Radio interview – ABC Radio Sydney Drive
RICHARD GLOVER, HOST: Prime Minister, good afternoon.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Richard. Good to be with you.
GLOVER: What did you see?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what you see as soon as you are in this area around Bega is that the communities that suffered so much in 2019-2020 are justifiably incredibly anxious. We had a fire front that moved some 15 to 16 kilometres in a matter of hours last night, and there were more than 800 people on the ground overnight fighting these fires. As we speak now, there’s more than 200 people on the ground. We went to the emergency centre there at Bega, spoke to people who are dealing with the full range of concerns. Police and emergency services, health workers, people who are dealing with some of the mental trauma issues that will arise, people dealing with infrastructure, and all of them, just great Australians. Just once again, showing that at the times which are dire, Australians show their best character. And that is what we are seeing. It was a chance to thank these extraordinary Australians for what they’re doing on the ground. And we’re currently on the way to Bermagui, which was a community that was really threatened overnight and yesterday. It is hopeful that some rain might provide some relief, but that certainly isn’t being taken for granted.
GLOVER: What help can the Commonwealth give?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Commonwealth of course can provide financial support, but also, what we can do is assist with the coordination. Just last week, I was in Canberra, we had a Disaster Preparedness National Summit and we brought together the fire chiefs, the SES, police and emergency services, Centrelink and Services Australia support staff, everyone, all in one spot from every state and territory, just to really war game out the coming summer. But, of course, what we know is that we’re now just in spring, we’re in the beginning of October, and we’ve had conditions in NSW that are very much like peak summer conditions. Heat for a number of days, over 30 degrees, winds that were strong, really having an impact. And that, together with the previous weather of a lot of rain, that made it more difficult to do back burning over the autumn period and over the months in which that would normally occur, means that you’ve got conditions which are quite dangerous. As we head into what is anticipated to be a very hot and a very dry summer.
GLOVER: Now, you mentioned 2019 and 2020 and the support afterwards was so piecemeal and so haphazard that even Andrew Constance, the local Member, was forced to criticise his leader, the Prime Minister of the time, Mr Morrison. Have we changed the system, so that if there are these level of disasters this summer, that we can at least get help to people quickly?
PRIME MINISTER: That’s right. Well, if you look at, we’ve already had, of course, too many natural disasters. We’ve had floods throughout New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, while I’ve been the Prime Minister, as well as unprecedented flooding up in the Kimberley. And for all of those occasions, we’ve made sure that the financial support and access on the ground has flowed really quickly to try to provide that support that’s necessary. But also, that’s one of the reasons why you have the Disaster Preparedness Summit last week, to really war game through, okay, what are the gaps? And do it at a time when it is a theoretical exercise, so that when the reality happens, if it does, then you’re much better prepared to anticipate where issues will arise and make sure that governments coordinate across the different levels of government. I think, part of the problem in 2019-2020, was there wasn’t a seamless response from governments, across the three levels, as well as non-government organisations. And that’s one of the things that we are trying to address, through the creation of the National Emergency Management Agency, and through getting much better coordination.
GLOVER: Okay, let’s hope. Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, is with us. Can I ask you just a couple of things about the Voice?
PRIME MINISTER: Sure.
GLOVER: Mr Dutton, for instance, said today, that the Voice is the biggest proposed change to the Constitution since Federation. Do you go along with that?
PRIME MINISTER: Complete nonsense. This proposal is just two things. One, it is recognising Indigenous Australians as the first Australians in our nation’s bounding document. Something that Mr Dutton says he supports, and indeed is saying that he’ll go to a second referendum, if he’s Prime Minister, if the No vote succeeds on October 14. And the second, is a non-binding advisory group, just so that we can listen to Indigenous Australians about matters that affect them. Now, it won’t have the power of veto, it won’t be a funding body. It will just be a non-binding advisory committee, because we know that when we listen to people who are directly impacted by policies, that’s when you get better outcomes. That is all that is before the Australian people. And the scare campaign, is no more real than the scare campaign prior to the Apology to Stolen Generations or the idea that marriage equality was going to have some damaging impact on existing marriages. None of those scare campaigns were based in fact. And the scare campaign now is not based on fact either. This is a simple request from Indigenous Australians that has come from Indigenous Australians, so that we can Close the Gap. And a vote for No doesn’t Close the Gap, it just closes the door on change that is necessary. It closes the door on addressing those gaps which are still there. Such as an eight-year life expectancy gap, such as the fact that you’re more likely, if you’re an Indigenous young male, to go to jail than university. We can do better. We can be optimistic and reach out and join in the friendship and reconciliation that Indigenous Australians are asking for, by voting Yes in this referendum.
GLOVER: Warren Mundine, representing the No case, of course, was on this program, this station, earlier today with Sarah Macdonald. He argues that there are already exactly that, you mentioned the non-binding advisory groups, he says there are already plenty of Indigenous non-binding advisory groups, what’s so different about this? Haven’t we already got these things?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we don’t, which is why Indigenous Australians are asking for it. It’s true, there are various groups in different parts of the country. What we don’t have is a Voice, which is local groups feeding up into a national process of being able to make representations to the Federal Government on behalf of Indigenous Australians. And this will be a body made up of Indigenous Australians, elected or appointed by Indigenous Australians, to make representations for Indigenous Australians, to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. That is what this will do. It is true, there are a range of programs out there, which is why there is also, I think, a conservative argument to vote Yes, as well. Because when you talk with people who are directly impacted, you’ll have more efficiency, you’ll have less waste, you’ll actually do things that have an impact on the ground. And I believe you’ll actually save money, not spend money, because you’ll be making sure that every dollar goes to where it’s needed.
GLOVER: Now, I know you’ve got to go because you’ve got to speak to our colleagues on ABC regional radio, to the people that are affected by these fires. Can I just ask you one question? It was suggested to us on this program last week, that you were given kind of back channel assurances, that Mr Dutton would go along with this and you expected him to go along with the Voice to Parliament and that suddenly that changed on you. Is that true? Did you get some sort of indication, private indication, that he would, and his Party, would support this?
PRIME MINISTER: No, to be fair to Mr Dutton, he never declared opposition or support. He declared opposition just days after the Aston by-election was lost by the Liberal Party. And I think that was the turning point where he declared his opposition, called a Party room meeting. But I must say, that I expected that his appointment of Julian Leeser, who’s a strong supporter of the Yes campaign, who has been involved in these issues since way back, at least 2012. When Mr Dutton appointed Julian Leeser as not just his Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister, but also Shadow Attorney-General, I took that as a sign, as I think was a reasonable expectation, that Mr Dutton wasn’t going to be hostile to this proposal. Because if he was, why would he appoint Mr Leeser to that position?
GLOVER: Had you known that Mr Dutton would not be supportive, and given the history of this thing, which is no referendum to succeed unless it’s had bipartisan support, had you have known, had he declared his hand earlier, I suppose, would you have decided not to do it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is a request from Indigenous Australians, and I think there’s a Paul Kelly song at the moment titled, ‘If not now, when?’ And Indigenous Australians have waited 122 years to be recognised in our nation’s founding document. This is a request that came, in 2017, from the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and that was a result of processes, including ones that were established under the Abbott Government. Most of the lead-up of this occurred under the nine years in which the Coalition held Government, including, of course, under another big supporter of the Yes campaign, Ken Wyatt, who was Scott Morrison’s Minister for Indigenous Affairs. So, I do think it is disappointing that Mr Dutton has chosen the role of wrecker, rather than supporter of reconciliation and bringing people together, but that is really a matter for him. I believe that Australians can rise above this and can vote Yes, whether they are Labor or Liberal or National or Greens or Independent. This should not be a party political issue. This should be a matter of examining what is before the Australian people in this referendum. And if you agree that first Australians should be recognised in our founding document, and that having a non-binding advisory group to listen to people about matters that affect them, is a pretty good idea, then I hope that Australians vote Yes over the next two weeks.
GLOVER: I know you have to go and talk to the people in the fire zone, who are the most important people today, but thank you very much for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.