Transcript | Doorstop Australian Parliament House | 16 May 2024

Thursday 16 May 2024

Doorstop at Australian Parliament House

Subject: Senator Payman’s extreme comments a test for Anthony Albanese, Labor’s out of control immigration program, zero-emissions nuclear energy

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JAMES PATERSON: Good morning. Senator Payman has laid down three very serious challenges to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today, and he faces a very serious test of his leadership. Number one, Senator Payman has repeated a phrase and endorsed a phrase that the Prime Minister has said is a violent statement that has no place in our country. Secondly, in doing so, she has outed herself as an opponent to a two state solution and peace in the Middle East, and demonstrated she's an advocate of a one state solution. Again, in the Prime Minister's own analysis of this language. And thirdly, she's made extraordinary and extreme demands of her own Prime Minister, who she called out by name, including that Australia should end all trade with the State of Israel, a friend and ally. So the test for the Prime Minister is will he stand up? Will he show strength or will he again show weakness and equivocation? Will he tolerate these extreme statements from a member of his own caucus, or will there be consequences for Senator Payman today?

JOURNALIST: What kind of consequences?

PATERSON: That's a matter for the Prime Minister. He's the leader of the party. He's the Prime Minister. He has to determine what he's willing to tolerate from his own caucus members.

JOURNALIST: What part of Australia's migration system would the opposition cut?

PATERSON: Peter Dutton will outline our alternative approach tonight. And I'm not going to prejudge what he says. But I think the statistics are very clear. The Labor Party plans to bring in over five years 1.67 million people at a time when housing starts in our country are lower than they have ever been. So it doesn't take an expert to work out that's going to cause problems for housing affordability, for rent, for Australians across the country. You cannot bring in the number of people the size of the city of Adelaide in five years and not

expect there are consequences. We will reduce that significantly, and Peter Dutton will outline tonight how we will do that.

JOURNALIST: Will Peter Dutton also outline where the opposition plans to put nuclear power reactors?

PATERSON: We will talk more about our alternative energy policy in particular, low emissions, zero emissions, reliable baseload and nuclear power but we'll have more to say about that in the lead up to the next election. We don't have to do that all tonight.

Thanks, everyone.

ENDS

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