EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Joining us on the line right now is the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull. Good morning Malcolm.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning Eddie. Wasn’t that a great night in the pool and on the track last night?
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Yeah, now are you enjoying yourself up there?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah I was, it was terrific, it was terrific. I didn’t see any events when I was up there yesterday but I saw the cycling last night and parts of the swimming, so it was fantastic.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Prime Minister, I just heard Wil Anderson say that Lucy was playing table tennis with Camilla? Is that correct?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah she did! Yeah they were a great team, they were a great team. I was trying to get the Prince to join us for a sort of mixed doubles match but he ended up playing table tennis with someone else in a singles contest with one of the young athletes.
WIL ANDERSON:
He’s very good Prince Charles, on a table tennis table, because he can use his ears as extra bats.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER:
He’s a very good sport though, I don’t know how good a sportsman he is at table tennis but he is a very good sport.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Yeah Malcolm how do you go – clearly you led the republican movement back in 1999 and established –
PRIME MINISTER:
At your side, Eddie.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Well, I was at your side, carrying your bag to be honest. But in all seriousness, can you just explain to people how you can get through that situation? Because it wasn’t as if there was any rancour towards the Royal Family in that, it was more about the Australian’s identity. But when you speak to the future heir to the throne, does it ever come up?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah sure. Look I’ve discussed the issue with him in the past, he completely understands and has said publically, it’s a matter for Australians. He respects that and he also understands, as does her Majesty, that there is no negativity or animosity towards the Royal Family. In fact, as I’ve said before, even republicans are Elizabethans. We all admire her Majesty the Queen. I’ve got great respect for the Royal Family, but republicans believe that an Australian should be head of state, not the monarch of a foreign country.
WIL ANDERSON:
Now Prime Minister I’ve got to ask you this because obviously, Prince Charles, he’s been sitting around waiting to get the top job, you know, jealously looking at the incumbent and wondering if they’ll move aside so he can take the reins. Are you feeling a bit of that pressure in your own party at the moment? Monday is 30 Newspolls, there’s a bit of “Lib spill” talk around, with Peter Dutton shuffling his papers, Tony Abbott is back. Are you worried about your job Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the only shuffling is in the papers, actually.
LUKE DARCY:
Is that right?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah absolutely right.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Hey, I suppose with all that around the back alleys of Parliament, to get John Howard coming out and giving you an endorsement during the week, it’s nice to have somebody who is an elder statesman of the party come out and support you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, well John is one of our greatest Prime Ministers. I mean he’s second only to Robert Menzies, we would say. No, look he is a source of very good advice both privately and publically and I learned a lot from him. In fact when I became Prime Minister, I said that I was going to restore traditional cabinet government and I said that it would be modelled on the government that John Howard led. That’s exactly what I’ve done and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that, that I have actually delivered that traditional cabinet government. So, it’s very important and John set a great example over nearly 12 years.
WIL ANDERSON:
Prime Minister, I’d like to see you go the step further, John Howard style. At these Commonwealth Games, can we see you in an Australian tracksuit, supporting our team?
[Laughter]
LUKE DARCY:
Now, that’s a good idea.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I do occasionally. I do occasionally put on a Wallabies football jersey when I’m going for a walk. In fact I had a very humorous moment, I was walking along the lake in Canberra with Lucy one cold morning and I’d just pulled on a Wallabies jumper just as I was going out. I was walking along and Lucy was FaceTiming with our daughter Daisy and she turned the phone and Daisy saw me in the Wallabies jumper and she said: “Good heavens! You are the Prime Minister”.
[Laughter]
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
That’s the uniform of, yes.
PRIME MINISTER:
Anyway, the big news in our family is we have another grandson.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Yeah, congratulations!
LUKE DARCY:
How many is that now Prime Minister, how many grandchildren have you got?
PRIME MINISTER:
We’re up to four now. Alex and Daisy, if you’re listening, no pressure. But four, we’ve got two boys and two girls.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
What’s the latest addition’s name?
PRIME MINISTER:
Ronan.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Ronan?
PRIME MINISTER:
Ronan, yeah he’s a little boy and his mum Yvonne and his dad Alex, who is our son, live in Singapore. They have a daughter called Isla who is nearly three.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Good on you mate.
PRIME MINISTER:
She is very – based on the pictures they’ve sent us and the chats we’ve had on the phone, on FaceTime - they are really so thrilled and Isla I think, is very excited to be a big sister.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
Good stuff mate. Now you’re coming down to Melbourne next week Malcolm and you come down with $1.8 million, sorry, $1.8 billion of extra GST coming our way. So what can we expect next week when you come down?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I’m coming down next week, talking to colleagues, talking to lots of people, but the main thing we’re focussed on is easing congestion. In Melbourne we know that Melbourne is a city that’s been growing rapidly. There is a lot of pressure on all of the transport, the roads, rail so we’re very focussed on that. We’ve already put a lot of money, as you know, into supporting better roads in Melbourne and indeed better rail in Victoria, including half a billion dollars on the Monash and other projects. But we’re always seeking to do more.
WIL ANDERSON:
Prime Minister you might not have seen this, but speaking of Melbourne road congestion, this morning we’ve had an accident on the Hume and over a million chicken nuggets have spilled onto the Hume Highway. Traffic is in chaos because of these nuggets, I just wanted to ask you as we close with you, do you ever go to McDonalds? And if you do go to McDonalds, what would you eat at McDonalds?
LUKE DARCY:
Tell me it’s not a Fillet-o-Fish Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I’d just have a burger, I’ve never been a big Chicken McNuggets person. I suppose the clean-up would be, the clean-up of all those McNuggets would depend on what sauce had been spilled.
[Laughter]
It could be a very sticky situation.
EDDIE MCGUIRE:
They’ve got the oil out there and they’ve got the Fillet-o-Fish, it’s no good. Good for the cats out in the northern suburbs though, they’re enjoying it.
LUKE DARCY:
Good to get the Prime Minister to tackle the big issues here this morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good on you.
LUKE DARCY:
Thank you for joining us Malcolm Turnbull, from the Gold Coast at the Commonwealth Games.