Prime Minister
MATT: Scott, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER: G’day Matt, g’day Lu, how are you boys?
LU: Um I’m a girl but hi.
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: There you go.
[Laughter]
LU: That’s all fine. A lot of people make the same mistake.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s a gender neutral term.
LU: It really is and it doesn’t matter.
MATT: Now Scott, talk us through these three new initiatives.
PRIME MINISTER: Well what we’re doing at the moment is ensuring that the veterans can get recognized in the community and we’ve got a compact which will ensure that a veteran’s card and a veterans pin. That means that companies all around the country, large and small, will be able to provide discounts to veterans because they’ll be able to recognise those veterans when they come in. So you know, it could be on their fuel, it could be on their dry cleaning, a cup of coffee, their groceries. And we’ve had a really great response early from groups like Target and Coles and Bunnings and the NRMA and so on. So we’re also starting now to see a lot of smaller businesses getting in contact with the Department and with my own office saying they really want to be part of this. Now this doesn’t surprise me, and I’m sure it doesn’t surprise any of the guys out there at Latchford or Gaza Ridge or Wadsworth because they know people respect them. And we’ve got to continue to foster this culture of respect for our servicemen and women, we saw it in the Invictus Games up in Sydney over the last week. It was just absolutely amazing and so that inspiration inspires all other Australians so this program of the compact, the veterans card and the veterans pin I think will really go to that. Also back in the Budget, I put money into a program which was designed to support veterans get into jobs and that program is helping those veterans with everything from how they craft their CV and make sure they can particularly show the real skills they’ve been able to learn and develop while they’ve been serving in the Defence Forces. And working also with the jobs active network, that means we’ve had some 2,000 jobs specifically advertised for veterans of the Defence Forces. So getting them the jobs is really important, getting them the recognition they deserve and giving them a bit of a saving on the cost of living as well as thanks for their service from business large and small I think all adds up to a good package.
LU: Absolutely, I don’t think anyone is going to disagree with you there. Certainly for us, New South Wales and Victoria combined have the majority of the 300,000 veterans that are registered so it’s something that is very close to our heart here on the border.
PRIME MINISTER: Well we are working with those state governments as well, already have. They’ve been aware of this program so where they might want to act individually as state governments as well they will have that opportunity to review the services they provide as well. But what is just tremendous I think about how Australia works with our servicemen and women is we get the pressure that is put not only on them but on their families as well. On the weekend I announced that we were putting more money into a great program called Kookaburra Kids
MATT: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: That’s a program which provides respite camps for children in families that have a parent or someone else in the family who suffers mental illness. Because the kids who live in those families also come under a lot of pressure and we worked up the program a few years ago specifically to run these camps for kids of veterans where they suffer from PTSD. And the stories I’ve heard from those kids, you know they talk about how dad has come home but has never come home, he wasn’t the dad that went away. And what this means is these kids can get together with other kids going through exactly the same thing with a lot of support around them and it helps them work through what they have to work through. So we remember our veterans but we’ve got to remember their families too, because their families have also sacrificed, in some cases you know, the ultimate.
MATT: Yeah absolutely, and there’s also a Soldier On accommodation facility as part of the initiatives as well. So I think we can all agree…
PRIME MINISTER: That’s right yeah, Michael Fussell.
MATT: That it’s a great package.
PRIME MINISTER: It’s named after him. Yeah that, just sorry, there is that initiative and that one is the one for family accommodation adjacent to the Concord Hospital where Solider On had a lot of the people they helped go there for treatment and that means their families will be able to join them. A bit like, you know, the Ronald McDonald House type of thing.
MATT: Yes.
PRIME MINISTER: That exists elsewhere for kids.
LU: Absolutely. Now what’s the timeline for the card and for the pin that you’re talking about for…
PRIME MINISTER: We expect that in the first quarter of next year, early on next year. There is a lot of sort of consultation we need to work through with the veterans community, as well as with the businesses so the businesses can get a good idea of, if they are offering discounts, they can price them and work out what it means. And so there is a lot of that work to be done. That’s all being kicked off now and I look forward to having that in place early next year and I just think it’ll be a shot in the arm that a veteran will get just by walking in, you know, if they get I don’t know 50 cents of a cup of coffee. It’s just a nice thank you, it really I think will boost their confidence and particularly those who might be doing it a bit tough since they’ve come back. I think that’s just a nice encouragement that Australians can give.
MATT: Yeah I agree. Now I know you’re obviously a very busy man Scott so we don’t want to take up too much of your time. But we do have a tradition where high-profile politicians go on our 60 second griller, where you have to…
PRIME MINISTER: Ok.
MATT: Now this is 60 seconds of hardcore questions just fired at you, Scott Morrison, and you’ve got to fire back answers as quickly as possible. Only under extreme circumstances can we stop the clock. Are you ready to take the 60 second grill challenge?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh I’ll have a crack.
MATT: Alright here we go, the Prime Minister of our great nation, the griller is on. First question, do you approve of the nickname ScoMo?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
LU: Question two. Tomato or barbeque sauce?
PRIME MINISTER: Barbeque.
MATT: Question number three. Fast rail in regional Australia, will it ever happen?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe so.
LU: Number three. Tim Tam or mint slice?
PRIME MINISTER: Tim Tam.
MATT: You have to share a lift with either Bill Shorten, Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd. Who do you choose, or do you take the stairs?
[Laughter]
PRIME MINISTER: Julia Gillard.
LU: Ok number four. Cap or Akubra?
PRIME MINISTER: Cap. A Sharkies one preferably.
MATT: Final question. A V8 engine or one of those boring hybrids?
PRIME MINISTER: I couldn’t hear, the phone dropped out. Sorry, go again.
MATT: V8 engine or one of those boring hybrids?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh V8.
MATT: Oh thank goodness.
PRIME MINISTER: Preferably with Mark Skaife driving.
MATT: I saw you had a trip with Mark Skaife around Bathurst. That must have been sensational.
PRIME MINISTER: It was awesome, my daughter in particular loved it.
MATT: You have conquered the 60 second griller.
LU: And beautifully, might I add.
MATT: Very beautifully, we didn’t have to stop the clock.
LU: No, not even once. And I feel confident now that we can say ScoMo. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, thank you very much for chatting with us.
PRIME MINISTER: It was great to be with you, thanks for the opportunity to share this great news. Cheers.