PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning. Our industrial reform agenda continues this week. This is vital economic reform, this is economy boosting reform. You’ve seen the new tape, the new video and the threats on the Commonwealth Games site at the Gold Coast but this is happening everyday around Australia. This is the type of thuggery that has to stop. The rule of law must prevail everywhere in Australia, including in the construction and building sector which is so critical to our economic growth, so critical to ensuring we have the infrastructure, paid for by taxpayers and affordable housing. It is vital that we have a construction sector where the rule of law prevails.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, can you rule out softening Australia’s gun laws in exchange for passing through the ABCC Bill?
PRIME MINISTER:
Can I just say to you, I’m not going to speculate about negotiations with Senators. I’m certainly not going to negotiate in advance. We’ve got a number of - as you know – we don’t have a majority in the Senate so we will be talking to all of the Senators and seeking to secure their support for this important legislation. We believe we will win their support and any negotiations we have will be with them.
JOURNALIST:
David Leyonhjelm says that the Government welched on a deal with him last year about the sunset clause for the Adler shotgun. He thinks that he has been treated poorly. Do you think he has got any grounds for those concerns?
PRIME MINISTER:
David Leyonhjelm and I have discussed the matter and I’ll be working hard to ensure that any concerns or disappointment he has is addressed.
JOURNALIST:
Crossbench negotiations - what do you make of Bob Day resigning?
PRIME MINISTER:
You’ve got a really good strategic position.
JOURNALIST:
What do you make of Bob Day resigning and what does this mean for the Government considering he is normally a supporter of Government legislation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I assume that when Bob retires from the Senate that the casual vacancy will be filled in the usual way which will mean there will be another Family First Senator and we would then seek to persuade the new Senator in the same way as we seek to persuade the other crossbench Senators.
JOURNALIST:
If you don’t get it through the Senate will you push ahead for -
PRIME MINISTER:
We will obviously - as John Howard said, politics and indeed joint sittings are governed by the iron laws of arithmetic, so we will be paying attention to that. We have that option, we do have that option.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, it’s my understanding there are some talks going on at the official level between Australia and the US over US possibly accepting asylum seekers from Manus Island or Nauru. Can you confirm those talks and how are they progressing?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m not going to comment on discussions with third countries at all.
JOURNALIST:
So you’re saying they’re not going on or they are going on?
PRIME MINISTER:
I said I’m not going to comment on discussions with third countries at all.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister why don’t you just rule out a free vote on marriage equality? If you really wanted the Senate to vote for the plebiscite, why wouldn’t you just up the stakes and rule it out?
PRIME MINISTER:
Because I am focussed on getting the Plebiscite Bill passed by the Senate. I know - as I was just saying on Radio National – one of your number said to me the other day at a press conference like this, “We know the Senate won’t support” – sorry, “We know what the numbers are in the Senate.” Well, that’s great. I don’t know what the final numbers will be in the Senate and you know something - my experience is that nobody knows until the votes are counted. So we have a clear mandate to have, to bring in this legislation, this plebiscite legislation. We have done so. It is yet to go through the House, I hope that will be this week. Then we look forward to the Senate passing it. I can assure you, we’ll be engaging with all of the crossbench to pass it and continue to seek to persuade Mr Shorten to support it. To date, he has just taken an in-principle objection to a plebiscite, which is curious because three years ago he actively supported a plebiscite.
He has however succeeded in winning the endorsement of the ACL, the Australian Christian Lobby. He won their praise three years ago when he told them he’d support a plebiscite and now that he’s decided to oppose one, they’ve thanked him for postponing the day when gay marriage can occur. Well you know something - if Mr Shorten is serious about supporting same sex marriage, supporting the change of the law, he knows he should support the plebiscite. It will be held on the 11th of February and unless every opinion poll that’s ever been conducted on this is wrong – I don’t think they are wrong – it will be carried. So what Bill Shorten is doing is saying he will not support a process which we know will ensure that gay couples can get married.
He is the one, Bill Shorten is the person standing between gay couples and marriage.
Thanks very much.
[Ends]