April 19, 2023
Wednesday 19 April 2023
Interview with Laura Jayes, AM Agenda
Subjects: Newspoll, appointment to Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Victorian IBAC report
LAURA JAYES: Joining us live now is the Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson. James, it's great to see you. Thanks for joining us live from Brisbane this morning. First of all, I've got to ask you about these polls. What is going on? How are people and voters seeing the Liberal Party at the moment?
JAMES PATERSON: Good morning, Laura. Obviously, we're at a tough point in the political cycle. We're just lost office after almost a decade now. And it's unsurprising that Australians want to give the new government the benefit of the doubt. I think that's a great feature of the Australian character that we want the government to succeed and want them to do well for Australia. And so, it's not surprising that they are riding high at the moment. But as we know from political history, that doesn't continue forever. And when the worm turns, it's critical that the Liberal and National parties are ready to present a credible alternative ready for government. That's exactly the path that Peter Dutton has set us on, and that's the work that we're doing right now.
JAYES: The definition of insanity, of course, is doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result. So, what does this poll tell you about the Liberal Party's stance on the Voice to Parliament? Is there something, some message you can take out of this, is there some comment on that stance?
PATERSON: My view Laura is that there's a long way to go on that debate. Australians really are only starting to tune in to this discussion. Many Australians don't understand what the Voice means and what the implications would be and what the risks are of inserting a body like that into our Constitution, or indeed whether or not it's actually going to make a tangible difference on the ground for Indigenous Australians, which of course all of us want to see. So, I think over the next couple of months we're going to have that detailed debate, and we'll have that debate about what it means for Australia. And I think Australians will really critically reflect on whether or not that's a change, a leap in the dark that they want to make. I'm not sure they will. Let's see.
JAYES: Yeah, that's right. But I mean, what's at stake here, James? Because if this vote fails and you don't get the changes that you need, do you think there will be a lot of damage done to the Liberal Party? Will people blame Peter Dutton and the Liberals?
PATERSON: Well, certainly we would have to respect the result of the electorate, whatever that would be. But equally, the government will have to respect the result of the electorate, whatever that would be. And I think the Prime Minister is getting into some dangerous territory where he's seeking to imply that people who are opposed to this are mean-spirited or in bad faith. What would it mean for him as Prime Minister of our country if a majority of his people, the Australian people, vote against the proposition which he has designed? He has chosen the timing of, he has set the conditions for. Ultimately the Prime Minister will be responsible for the success or failure of this referendum and he will have to own that.
JAYES: Yeah. Let's talk about your elevation to Cabinet. Congratulations, by the way. I feel like this is a role very well suited to you. What do you plan to do in the Shadow Home Affairs portfolio?
PATERSON: Well, thanks, Laura. I'm certainly very passionate about the national security challenges facing our country. Unfortunately, they are very real. I'd much rather be living in a time where we have completely peaceful environment and there were no threats to our safety and security or our sovereignty or our democracy. But unfortunately, they're very real. My starting point is to be bipartisan. I want the government to succeed. I want them to do well. The cost to our country is too great if they make the wrong decisions when it comes to national security. I want to help them make the right decisions. Of course, if I feel they are doing the wrong thing, then I will be compelled to speak out and to call them out for that. And that's what I've done already in my portfolios of cyber security and countering foreign interference, and that's what I will continue to do, just on a broader field of Home Affairs which includes things like border protection and counterterrorism and of course counter-espionage and foreign interference, cyber security, law enforcement. Many important core issues that go to whether or not we are a safe and secure country.
JAYES: Yeah, of course, and your elevation, of course, comes about because Karen Andrews has decided to bow out of politics altogether. You're losing another senior woman, a woman in the Liberals. Is anything being done to retain and attract more women to the Liberal Party? Because when you look at the polls today, it's the women vote that is going down even further.
PATERSON: There's no question Laura, that Karen Andrews was a loss to the Liberal and National Party. She's given terrific service to our country and to our party. I've worked very closely with her and admire the work that she did in her portfolios. But in this reshuffle, one woman has stepped down. Three women have stepped up and only one man, myself, has been promoted. So, when you have talent like Jacinta Price and Kerrynne Liddle and Michaelia Cash coming forward and taking on greater responsibilities, I think that speaks very well of the Liberal and National parties and our depth and the breadth of our talent. But you're right. There's no question that we have to do more to welcome women into the fold, to sign up to our party, to run for our party and represent our party, so we are reflecting the community that we seek to represent.
JAYES: Just finally, before I let you go, I know you're in Brisbane, but in your home state of Victoria, there's an IBAC report that's just dropped. It shows that no corrupt conduct been slated back to the Premier or his office, but well, behaviour essentially unbecoming. What does it say about the Liberals in Victoria when you know this is one of four IBAC reports and they still can't seem to take any skin off the Andrews government?
PATERSON: Well as you say, Laura, there have been a number of very serious corruption investigations into the Andrews government, and I think there is a real smell, a real stench starting to develop around that government. I think as Victorians pay attention to what's happening, they're going to be really disturbed by what's happening in Victoria. Of course, that's a real opportunity for my Liberal colleagues at the state level of Victoria to step up and present that credible alternative that Victorian people can trust. I think under John Pesutto they're doing that. They're putting together a great team of experience, but also new talent and new energy to drive that forward. And they've got four years to make that sale, to demonstrate that they're ready to govern.
JAYES: Okay, James Paterson. Great to have you on the program this morning. I appreciate it.
