FITZY:
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, welcome to the show.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, great to be with you.
WIPPA:
Mate, congratulations on everything. This week has been a huge celebration.
PRIME MINISTER:
It has.
WIPPA:
How did you celebrate? Did you have a moment with Lucy as well?
PRIME MINISTER:
I did. Luce came down to Canberra and we had dinner together at The Lodge and a glass of champagne. Look, we were so thrilled. It was a really great moment in Australian history you know, to have 61.6 per cent of Australians voting ‘yes’ for marriage equality. Voting for a fair go, for love, for commitment.
WIPPA:
Yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
It was a really, it’s a big deal and we were delighted. We’ve been strong supporters of marriage equality for a long time and it’s great to see such an emphatic vote.
FITZY:
Couple of photos we need to focus on – the one where you watched the result being delivered by the ABS. Your office down in Canberra, really disappointed with how small your television is, Prime Minister.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, yeah.
FITZY:
I mean, you’ve got a big piece of art above it – can you move the art and get a big screen? Maybe a 70-incher or something?
WIPPA:
It’s not a sports bar!
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER:
Actually to be honest with you, I watch most television, when I’m in Canberra, I watch it on my iPad.
WIPPA:
Ah, the old iPad.
PRIME MINISTER:
As I think a lot of people do nowadays by the way. Particularly the big iPads.
WIPPA:
If you think about it too Prime Minister, I mean, we spent a bit of money, $100 to $120 million and we got a result. We got the result we wanted.
PRIME MINISTER:
It came in at less than 100. Still pricey though.
[Laughter]
WIPPA:
Isn’t it great to think though, that if we need to get a say on something and we get, what, a $100 mill, we can pass the hat around if we wanted to find out whether Australian wanted a three-day weekend? I mean, we can just crowd fund a little bit, and have a vote!
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I think this has been a real, this is a hugely historic moment.
WIPPA:
Yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
We’ve had a national vote, 80 per cent turnout. Big majority in favour of marriage equality. We’ve put our arms around same-sex couples and we’ve said: “We love you, we respect you, your committed relationship will get the same recognition from the law as does ours”.
Now that is a big deal. But what is also interesting is that this survey was voluntary-
WIPPA:
Yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
People said no-one will vote for it. People said, I mean look, I had so much opposition to getting this up as you know. Labor opposed it. Some people in my own party opposed it. A lot of resistance and people said: “Young people won’t vote, they don’t know what a letter looks like, they don’t know what a post-box looks like”. They voted in huge numbers!
FITZY:
Yeah, yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
And so it has defied, it has absolutely defied a lot of pundits which I like. I do like pundits being overturned occasionally.
FITZY:
It was so successful, I reckon we should have another Census because we know how well that went-
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, didn’t you love David Kalisch, when he did the announcement?
WIPPA:
Yeah, he was wrapped wasn’t he? He was wrapped!
FITZY:
He pumped up the ABS, didn’t he?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, he knew that the second he gave the number everyone would stop listening.
[Laughter]
FITZY:
Exactly!
WIPPA:
So he got his piece in first!
FITZY:
Now Prime Minister, can you please, I know you can’t give us an exact, I would love to get your thoughts though. When do you honestly believe, because we’re hearing December 6, December 7?
WIPPA:
Before Christmas.
FITZY:
It will get passed in and then the Governor-General will take a couple of days to overlook it. But do you think it will be in before Christmas or are we looking more mid-January?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the law will be passed - look, it’s a free vote, okay? So obviously people will go to move amendments and debate them and everything. But I am very, very confident it will all be passed before Christmas.
WIPPA:
Yep.
PRIME MINISTER:
Once the two houses have agreed on the Bill, then it goes to be given the Royal Assent by the Governor-General and that can happen very quickly.
WIPPA:
Okay well you saw the party on Wednesday. Imagine if you timed it with New Years Eve and we just had a countdown.
FITZY:
Oh, that’s not bad.
WIPPA:
Now, that would be a big party.
FITZY:
Yep and just weddings, free weddings all round. Hey, just quickly as well, you love a good selfie. You got one with the hero, our national hero the other day, Mile Jedinak who just scored three times for the Socceroos, through to the World Cup.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yep.
FITZY:
That’s the other photo we need to focus on, because where were you watching the Socceroos the other night? You’re in a tiny little room with a tiny little chair. Electricians have blown up at this photo as well, because you’ve got, you’ve got hanging cords coming out of the television set –
[Laughter]
WIPPA:
Stop having a go at the Prime Minister’s lounge area.
FITZY:
Where is that?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’ll tell you what happened, I’ll tell you what happened. Lucy and I wanted to watch the game, we caught most of the second half of the game and the battery for, you know, the zapper, the control -
WIPPA:
The remote, the remote.
PRIME MINISTER:
For the family room at The Lodge, was dead and rather than look around for a battery, we just went and watched it in our bedroom.
WIPPA:
Oh, that’s the bedroom! That’s the Prime Minister’s bedroom.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, it is not the man cave as some people suggested. The television just sits on a mantelpiece above an old fireplace.
FITZY:
Malcolm, Malcolm, you’re in Potts Point, please change your curtains. They’re not romantic at all. What are those curtains?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, they’re beautiful! Lucy chose them - this is in Canberra right –
WIPPA:
Yeah, this is the Lodge.
PRIME MINISTER:
They’re a beautiful, they’re Australian fabric with Australian, you know, flora, wattles and gumleaves and all that.
WIPPA:
Yeah it’s lovely. Prime Minister, to be honest I’m just a little disappointed and I hope somebody got the sack, because it was a major sporting event and no one upgraded the batteries in the remote! I mean someone in the Lodge has got to have that job? Unbelievable.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER:
There you go, I’ll probably go round and check –
WIPPA:
Get on to that.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER:
But I don’t spend a lot of time, I’ve got to tell you I don’t spend a lot of time … Most of my time at the Lodge, I leave early and get back late.
FITZY:
Yeah.
WIPPA:
Absolutely.
FITZY:
You know what, you’ve got your confidence up as well. I dunno if you heard, but you started the rap battle on the Project when I was on there one night –
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah …
FITZY:
You dropped a couple of lines with Waleed as well, but then the Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten came on our show and did Rap Up of the Week. Here’s a little bit of Bill rapping.
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION - RECORDING:
Will I rap again? It’s anyone’s guess. But there’s more chance of Tony Abbott voting yes. I’ve nailed the rap, I’m the cat, you’re the mouse. The tables have Turnbulled now it’s Shorten’s house.
WIPPA:
He’s not a natural but he had a crack.
PRIME MINISTER:
You see the difference is mine was off the cuff, he got someone to write it for him.
[Laughter]
WIPPA:
You were freestyling.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah sure. But listen, he’s got a writer there’s no doubt about that.
[Laughter]
FITZY:
Oh!
WIPPA:
Yeah, sure. Well the gauntlet has been thrown down Prime Minister, the next time you’re in the studio
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah okay, well we’ll give it a go.
WIPPA:
And you can write something or freestyle mate, whatever you want to do.
PRIME MINISTER:
Freestyle is always more fun.
[Laughter]
WIPPA:
I love it, you’re on.
FITZY:
Well thank you very much for coming on the show, we know how busy you are Prime Minister. We appreciate your time, thanks for coming on Malcolm.
PRIME MINISTER:
No worries, great to be with you.
WIPPA:
Thanks so much.
[ENDS]