ABC NewsRadio

SUBJECTS: PNG ‘Solution’; Newspoll; Royal Baby E&OE............................... Marius Benson: Christopher Pyne the Federal Government has its Papua New Guinea plan in place and announced and Bob Carr, the Foreign Minister is going to the Solomons today to look for support on asylum seekers from that country. Do you think this Labor plan could work? Christopher Pyne: Well I think the irony of a Labor Foreign Minister travelling around the South Pacific looking for places for offshore processing certainly isn’t lost on me, I don’t know whether it’s lost on the voter, when it was of course Labor who deplored the Pacific Solution when it was implemented by John Howard and dismantled it in 2008 leading to almost 50,000 unauthorised arrivals. What I believe about the PNG solution is that unfortunately it’s not what it seems. As with so many things from Mr Rudd, you have to look at what he does, rather than what he says and if it was true that every person who came to Australia by boat would not be settled here, then I think it might have an impact, but because women and children will be settled in Australia and only single males will be sent to Papua New Guinea and even then not in the numbers suggested by Mr Rudd, I don’t believe that people smugglers will see through the plan for more rhetoric rather than reality. Benson: The Government has said that when the Opposition takes the line that you’ve just set out there and says it’s not real, you are doing the work of the people smugglers, that they are telling people now don’t worry it’s only talk, when you say it’s only talk, you reinforce that, you do the people smugglers work for them. Pyne: Well I think the Government will find it hard to convince the Australian public that the Liberal and National Parties aren’t strong on border protection. When John Howard and his Government stopped the boats and Labor and Kevin Rudd started them again. It was John Howard that put the people smugglers business model out of business and it was Kevin Rudd that put it back in business and that’s why the Australian people find it so hard to believe anything that Kevin Rudd says about this area. He’s all talk and no action; always has in the past. He was on the carbon tax, he’s now damaged the car industry and now he’s claimed one thing in the ads that the taxpayers are paying for, saying one thing but doesn’t actually match the reality of the actual PNG solution. Benson: The Government is using images of Iranian asylum seekers in tears, seemingly when they’re told they’re going to PNG and not to Australia as a tool in their campaign. That’s been criticised, do you believe that’s a legitimate tool? Pyne: I think it is a legitimate tool. I think it’s important to convey to people smugglers and to their potential customers that Australia will take a hard line on people smuggling and unauthorised boat arrivals. I hope that it does work because we do want to stop the boats. But the only way to stop the boats is to make sure people know the people smugglers know that they’ll be turned back in international waters if they attempt to come here, that if they do get here they don’t ever get permanent residency only ever Temporary Protection Visas and to of course have rigorous offshore processing. Benson: There’s a Newspoll out today that shows that after three weeks of fairly steep recovery by the Labor Party, it has now dipped again. It’s gone from 50-50 to the Coalition ahead 52-48. Do you think the Rudd honeymoon is over? Pyne: Well I think what I get from talking to people out in my electorate and it’s brought out in the Newspoll is that the public are working out yet again that Kevin Rudd is all talk and no action, that he’s good at announcements, but poor at delivery. Benson: Do you think this makes an August election? There’s been a lot of speculation about August 31 as an election date; do you think the dip in the polls makes that less likely? Pyne: Look I think that it is very likely that Kevin Rudd will call an election for August 31. The election is due in August. The last one was in August 2010 and I think the longer he remains as Prime Minister, the more people will see him for what he is and remember why they didn’t like him 3 years ago. So I think he’ll rush off to the polls as soon as he can. Benson: And Christopher Pyne can I ask you about the big news out of London today which is the birth of a royal baby boy which is 3.8 kgs, a fairly bouncing baby boy, everyone’s very happy to hear that news, do you think the new arrival will ever be as a republican, speaking for yourself as a republican, do you think the new arrival will ever be King of Australia one day? Pyne: Well I welcome this great news for the British Royal Family and congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their new son I think it’s great for them and I hope that he will be a great monarch for Great Britain in the fullness of time, but I still hope that every Australian will one day have the opportunity to be our own head of state. Benson: Christopher Pyne thanks again. Pyne: Pleasure. ENDS.