Radio National AM

SABRA LANE: As Naomi mentioned, MPs are flying back into the Capital for the start of the parliamentary year tomorrow. MPs have had a 10 week break from the parliamentary benches, and it’s been one long hot summer.

The man in charge of the Government’s tactics in parliament is the leader of the house, Christopher Pyne. He’s also the Defence Industry Minister and he joins me now. Mr Pyne, thanks for joining AM.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Good morning, it’s nice to be with you again.

SABRA LANE: Excellent. How will the Government measure success at the end of 2017 for this government. Will it simply be for Mr Turnbull to end the year as Prime Minister?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No. We obviously focus on the issues that matter to Australians – the bread and butter issues. Whether it’s energy prices, energy stability, the costs of child care, jobs and investment. So the measure of our success is that we continue to have the ongoing success that we’ve enjoyed in the last six months of passing legislation through both houses of parliament that impacts on the lives of ordinary Australians in a positive way.

SABRA LANE: But Mr Turnbull also said Newspoll is a major determinant for success – certainly as him as Prime Minister – and todays poll is showing that the Coalition’s primary vote has plummeted to 35 per cent.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well we’re not going to be distracted by polls that come and go. Obviously there isn’t an election for two-and-a-half years in Australia. And whether the polls are up or down in February 2017, when an election’s not due until mid-2019, is really neither here nor there.

SABRA LANE: As Defence Industry Minister, at a time of increasing uncertainty with the new Trump Presidency, and the changing importance of strategic alliance, do you believe that Australia has to be more sceptical of any commitment the United States asks of us in the future?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: No, I think it’s very important that we always measure every request by the United States or any country for that matter for military assistance. We are a terrific ally to the US, not only because we’re willing to support the same values that America proposes around the world, but also because we have the capacity in an operational sense to take part. So we are in Iraq now, we’ve been in Afghanistan, in fact we’ve fought alongside the United States in every major conflagration around the world since 1918. And I think that’s very well understood, and well respected in Washington, and we’ll continue to have a very strong relationship with the United States.

SABRA LANE: But if Mr Trump joins forces with Russia to tackle ISIS for example, as some Republican insiders believe he’s very keen to do, should that prompt allies, including Australia, to rethink the alliance?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well we haven’t seen any evidence yet of what Mr Trump intends to do in terms of a new approach to battling ISIS. We all want to defeat ISIS and we’re making great progress in that. But I’m not going to speculate about what the US Administration may or may not do in terms of its approach to such a serious issue.

SABRA LANE: Mr Trump doesn’t appear to have a very stable temperament, the phone call with Mr Turnbull illustrates that. Many Australians are very anxious about it. What approach are you taking to the presidency?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well the approach that I’m taking is to continue to work closely with the United States on the issues that matter to us in defence and in defence industry; so we are continuing our arrangements around the Joint Strike Fighter, which is a multi-billion dollar program, which will deliver us the most advanced aircraft platforms the world has ever seen.

We are continuing to work closely with the United States on the naval shipbuilding plan, which is a $90 billion commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding in Australia, providing jobs and investment. And our relationship with the United States couldn’t be stronger in terms of defence industry. And I’ll be travelling again to the United States in April to continue to promote that relationship.

SABRA LANE: You mentioned the Joint Strike Fighter project, a good chunk of that manufacture is happening outside of Australia. A survey out shows, today, that 83 per cent of Australians want more goods manufactured here. Given the sector’s shrunk in Australia, Australian-made, especially when it comes to defence, attracts an Australian-made premium to match.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well in fact manufacturing in Australia has had two of its best quarters last year since 2004, increasing manufacturing investment in jobs, in new businesses. So the dearth of manufacturing in Australia is vastly exaggerated and what we- what I’m trying to do and what Malcolm Turnbull wants to do, is use as much as this $195 billion heft in our defence build-up to promote hi-tech advanced manufacturing, high-value jobs here in Australia and that’s exactly what we’re doing. That’s why we’re building the 12 submarines in Australia, the nine Future Frigates, the 12 offshore patrol vessels, the 21 Pacific patrol vessels. It’s why we’re getting a very fair share of the Joint Strike Fighter program here in Australia, 30 …

SABRA LANE: [Interrupts] But making things here … it also means that there’s an inflated price tag to match.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Not necessarily. I think that is a view that seems to have taken hold in Australia but in fact the evidence for that is pretty slim. The reality is that Australians are great manufacturers, manufacturing jobs create wealth and investment in our community, and one of the reasons that Malcolm Turnbull wanted to create a Defence Industry Minister was to focus on maximising that Australian industry content. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. Thirty businesses are sharing $800 million so far in the Joint Strike Fighter program and there’ll be much more to come. Since I’ve been the minister we’ve won the right to be maintenance and sustainment hub for Asia-Pacific for the Joint Strike Fighter. So we are really kicking some goals in this area and that’s all great for Australian manufacturing, for innovation and technological advancement, for hi-tech advanced manufacturing jobs.

SABRA LANE: With your tactician’s hat on and just briefly, there are some that want the same-sex marriage plebiscite re-visited. Do you think the time is right and the dust has settled for that?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well Labor defeated the plebiscite bill for marriage equality last year in a very cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face move and we could have had marriage equality probably after this Saturday, within a matter of a couple of weeks if Labor hadn’t been so bloody minded and Bill Shorten wasn’t just playing politics which is …

SABRA LANE: [Talks over] Should it be re-visited?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well there’s no Coalition bill before the house at the moment to deal with marriage equality and until, and if, there is then it’s a moot point.

SABRA LANE: Mr Pyne, thanks for talking