CLIFF REEVE:
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull good afternoon, welcome to Triple M.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah good afternoon Cliff. Can I just, I don’t want to start off the discussion being disagreeable but the welcome I’ve had has been absolutely warm and generous, wherever I’ve been and nowhere more so than in Busselton today.
CLIFF REEVE:
Perhaps it’s we in the pesky media.
(Laughter)
PRIME MINISTER:
The pesky media?
CLIFF REEVE:
The Sunday Times said that you were gone, there was a Labor Secretary said that this was called the kiss and makeup tour, the WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt said that you would be “run out of town unless you come with more GST money for WA”. You’ve also got infighting on the same sex marriage issue, I know you don’t want to talk about that but I’ll come to that shortly. I can’t help wondering if you feel a bit beleaguered – that word that Donald Trump used.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah no, I’m feeling great. I’m buoyed up by the warmth and positivity of the people of the South-West and as I say it’s been a great visit.
CLIFF REEVE:
There’s one issue that will not go away. And again, it’s in part the media that is running this, but there’s a lot of the Liberal members that are also talking about same sex marriage. There is an impasse. We have to find a way around it, can you tell us if you’ve got anything in your back pocket that can get this issue done, dusted and out of the road?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look Cliff, again the only people that raise this with me are the media - so you’re dead right.
Out of the hundreds of people that I’ve met in WA this week I can only think of one person who has raised this. So that’s just a little fact I’ll leave your listeners to reflect on that, I think they probably want us to talk about other things. But just to be very concise, we took a policy to the last election that said we would have a – let the Australian people make up their decision on this issue of marriage, whether gays can get married, same sex marriage can be allowed and we give everyone a vote. Why hasn’t the vote occurred? I’ll tell you why, two words – Bill Shorten. He actually said in 2013 that he wanted to have a plebiscite. That was his policy-
CLIFF REEVE:
But Prime Minister is was also the Greens, and it was Nick Xenophon and I believe Derryn Hinch voted against it too.
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no I’m not denying that. But there is no question that if the Labor Party supported it, it would’ve been carried. So you know there is a lot of blame to go around for blocking that plebiscite, but the largest share goes to Bill Shorten and the Australian Labor Party. As I’ve said, who knows – but my view is it would’ve been carried in which case gay marriage would’ve been allowed. Now can we – do you want to move onto some other issues – or are we going to keep talking about this?
CLIFF REEVE:
Absolutely and I’m a big fan of The West Wing, the TV series and I remember-
PRIME MINISTER:
(Laughter) Right, okay.
CLIFF REEVE:
There was a couple of episodes where various characters had someone - Joe Public – talk to them about something, I’m wondering if there’s a constituent that you have had the chance to speak to, or has been brought forward for you that has had an issue that has really you know, hit you in your belly?
PRIME MINISTER:
What on this visit?
CLIFF REEVE:
Yeah.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah well I’ve had a number of young people talk about the problems of ice – methamphetamine abuse – that is a very big issue and one that a lot of older people of course are very concerned about it. But it’s very real issue I know. Particularly in Andrew Hastie’s electorate, it's an issue that’s been raised in Nola’s electorate as well. So look, that is an issue – we’re putting a lot more money into both on the law enforcement side, on the rehabilitation side, but it’s a very serious health challenge.
CLIFF REEVE:
How do you think Parliament is going to go the first day that you sit back in there again?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it will go the way it always goes, you know it will be more – bit of theatrical fury in Question Time, but other than that we will get on with business.
Over the last year, a bit more than a year since the last election we have had enormous success in getting legislation through the Parliament, through the House. We have a one seat majority, and through the Senate well we don’t have – we have 29 votes out of 76. So you know we’ve had a lot of success with this Parliament, massive school funding reforms. I imagine some of your listeners are interested in schools and have children at schools.
CLIFF REEVE:
Simon Birmingham the Education Minister has been in the South West today too.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, yeah that’s right and we’ve got a very good story to tell. Because Western Australia had got such a raw deal from the Gillard Labor Government with all of their secret and contradictory deals on schools, when we restored fairness, needs-based transparent fair funding, with federal money for schools across Australia, Western Australia does particularly well. So funding in WA schools will double over the next decade on an annual basis. So that is a very very big improvement.
We’re cutting business taxes, we’re providing investments in economic infrastructure, we are providing the incentives for businesses to invest and employ. Whereas what Labor’s proposing to do – or threatening to do – and I’ve got no doubt will do if they get elected; jacking up company tax, jacking up personal income tax, absolutely undermining the incentives you need to get the economic growth those young people deserve.
CLIFF REEVE:
Prime Minister I’ve just got one final thing, my son lives in Los Angeles and he said that the jokes that you made at the media dinner are still being talked about in circles in LA. He thought they were funny, so well done you! You’re still being talked about in America.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ah well, there you go. That’s good thank you.
CLIFF REEVE:
Prime Minister, I know you’re busy thank you very much for visiting Western Australia. Thanks for a couple of moments on Triple M today.
PRIME MINISTER:
No worries Cliff, thanks a lot.
[ENDS]