TRANSCRIPT - ABC Afternoon Briefing with Greg Jennett

PAUL FLETCHER MP

Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy

Manager of Opposition Business in the House

TRANSCRIPT

ABC Afternoon Briefing 

4 JULY 2024

Greg Jennett: Now Parliament's about to draw to a close here for the six week winter break. A relief to many, no doubt. Let's check in now as we try to do on these occasions with Liberal frontbencher Paul Fletcher. He's with us now in the studio. Welcome back, Paul.

I mentioned there might be some tendency, to want to relish in Labor's discomfort about Fatima Payman when someone splits under these circumstances. Religious and policy conviction it seems. But aren't there very strong similarities here with your own experience with someone like Cory Bernardi who quit for very similar reasons in many ways?

Paul Fletcher: What we've seen I think since the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel and the way that's then been reflected in domestic responses in Australia has been frankly a lack of leadership, it has to be said from the Prime Minister. Going back to for example, to the 9th October when we saw the terrible protests in front of the Opera House. We saw very abusive statements being made about Jewish people. 

There's been, I think, a lack of clear leadership from the Prime Minister and again he's shown, I think that lack of clear leadership over the last week in terms of how he deals with Senator Payman.

Greg Jennett: But if that had been applied to your prescription that would only have left her wanting to depart even earlier, wouldn't it? 

Paul Fletcher: This has been a test of leadership for the Prime Minister. We've seen now that Senator Payman has decided to leave the Labour Party, but what we've also seen is equivocation from the Prime Minister, from Foreign Minister Wong about for example, the right of the state of Israel to defend itself. We've seen a story this morning that the Israeli ambassador was called in to be dressed down by Tim Watts, the Assistant Foreign Minister. That's an appallingly disrespectful way to treat one of our longest standing allies, the only democracy in the Middle East, and I do thinkthe tensions within the Labour party reflected in Senator Payman leaving need to be understood through that prism.

Greg Jennett: Alright, the Coalition did ask a number of questions about Senator Payman's welfare throughout the week. If you were genuinely concerned about it, wouldn't it have been open to you or other members on your side to have referred this to the relevant workplace services authority?

Paul Fletcher: Well actually the way that scheme works is that the only person who can refer is the person who's the complainant. Somebody who says that they've been put in a position where they're not getting support.

Greg Jennett: So why did you ask that question? Or not you but Sussan Ley yesterday?

Paul Fletcher: Well, we very carefully phrased the question to ask the Prime Minister, essentially, whether he was supportive of Senator Payman referring herself, should she choose to do that. Let's be clear, the Prime Minister on a number of occasions has talked about the importance of a supportive workplace at Parliament House. Wwe have here a young woman expressing concern about being bullied and intimidated. So we did ask that question about her welfare and whether she was availing herself of the resources available to her in parliament.

Greg Jennett: Ok. Now, Speaker Milton Dick, you were there when he informed the House, has ordered a wider review of security around the building after protesters from two causes disrupted the House earlier and four arrests were made. In your own assessment, is security lax? How did this happen?

Paul Fletcher: I think there was clearly a security breach to allow protesters on top of the building to be unrolling banners to be left there, I think for about an hour and a half. That was very troubling and the Coalition, of course, condemns the actions of those protesters, but we do have concerns about the time it took for a response.

Again, it needs to be linked to the broader lack of leadership, I'm sorry to say, from the Prime Minister since the 7 October attacks.

Greg Jennet: So you're pinning the existence of the flags and the people who climbed over the top of the veranda to Prime Ministerial leadership?

Paul Fletcher: What I'm saying is that there's been a lack of clear direction and leadership in our country since the 7 October, and that's been reflected in things like encampments lasting for weeks or longer at our universities, Jewish students saying that they do not feel safe, and instances where for example, state police have told Jewish Australians, ‘it's not safe to be here’, ‘you shouldn't be here’, when there were Hamas sympathisers protesting.

So that breakdown of public order is very concerning and we've seen equivocation from the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, and we need to see a much clearer statement of values on these issues.

Greg Jennett: All right. On a matter, there's been a few things, few moving parts around the Parliament today. Over in the Senate, you might be aware, Paul Fletcher, that the Coalition helped inflict, if not the first, we think it's the first, then one of the earliest defeats of a bill on the floor of the Parliament. This was to create the Special Joint Defence Committee. Now, you started out in principle in support of that. Why did you let that principle stand in the way of the committee's eventual creation? Because it won't be now.

Paul Fletcher: Look, it's not the first time, by no means the first time, the Coalition has voted against government bills where ultimately we're not satisfied that they achieve their objective or that they do what the government has claimed they're going to do, or that there are unintended or adverse consequences.

And, for example, we've voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund, which is dressed up as supporting housing, but in fact is not, frankly, delivering any material benefits at all. So there's quite a number of bills we've voted against. I don't think there's anything unusual about the Coalition voting against a government bill.

Greg Jennett: It’s just that this one was successfully defeated.

Paul Fletcher: Sure, but in terms of what the Coalition did, what we did here was what we've done on a number of other bills where if we don't think they're up to scratch, we vote against them.

Greg Jennett: Right, winter break beckons. Campaigning for you?

Paul Fletcher: Certainly, I'll be out and about in my electorate, as will all of my parliamentary colleagues. Making the point to Australians, do you feel better off than you did two years ago? And the answer on the numbers is no. In real terms, Australians are worse off, and if you've got a typical mortgage after twelve interest rate rises, your household is about $35,000 a year worse off.

Greg Jennet: All right, well, that might save you a couple of door knocks, you’ve put that on the record. Paul Fletcher, thanks so much. We'll talk again soon.