TRANSCRIPT - INTERVIEW With: Tim Shaw, Radio 2CC Canberra 24 May 2019
E&OE
TIM SHAW:
Michael McCormack and Senator Bridget McKenzie have been elected unopposed as Leader and Deputy Leader of the Nationals. This morning the Deputy Prime Minister is visiting Cloncurry in North Queensland alongside the Prime Minister - delighted to welcome the Leader of the National Party of Australia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. Michael McCormack, good morning.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Good morning Tim.
TIM SHAW:
Twenty one degrees in Cloncurry, going for a partly cloudy top of 29. How good’s Australia?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It’s a wonderful place. Best place in the world to live. You know that!
TIM SHAW:
You betcha. The quiet Australians were recognised with their voice quietly heard with the Prime Minister announced after the election on Saturday – tell us, the National Party of Australia has delivered every single seat in the federal election and now tripled the number of women representing the National Party in the Federal Parliament, Michael McCormack. It must make you a very proud Leader.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I am proud, and proud of those fine women who put their hand up and moreover have been elected to our Party. We had 15 or 16 women put their hands up right across the nation for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. We’ve brought six of them home. Perin Davey is not quite there yet for the Senate from NSW but I’m sure she will get there. She’s going to make a fine contribution, as are the others joining Michelle Landry and as you said at the top of the show, Bridget McKenzie.
TIM SHAW:
Do you know the hallmark of the Government was the commitment by you and the Prime Minister to make drought a priority. That happened when Prime Minister Scott Morrison kicked that off with that drought inspection last August and of course, importantly, returning to Queensland today. What are the graziers, the farmers – what are the people on the ground telling you, Michael McCormack?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
They’re telling us that yes, there’s more to do. They’re telling us that the devastation continues and even though there have been some half decent showers across the Murray Darling and elsewhere, a few showers don’t break a drought. Moreover, here up in North Queensland, not only were they recovering from the drought, they then copped some of the worst floods they’d ever seen. The Prime Minister travelled to Cloncurry in February; he told them he would be back; in the meantime established that North Queensland recovery effort for the re-establishment of livestock. So last night he came back and they blocked the whole main street off. There’s a few roadworks going on but just the same he was greeted like an absolute hero when he returned. He said he would, and the whole town turned out to have a beer and shake his hand and wish him well and congratulate him but moreover to discuss the ongoing relief efforts up here.
TIM SHAW:
Importantly the National Party and their representation through of course Agriculture Minister David Littleproud – would you like to see the retention of Agriculture in Cabinet by the Nationals but also a National representing Australia internationally in the Trade portfolio?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I’ll have those discussions about which portfolios we have with the PM. That’s an ongoing discussion, but yes Agriculture will stay with the National Party as it invariably always does. It’s important of course that we’re on the ground talking to talking to farmers and making sure they know they have the backing of Cabinet, they have the backing of the nation in Canberra where the decisions are being made. The Nationals have always supported our farmers as have the Liberals of course, and going forward we need to do more and we will with drought. We’re here looking at the flood recovery efforts in North Queensland, looking forward to going to visit a farm and also to a campdraft later on today here in Cloncurry. Of course campdrafts and rodeos and the like are part and parcel of these communities up here.
TIM SHAW:
Have you had your flu shot this winter, Michael McCormack?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Haven’t had time yet Tim, but I would urge everybody to do that. I’ll certainly be having mine next week.
TIM SHAW:
Very important. Leadership is critical at this time in our economy and that has been borne out in an Australian Financial Review survey that has been done. You and I know that the polls have been pretty much off the mark but the commitment that people made to vote Liberal/National was predicated on the economy, importantly on the tax position that the Coalition is putting forward, certainly health, and franking credits – what are people in the bush feeling at the moment? Are they the key issues that are affecting them at the moment? You can’t make it rain but you have got to have an economy so that they can build and grow their businesses?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yes, I think a couple of words too that needed to be added to that list are jobs and trust. I think people saw the jobs plan that we have in place and liked what they have seen over the past five years with 1.3 million jobs added, thanks to small business, thanks to our economic policies – but also trust: I think that people looked at the leadership team of the Liberal/Nationals and liked what they saw. They looked at what was on offer from the other side and perhaps didn’t like what they saw as much. I think that has a lot to do with that, too.
TIM SHAW:
Can we talk about the public service. You and the Prime Minister met with leaders of Departments – congestion-busting is an important issue. You have spoken about that on the program on Monday, but importantly making sure that particularly with infrastructure projects, $100 billion ready to invest on those projects, but you don’t want the red tape getting in the way. Was that message heard loud and clear by the federal public service yesterday, Michael McCormack?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
It was, and we’ve got good people heading up our Departments. I know Steven Kennedy does an outstanding job in the Infrastructure space, but moreover it was also congestion-busting as far as making sure that when somebody goes to a Centrelink office, when somebody goes to line up to receive a service that’s provided by our wonderful people who do work in the public service – and sometimes they get a bad rap, Tim – but to make sure that lines are being answered, to make sure that queues are being minimised as much as we humanly can: that was the message the Prime Minister gave yesterday to our public servants, and to a person they agreed that was a necessity.
TIM SHAW:
Minister for Transport in the ACT, Meegan Fitzharris, joined me in the studio yesterday. She is delighted to hear about how willing your Government is to work with States and willing Territories to be able to look at proposals for infrastructure. Do you feel that States and Territories, probably in the first 90 days of this Government, need to understand from you as Infrastructure Minister the best set of processes to convince you as the Commonwealth Government to invest in Territory projects? How do you respond to the process at the moment? It’s not an election promise from a Labor leader – this is about real infrastructure investment in Australia going forward.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Absolutely. Of course we’re already committed to the Barton Highway…I want to work with any willing State and Territory Government, in fact all of them, to do more infrastructure. That’s why we’ve taken the politics out of the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund by establishing the National Water Grid as far as working with the States and Territories is concerned to get more dams built. But moreover closer to home for you, I want to work with the ACT Government, of course I do, to get more infrastructure built. I know there are important projects right across the nation. I want to work with all States and Territories, no matter what their political persuasion. I’m delighted to have received in recent days so many good wishes from indeed even Labor counterparts in the space of infrastructure, about the leadership result yesterday. That’s good. That’s encouraging. I want to work with them through the COAG process to make sure we actually get on with building the infrastructure that Australians need wherever they may be.
TIM SHAW:
You know how important stability in leadership is. Would you like to see the National Party of Australia adopt similar rules within the National Party regarding leadership positions? Is that something the Nationals have canvassed?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
That’s something we could look at and that’s something that obviously also our Federal Management team will look at, because there are party processes that need to take place; there are those things at an administrative level that we need to do and get right; but the revolving door of leaders from political parties in recent times – the public spurns that. They don’t want to see a continuation of that, and if the leadership is good and strong it also makes for much more stability. That is the word, I think, more than anything else that people are crying out about in Canberra and at all levels of Government – stability. People want stability, and the good thing about it is that there are now no more elections at the State or Federal level for quite some time. So we have a real opportunity, more than 12 months, to get on and really do some important work for Australians.
TIM SHAW:
Do you know what, a bull was sold to a Cloncurry beef breeder for a whopping $325,000. It was nine times the price of the average sale at auction back in 2007. Now you’re not going to be a bull in a China shop – you’re out there today – but can you believe that: 325 grand for a bull up there in Cloncurry!
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
That’s no bull. My father used to ride bulls at rodeos many years ago; used to offer a pound either to get on a bull or jump in Jimmy Sharman’s boxing ring and Dad always used to be a willing participant. Those genes haven’t been passed onto his son. I’m game; I’m not quite that game. (Laughter). But I’m looking forward to the campdraft. I don’t think there will be too many bulls on offer there today at the campdraft, but Cloncurry is one of those wonderful places; it really is the heart and soul of Queensland; the people here are real characters. They love Australia and they just want to see the nation get ahead. And I tell you what, they were delighted that ScoMo appeared last night. He said he would, and he returned, and was greeted like a hero. I’m looking forward to today. It’s going to be a good one.
TIM SHAW:
Have a great day, Deputy Prime Minister. Thanks for your time.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Good on you, Tim.
TIM SHAW:
Michael McCormack, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development – touring Cloncurry and drought-affected Queensland today with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. It’s terrific he was able to call through this morning to speak with you and I.