Today Show

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Interview – Today Show with Karl Stefanovic and Anthony Albanese
Friday 26 June 2015

SUBJECTS: ABC Q&A programme; Bill Shorten.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Well for more we are joined by Education Minister Christopher Pyne and Shadow Transport Minister Anthony Albanese. G’day guys, good to see you. Christopher Pyne, your thoughts what he said last night?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well Karl, Mark Scott is trying to change the debate to something it isn't. He's trying to pretend that the Government is trying to close free speech at the ABC. This is typical of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Rather than fessing up to their mistake, which is to bring a convicted terrorist on to the audience of Q&A and give them a platform, not only is it a failure to do the right thing by giving him a platform, he also put at risk the people in the audience, and put Zaky Mallah on a bus and brought him to the Q&A audience at Ultimo, that is all the mistake. But then they compounded it by replaying it the next day. Having apologised for it, said they did the wrong thing, they then rebroadcast it the next day, not just in Australia but internationally, and now Mark Scott typically, as the ABC is trying to pretend this is something to do with free speech. It isn't. It's about what's appropriate and not appropriate that the public broadcaster, they did the wrong thing, they should simply fess up to it and do the right thing next time.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Well, lay it on the line. Should Mark Scott go?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: The decision about Mark Scott is a matter for the board of the ABC. I don't think he made the decision to rebroadcast it.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Well who gets the sack then? Whose head should roll?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well the difficulty at the ABC, the governance issues at the ABC, the governance issues at the ABC revolve around how little control the Managing Director and the board have over the units within the ABC who basically operate as independent units being funded by the taxpayer. That's the problem. It's not Mark Scott, he didn't know, he wouldn't have had any control at all over the editorial content of Q&A, but somebody did and somebody needs to be answering for.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Alright, Anthony - freedom of speech?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, the ABC is a public broadcaster, not a state broadcaster, not a state broadcaster. They are not an arm of the government.

KARL STEFANOVIC: They went too far, though?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Of course they did. It was a stupid decision, they apologised for it. But I have got to say, the reason why it was a stupid decision was giving a bloke like that a platform, but it's not just them, since then, we are talking about it now, he's been on The Project…

KARL STEFANOVIC: I understand what you’re saying.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: …he's been on pages and pages on The Daily Telegraph, etc. I would rather this bloke not get any coverage at all, because that's what he's about.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Let’s end it there. How has Bill Shorten's week been?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well Bill’s had a tough week. That's the truth. But Bill has continued to hold the Government to account; he's out there campaigning on our alternative vision; defending public education, defending public health.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Do you support his actions?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Which ones?

KARL STEFANOVIC: The ones he had to apologise for this week.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: He’s stated in terms of the comments I assume you are referring to, with Neil Mitchell. He stated he regretted it. He said that himself. That's the right thing to do.

KARL STEFANOVIC: You still support him?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Of course I support him.

KARL STEFANOVIC: So he has your endorsement irrespective what's happened this week, even though he said that he's lied or at the very least misled?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well of course he made a mistake. He fessed up. He apologised and we have moved on…I tell you what…

KARL STEFANOVIC: How can you support someone that deliberately misled?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well I tell you what - Australians are concerned about the mislead by Tony Abbott when he said there will be no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no cuts to pensions. That's something that affects them very directly.

KARL STEFANOVIC: You can't possibly support him though? Heading to an election, whenever that will be, can you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well I absolutely do support him going into the next election. I have been someone who for people who watch the show, that where there is controversy arose, I support - I have supported past leaders, I support Bill.

KARL STEFANOVIC: This is bad for him. This week has been bad for him in terms of credibility and in terms of trust.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well it's been...

KARL STEFANOVIC: Do you think he can survive it, though?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Absolutely, because what Australians are concerned about is the alternative vision for the nation that Labor has. And hasn't been –

KARL STEFANOVIC: That vision hasn't been great for him this week.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: What they are concerned about is their kids and their education they will get, their healthcare, their pensions, how the economy is going, jobs. That's what they are concerned about.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Would you make an alternative Prime Minister, an alternative Prime Minister, an alternative Opposition Leader.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: No.

KARL STEFANOVIC: You don’t consider yourself that…

ANTHONY ALBANESE: We have one Opposition Leader, and it's Bill Shorten.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Christopher Pyne, you never lie, do you?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, I have been accused of not answering questions, Karl.

KARL STEFANOVIC: By me.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Anthony Albanese has done a great job of not answering your questions because obviously this has been a horror week for Bill Shorten. It's reminded everybody that he wasn't loyal to Kevin Rudd, and then he wasn't loyal to Julia Gillard. And the problem he's got is that when people look at Bill Shorten they see somebody who knifed two Prime Ministers in one term and they knew if Kevin Rudd couldn't trust him and Julia Gillard couldn't trust him, why should they trust him. That's been the problem this week – it has reminded everyone of that.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Just back to my original question, you don't lie though ever do you?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Sometimes I do tell people that they look terrific when they don't.

KARL STEFANOVIC: So are we going to an early election?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Absolutely not.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Categorically no?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Categorically not. No, the government is doing a good job. The budget has been very well received. This week and last week we passed measures around small business, fuel excise, border protection, and the renewable energy targets. We are making a real difference and Australians are seeing that and like our plan.

KARL STEFANOVIC: The reality is you have got them on the grill and you know you have a better chance with Bill Shorten leading.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, the truth is the election is due at the end of the next year and that's when it will be held. The Prime Minister said that yesterday. He said have a Becks and lie down.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Just quickly - what about the e-mail from Peta Credlin about getting photos with the PM before the winter break. Nothing says election more than that?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: We do that every year. We are not having an election every year. I didn't do it because I have got so many photographs with the Prime Minister I think I have got...

ANTHONY ALBANESE: You won't want to use him in your election photographs.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: It's an embarrassment of riches for me and Tony Abbott because we are together so often. I'm so lucky to be with him doing press conferences I didn't need to go. But a lot of my colleagues have been asking for photographs with the PM and now they have got them. It’s routine.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: He's not real popular in Sturt, I will give you the tip, mate.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: He's a lot more popular than you Anthony, I can tell you that much.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: We’ll see, I will be down in Adelaide today.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Oh yeah, campaigning against me again.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Absolutely.

KARL STEFANOVIC: See, the campaign is underway. Thank you.

[ends]