Doorstop interview – Melbourne | Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m so pleased to welcome Mary Doyle as the newest member of the Federal Labor Caucus. Mary Doyle’s compassion, dignity and just common decency really shone through during the campaign. She wants to make a difference as the local member for Aston and I’m absolutely certain that Mary Doyle will. This is very much a proud moment. Mary Doyle will concentrate on delivering for her local community. On being a strong advocate and representative for the people of outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne. And as a Member of the Government, she will be able to make a difference each and every day. So, I very much look forward to welcoming Mary on Budget day when she is sworn in. We should recognise the historic achievement that Mary has done being the first candidate from a Government party to win a seat off the Opposition in over one hundred years. And that is a great credit to her and to her campaign team. And I want to thank all of the volunteers from the Labor Party who worked so hard to achieve this result yesterday.
In May last year, the people of Australia voted for a better future. They voted for change. They voted for action on climate change. They voted for action on cheaper child care, on cheaper medicines. They voted to get wages moving again. And they voted to deal with housing affordability. An economy that works for people and not the other way around. They also voted for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Since last May, we have concentrated on getting things done. Delivering on the commitments that we took to the Australian people and working with them. We wanted to, as I said, when I became Labor Leader, move beyond conflict. Australians have conflict fatigue. They want things to get done. And that’s what we’ve been able to achieve through the national Parliament.
Just last week, we passed legislation for the National Reconstruction Fund. That’s about jobs for manufacturing in the outer suburbs and in our regions. We were enabled to pass the legislation on the safeguard mechanism, making sure that we can deliver on the commitments that we need on climate change to take up the opportunity that is there to create jobs as our economy transitions, as is happening right around the world. On Saturday in Rowville and Bayswater, people voted to support this positive agenda. They voted for fairness. They voted for a Government that gets things done and is interested in them and their issues.
After ten years of being part of the problem, Peter Dutton now fails to be a part of the solution. And yesterday, I think when I watched, last night, Peter Dutton’s press conference after Mary’s victory speech, I thought it was a moment of honesty from Peter Dutton when he said out loud what we have seen played out over the one year since he became Leader of the Liberal Party. He said that his priority was just keeping the Liberal Party together. Well, Australians don’t want any major party that’s focused on themselves and on their internals. What they want is a Government and an alternative Government that’s focused on their needs, on their issue, on their lives and improving them. Peter Dutton isn’t doing that. Because he is focused just on his internals, in his own words. That’s why he’s just saying no to everything and not being a part of any solution. He’s become an observer of Australian politics rather than a participant. He said no to manufacturing jobs. He said no to our plan for more social and affordable housing. He has said no to getting wages moving again. He has said no to renewable energy and climate change action. On The Voice to Parliament and constitutional recognition, he’s not playing a constructive role. And everyone can see what is being played out there.
Australians deserve better. And last night, just as he is saying no to all of the policies that are being put forward, Australians said no to him. And the people of Aston said no to him. In uncertain times, the people of Aston have put their faith in our Government. And I thank them so sincerely. I’m very humbled by the result that was achieved yesterday.
We will never take the people of Aston or the people of Australia for granted. We’ll work each and every day to look after them, to look after their families and importantly, to look after their future. We’ll deal with the immediate issues that are thrown up at us like the impact of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and that ongoing issues that has been caused. But we’ll also always have our eye on how we create a better Australia in the future by dealing with climate change, dealing with skills shortages, dealing with that through one of the visits that I had here in Aston with Mary was to the local TAFE. 180,000 fee-free TAFE places. One of the policies that really cut through in this by-election.
So, I think that this campaign was an extraordinary one. And Mary is an extraordinary individual. I’ve got to know Mary in recent times and then before when she was the candidate for Aston. As I say, I think last night, just her decency shone through in her victory speech. No hubris. Just a sense of dedication to serving this electorate and this local community. And I’m very pleased to introduce the Member for Aston, first time I’ve done that. And Mary Doyle will be a great local Member. Mary.
MARY DOYLE, MEMBER-ELECT FOR ASTON: Thank you, Prime Minister. Hi. I’m Mary Doyle, the next Member for Aston. Thank you. Last night, the people of Aston gave me the gigantic honour of being their local representative. And I promise, every single one of you, this – whether you voted for me or not, I will always listen. I will always do the best I can for this area. And I will always put locals first. And thanks to the team here at The Hare and Hatter Cafe as well. A great local small business. The coffee was much-needed and will ensure that I will hit the ground running from day one in advocating for our excellent community. And thanks also to Anthony Albanese, the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, my mate. And the man whose team I’m so proud to be a part of. I’m so excited to join your inspiring Federal Labor team as the member for Aston. Thank you so much everyone.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, were you genuinely surprised by the result last night? Because you were setting this up for weeks that it was going to be a difficult task? What was the overriding sense of feeling or feeling of emotion for you as the results swung to Labor?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, history tells us how difficult this is. It’s never happened before in a century. There’s been a lot of by-elections in the last century, and on not a single occasion has the Government won a seat from the Opposition. So, the feeling on the ground was always very positive. I knew that we had an outstanding candidate in Mary Doyle. And I knew that we’d run a good campaign. And I believe that the Government, with our positive agenda, is being well-received. We won’t get everything perfect. No government does. But what we’ll do is try every single day. And when I was Labor leader, I was putting forward constructive suggestions. I, in my first Budget Reply, put forward the cheaper child care plan that will make a difference for thousands of families from July 1 right here in Aston and in other areas around the outer eastern suburbs. I put forward the Rewiring the Nation plan which is the key to the shift to renewable energy. The $20 billion of investment that’s seeing investment here in Victoria and right around the country making a difference. So, I think that our positive plan that we’ve put forward, we ran a positive campaign. We had a great candidate. But history told us that in spite of all of that, it would be difficult to win the seat. So, I just thank the people of Aston for showing their faith in Mary as the local candidate and in the Government.
JOURNALIST: Just very quickly, Mary. This is obviously a very big day for you. We can see you getting quite emotion and standing next to the Prime Minister. How big a deal is this for you and your family? And what is your first priority?
DOYLE: Well, my first priority is to hit the ground running and work for the people of Aston. They put their faith in me. And that’s what I want to do for them.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister the next Federal election, is it going to be you versus Peter Dutton?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, all those issues are a matter for the Liberal Party. What I’m focused on is running a good Government. A Government that’s run by adults. A Government that has good processes in place. A Government that has ministers that are undertaking their tasks and are working hard. And a Caucus now, one stronger, thanks to Mary, that are all a part of it as well. But the other thing that I’m doing is reaching out. If the Liberals or the Nationals have a constructive idea, by all means, put it forward. Put forward an amendment. Engage in the political process. You get better outcomes. I’ve been working with crossbenchers. We have a majority in the House of Representatives. We don’t have to accept amendments in order to get legislation through from crossbench members. But we treat them with respect. We treat all Members of Parliament with respect. And that’s what we’ll continue to do.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said that you ran a positive campaign in Aston. The Liberals have said it was a negative campaign, with many of your corflutes with Peter Dutton on them. Is he a political asset to you?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think that this isn’t about individuals, it is about what the parties are doing. And I think that Peter Dutton’s statements last night, where he said out loud what should probably have been his inner voice, that his priority was keeping Liberal Party together. And that’s what we see. How is it that the Liberal Party asked questions about the safeguard mechanism that was their policy for years? They put it in place in legislation under Tony Abbott. How is it that on so many issues, they walk away from positions that they themselves have had, let alone play a constructive role. I think that Australians want the country to go forward in a united way. They want a positive vision for the country. And oppositions or politicians that just say no to everything, I’ve said before, that it’s not so much the Coalition, it’s the ‘No’alition. They just sit there and say no to absolutely everything. There was a moment in Parliament this week where I spoke about the Budget in May. And they were condemning it like it hasn’t happened yet, but whatever is in it, they were saying, ‘We’ll be against it’. Australians deserve better than that. And the Liberal Party will be marked down for as long as they continue to just be defined by what they’re against and not in favour of things. We have an opportunity, the next time there’ll be a vote, unless there’s another by-election, this year will be the referendum. And that’s an opportunity to unite the nation. It’s an opportunity to work together. It’s a modest proposal to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution. It should not be an issue of partisan politics.
JOURNALIST: Do you expect there to be another by-election this year, potentially involving the former Prime Minister Morrison’s seat?
PRIME MINISTER: I’ll leave that speculation to the journalists. I was told by journalists during the week that was going to happen on Thursday, there was going to be an announcement. So, we’ll wait and see. That’s a matter for Mr Morrison.
JOURNALIST: Could you win Cook?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, you’re talking about something that hasn’t happened. And I think that the former Prime Minister should be treated with the respect in terms of that is a decision for him. And I would respect whatever decision that he made.
JOURNALIST: What is a win like this mean for you as a future opportunity for Labor? It’s been a very strong Liberal seat for a long time. What does this mean for the next election?
PRIME MINISTER: We continue to campaign in every seat. One of the things has happened here is, bear in mind, when Mary Doyle nominated to run as the Labor candidate for Aston, the primary vote had been 54.7. And the two-party preferred vote was up above 60. Mary Doyle had a crack. And then she had another one. And now she’s the Member for Aston. So, we don’t take any voter, any electorate, anywhere for granted. Labor stands in every seat in a Federal election. And in the next Federal election, we’ll be campaigning in every seat. If you look at where I visited around the country as well, I see myself as the Prime Minister for the whole of Australia. So, I visited places like Port Hedland. I visited seats on the north shore of Sydney, Albany in WA. Last night and yesterday, I was in Clark, in Tasmania. I’ll visit seats around the country. And we will represent the entire nation. Because that’s a responsibility that we have.
JOURNALIST: It was quite a party here last night. Where were you?
PRIME MINISTER: I was in Tasmania, in Hobart. I had a long standing commitment for the 120th anniversary of the formation of the Tasmanian Labor Party. That’s today. So, on the eve, I was there with my Federal colleagues, with a whole range of colleagues like Tanya Plibersek, and Tim Ayres, the entire Tasmanian Federal team were there. Four ex-Premiers, as well as my good friend Bec White as well. And so, it was quite a long-standing commitment. So, I was there. But I made sure that I got here this morning. And now, I’m off to Perth to give an address at a resources technology event. That’s also a very long-standing commitment. I take my obligations to represent the whole country seriously. And I look forward to visiting Aston many times between now and the next election with a fantastic local Member in Mary Doyle. Thanks very much.
ENDS