualities-
KATE LANGBROEK:
Of course, of course.
PRIME MINISTER:
And it obviously is a major issue, perhaps not with the prominence that ice has nowadays.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Can I just ask you this?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yep.
KATE LANGBROEK:
For instance, if you test positive to ice - what happens then?
PRIME MINISTER:
What will happen then is you will go onto a – you will get your welfare payment, 80 per cent of it will be put onto what is called a basics card which means it can only be spent on necessities. So, you know - food, rent, clothing that sort of thing but it can’t be spent-
KATE LANGBROEK:
Right.
PRIME MINISTER:
You’re not getting it in cash, in other words.
DAVE HUGHES:
And Malcolm would you be happy – I think that’s reasonable.
PRIME MINISTER:
So basically, the aim is to reduce the amount of cash.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Yes.
DAVE HUGHES:
Yes
PRIME MINISTER:
And quite a few people volunteer to go onto these income management schemes, or this basics card. It is very useful for some people who have difficultly managing their income in these, that are clients of the Centrelink.
DAVE HUGHES:
Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER:
But frankly this is a very important trial dealing with a very important, very significant social problem.
DAVE HUGHES:
Fair enough, yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
And we want people to get off drugs and into jobs. That’s the goal.
DAVE HUGHES:
Malcolm, would you be happy for MP’s to be drug tested?
PRIME MINISTER:
I know people have often asked that. It wouldn’t trouble me, but I don’t think there’s a lot of demand for it.
KATE LANGBROEK:
How do you know?
DAVE HUGHES:
Yeah, I mean, I imagine if you’re being drug tested when you’re on Centrelink and you-
KATE LANGBROEK:
Yeah and you’re a recipient of public money.
DAVE HUGHES:
You’d go: ‘Well why can’t MP’s be drug tested?’
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again, it isn’t-
KATE LANGBROEK:
Who would you start with Malcolm?
(Laughter)
PRIME MINISTER:
Alright well you are, you’re inviting me to make some nominations. Look, I don’t think that’s – that’s never been regarded as an issue in Parliament-
KATE LANGBROEK:
No, not by the people who pass the laws.
DAVE HUGHES:
And before we let you go, and you’ve got to go I know – can we just say - you want everyone to vote, well you want everyone to vote ‘yes’ in the marriage postal vote don’t you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, well Lucy and I are voting ‘yes’. And we absolutely are voting ‘yes’ and I encourage others to do so. But above all I encourage everyone to vote.
DAVE HUGHES:
Yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
And, look, again I respect the views of those who differ from us, who want to vote ‘no’ - I respect their views, I’m sure they respect mine. But the good thing is we’re giving everybody a say. But Lucy and I will be voting ‘yes’.
DAVE HUGHES:
And if it gets over 50 per cent it will become the law of the land?
PRIME MINISTER:
In my view yes, it will sail through the Parliament. We will facilitate a Private Members Bill, but there are quite a few people in the Parliament who will vote ‘no’ in the postal vote but who have said that if the people say yes they will nonetheless vote ‘yes’ for the Bill.
DAVE HUGHES:
That’s good.
PRIME MINISTER:
If the postal vote is carried it will sail through the Parliament. There’s nothing more certain than that.
DAVE HUGHES:
Great. Fantastic.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Mr Turnbull, I have enjoyed speaking to you so much more than I thought I was going to.
DAVE HUGHES:
Yes, Malcolm - a breath of fresh air!
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, thank you Kate - that’s great.
KATE LANGBROEK:
I want to talk to you about a lot of other things but we can’t.
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m very touched, that’s very kind of you.
DAVE HUGHES:
He’s loosened up. I think you’ve loosened up.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Well no he’s direct, its good.
DAVE HUGHES:
He’s loosened up, alright.
KATE LANGBROEK:
Thanks Mr Turnbull. I’d like to talk to him again at some point, thank you say hi to Lucy.
[ENDS]