PVO Newsday

29 Jul 2015 Transcipt

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Interview – PVO Newsday
Wednesday 29 July 2015


SUBJECTS: A Letter To My Children; Week in politics.


PETER VAN ONSELEN:
The manager of Government Business joins me live from Adelaide, thank you very much for your company.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Thanks Peter. Thank you for having me on the show.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: We’ll get to all of that because you know the reason that I’m having you on the show is because of your new book in relation to your political career. Where does it go from? Does it go from the start to where we are now or does it cut out before the here and now, the heavy days of government with your new role?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: It finishes in about 2007 Peter, because I didn’t want to step on the toes of my current Cabinet colleagues or reveal too much about the current political environment. There is a postscript about my role in the Cabinet since the election but effectively the book is about most of my political life until 2007 and also my father’s public service as an eye surgeon in starting things like the Specific Education Learning Difficulties Association, the Australian Coronial Facial unit and the National Glaucoma and Jacomo Programme. So it’s a book about the inherent good about public service, whether that’s through politics or whether it’s through other means.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: It’s been tagged as a letter to your children, obviously I saw you being interview about this the other evening and you were talking about the amount of time you have to spend away from your family, like it or not as a politician working in Canberra and obviously even more so as a Minister in a government, something you are doing even more of now obviously with your current role. Here’s a question for you, and maybe you address this in your book? I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, your publishes haven’t given me the courtesy of giving me an advance copy, but that said, let me ask you this. Would you encourage your own children to go into politics? I know you see public service as a virtuous thing and that’s what people should see it as but would you encourage them to go into it, with all the sacrifices that you have to make?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well the book is called A Letter to My Children and it’s published by Melbourne University Press and the answer to that is I would encourage them to go into public life and if they wish to do that through parliament then I would encourage them to do that, because one of the things that I explore in the book is the answer to the questions as to why people choose public service is that you can actually do things. And I give examples throughout the book about being able to make changes in people’s lives. Whether it’s the establishment of Headspace or the Mental Health Package I bought about in the Howard Government, the changes in the current government to the curriculum, teacher quality and school autonomy and the attempted changes to universities; I mean politics is about getting things done and I would always encourage my children to try and make a difference in their communities and their societies. If they choose to do that through Parliament, that’s one method, and that’s why the other half of the book is about my dad and his involvement because he showed public service without actually being elected just by being an eye surgeon who did things beyond simply helping people with their eye problems.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Do you talk about some of the difficulties you had with promotion during the Howard years. I mean I know you and John Howard get along well now but you were always the focal point of this person who seemed to never get the promotion into the Ministry and even when he finally promoted you, he made up a title of Assistant Minister to stop making you a full minister.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well I’m not sure I would characterise it in exactly that way but it took me a long time to learn that you catch more flies with honey then vinegar Peter. But fortunately because I started at 25, I had a long lead up to finally getting into the Ministry at around 35 and now at 48, of course I’ve spent most of my political career on the front bench and as a cabinet minister, hopefully making a difference as Leader of the House and Minister for Education. But I do tell all of these stories in the book about my first meetings with John Howard and other discussions I had with people at the time and hopefully the book is enjoyable for people to read. It seems to be getting good reviews so far.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: And just lastly on this, because you know I’ve got to ask you about Bronwyn Bishop and other matters of the day. That said, you entered parliament very young, that doesn’t happen nearly as much anymore, we talk about the long time you had to wait before getting on the front bench, but you actually became a frontbencher relatively young, you’re pretty young now. Is it too young in your view? In hindsight, going into politics, if you were to do things differently, would you have liked to have spent more time in private practice whether as a lawyer or in some other vocation?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well I think the thing about politics and life generally is that you don’t always get to decide your own timetable. If I could have had it differently, I think I would have gone into politics later on, I think it did take me a long time to be taken seriously in Parliament because I was so young and I think that is a pitfall of going into politics at 25. That said, expectations are also very low, so you have time to learn the ropes, to improve yourself, to focus on policy without the glare of the spotlight of high expectations, so there are swings and roundabouts about going into politics very young, but if I was to have my time again, I think I would have gone in later on when I had more experience outside parliament.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Let me ask you about this Reachtell Poll that we’ve been reporting on today, it was also refereed to on I think 5AA Radio today with Leon Byner. Your view on this? It suggests that if there was a Nick Xenophon candidate in the mix, you’d be all but cooked in your seat.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well it’s a long time to go before the election Peter and I don’t put a lot of store by in Reachtell polls and I certainly don’t put any store by anything that the CFMEU does. It’s one of the most discredited, if not the most discredited organisation in Australia. It’s associated with criminality, thuggery, illicit drugs, bikie gangs and trying to run now, a racist campaign against the China Free-Trade Agreement. I think anybody that associates themselves with the CFMEU or their racist campaign are doing themselves a great disservice.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: But what about the data? What about the data?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well I don’t’ trust the data provided by the CFMEU. If the CFMEU walked through my door tomorrow and gave me some data on any subject, because it came from the CFMEU I would instantly discount it and I’d want to have it checked very thoroughly by second and third sources.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Well I’m interested why the CFMEU is spending money polling your seat. That’s another matter, union money no doubt. But let’s move on to another issue. Let me ask you about the Speaker Bronwyn Bishop. It was interesting and telling that earlier today both Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop refused to defend the Speaker and say that they support her in her position. Firstly, do you support her in her position in a way that the Deputy Leader and Scott Morrison didn’t seem willing to do?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: I think Bronwyn Bishop is doing a superb job as Speaker. I’m sorry that she’s been caught up in this imbroglio to do with entitlement spending. Obviously, she herself has indicated that she had a misjudgement over the helicopter from Melbourne to Geelong. And she’s paid that money back. But I’m certainly not going to jump on any bandwagon that’s trying to remove Bronwyn Bishop from the Speakership. These issues do come and go, they’re always extremely unhelpful. But you also don’t jump at the first whiff of grapeshot and I’m standing strongly behind Bronwyn Bishop as the Speaker and I would call on all my colleagues whether they’re in the Cabinet or on the Backbench to stand firm against the demands by the Labor Party to remove the Speaker. This is the Labor Party that removed Harry Jenkins to put Peter Slipper in the role. The Labor Party that stood by Craig Thomson throughout the Rudd/Gillard governments, and removed two Prime Ministers because they couldn’t take the pressure poured on them by the media and the opposition at the time. So let’s not repeat the mistakes of our opponents by jumping at the first whiff of grapeshot.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: So is it as simple as this? If Bronwyn Bishop goes you’ll go too out of protest?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well that’ll be a first. I don’t believe that Bronwyn Bishop is going anywhere Peter. I think she’ll be staying as the Speaker and my own position isn’t part of the mix.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: But her namesake Julie Bishop said that she would no doubt be considering her position. Do you think that that would be folly?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:: I’ve spoken to Bronwyn as I do all my colleagues and I’ve spoken to Bronwyn once or twice in the last couple of weeks, and I only see the Bronwyn Bishop that I’ve always known and liked. A woman of resolve and a woman who knows that she’s going to get the job done. Her job is to be the Speaker. She’s doing a very good job as Speaker and she retains my full support.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: I wanted to also ask you some questions about women in politics but I’ve run out of time and I dare not defy my producers and directors again. I did it yesterday and I got in trouble. Christopher Pyne…

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Now there’s always somebody up the pecking order…

PETER VAN ONSELEN: I’ll look to have that conversation with you next time we chat. Thanks very much for joining us on News Day. Cheers.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Thank you

[ends]