TRANSCRIPT: Interview with ANDREW BENSLEY, SKY SPORTS RADIO, 3 July 2019
E&OE
Subjects: Drought conditions; Horse racing
ANDREW BENSLEY:
But we are going to Canberra now. We’re going to be joined by the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack. And we say good morning to you, Michael. Thank you for sparing us a few minutes.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Morning, Andrew. Pleasure.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Mate, we’re at Nyngan this morning. We’re 580 Ks roughly northwest of Sydney. The other voice you’re hearing here is the local trainer Rodney Robb who - well, Rodney, you travelled a horse to Gundagai, didn’t you recently?
RODNEY ROBB:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. My son took three down there on Saturday. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Rodney, I've actually selected one of your horses to win the Open Trophy Handicap that won over 900 metres. I reckon Still Undaunted is obviously not a bad nag and the fact that…
RODNEY ROBB:
[Interrupts] This at Nyngan on Saturday?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, yes indeed. And in fact the PM liked it too. I showed him the fields this morning. He said “I like the name of that horse, Still Undaunted”. He said that…
RODNEY ROBB:
[Talks over] Fair dinkum.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
… “that’s us, that represents us, that horse”. [Laughs]
RODNEY ROBB:
If he boots Sam, I’ll run over Kosciuszko [indistinct].
[Laughter]
ANDREW BENSLEY:
You’re a colourful man. Hey, Michael, I know you travel far and wide. Where we are here at Nyngan, it’s not - I want to say how I feel. When Rodney took us around his land here yesterday, I can’t help but feel so depressed and sad. Now, I’m…
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yes, it’s dispiriting.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
It is. And none of us can. We can only pray that the rain will come and the good Lord above us will look after us at some stage. But Michael, take us through your travels of how grim it is at the moment.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well look, on Saturday and Sunday, we actually had some good showers down south and so that was really welcome. Trouble is you go any further north than probably Junee, and it's pretty bare, and it's pretty bad. And Temora, which really needs rain, only got 10 mls on the weekend. But you go any further north - I was in Inverell over the weekend and it's like a moonscape there, and we all know around Tamworth and Nyngan too, it's really dry and it's dispiriting, as you say. But look, the rains will come. We've got to have hope and I know people get a little bit cynical about, I suppose, about pollies. We can't make it rain but we've certainly - you know, both New South Wales and Federal Governments have certainly got some drought assistance there, and I think if people want help, seek help. They certainly need to be conscious of seeking that help. They can go on to computers and Google drought assistance. They'll see what is available, and there is a lot of help available that people just don't know about. So, you know, it will rain and we want to make sure that when it does, people are as well-placed as they can be. But this drought is going to take more than just a few showers and more than a few thunderstorms. If it rains for 40 days and 40 nights, it would still be in drought. So, it's not a good situation of course. We're past that stage now of farmers being able to plant a winter crop, if they haven't already done so.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Well, that was the point because on the travels from Tamworth to Nyngan yesterday, Michael, we could see - Max and I, the driver of the tech, we could see where some farmers had done that in the hope that it is going to rain. So that they’re living where they would normally be, in the hope that it does rain.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
They are the most resilient, hopeful, optimistic people in the nation, our farmers. And many of them, as you say, a dry zone, and many of them have done that In the hope, the glimmer of hope, that faint little bit of optimism, that it will rain. You know, let’s hope it does for them because some of them haven’t had a crop for a couple of years now. And the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather forecast doesn’t really say that it’s going to be all that good for quite some time. So we can only live in hope, I suppose.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
We can. Rodney, you probably don’t get the chance too much to talk to a Deputy Prime Minister on the line. You live here, and you travel a lot of area of country New South Wales and into Queensland. Is there anything that you’d like to say to Michael about where the most of the state is at the moment?
RODNEY ROBB:
Well, you know, like most of the state, out in our area it is in a lot of desperate need but he’s already addressed that.
And it’s out there, a lot of help’s out there, a lot of help’s out there. And there’s even help out there for the trainers and jockeys and things like that, and you shouldn’t be sort of feel that you’re going to be left out. There is help there if you need it. There’s a lot of people very independent in this game, and there’s a lot of farmers too. You know, I get a lot of [indistinct] from farmers, local farmers you know and things like that. And they’re - like you said - they’re very, very resilient people. They’re just so tough, so durable. But they’re still going all right you know. They’re still - look they’re still driving their $75,000 Toyota Prado into town. Look mate, they’re still going all right. They haven’t bought enough horses off me to ride one to town, yet they’re going all right.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
We might have to get the - this is a staggering figure, Michael, and I don’t want to hold you up too long because I know you’ve got another big day there in Canberra. But this is a trainer - Michael and listeners - Rodney Robb who lives here at Nyngan, who, right now, in the New South Wales Country Premiership is sitting there with 50 wins in New South Wales. Kris Lees, who is regarded as a - in some ways - a country trainer, who is a fair way in front but Brett Cavanaugh is on 52 wins for the year. Your good friend, Michael, down at Wagga, Trevor Sutherland, is on 49 and a half, and Rodney is on 50, and he lives at Nyngan.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yes, it’s a good effort.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
It is a grand effort.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Congratulations.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Yes, it is a big effort. Mate, you’ve had a big 24 or 48 hours in Canberra.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Indeed. And we got our tax cuts through the Lower House last night, so, you know, for trainers like Rodney Robb - because he’s running a small business too, don’t worry - and for all those others out there, we just need to get it passed through the Senate and the relief can come soon.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
It’s exactly right. All right, I don’t want to hold you up, Michael.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Just one more shameless plug, the Murrumbidgee Turf Club and, hopefully, Rodney can travel south for that next year. The Gold Cup Carnival next May has taken its prize money up to $945,000, announced this week, so a big two days at Wagga next May. Just a shameless plug for my hometown cup carnival.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
And why not. We’re going to talk to Peter [indistinct] shortly, Mike, who they announced all those country cup prize money increases.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Indeed.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
It spread right across the country, you know. It’s Wagga but its Albury, and it’s up here. It’s Tamworth, it’s Dubbo, It’s spread right -
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
[Interrupts] And it’s fantastic.
RODNEY ROBB:
What about Nyngan, is it getting the -?
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Nyngan picnics. We’re going to talk about the Nyngan picnics shortly.
RODNEY ROBB:
We have a Nyngan Cup here, too, you know?
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Exactly. But we’re going to have to - we’re going to have to try and get the Deputy Prime Minister into a horse or get him up here to - have you been to Nyngan, Michael?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
I’ve been to Nyngan. I don’t think I’ve been to the Nyngan races, though.
RODNEY ROBB:
Well, there’s a free ticket there if you want to come up.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
We’re going to have to do something. Hey, Michael, thanks for joining us for a few minutes - just wanted to grab you because I know as Deputy Prime Minister, you know, and taking politics aside, I think that all parties back there in Canberra, and obviously here in the state, governments are aware, and we urge people - you know often we hear people say the farmers that have battled through a number of droughts, “no, I’ll just do it myself”. But we urge people, and we remind them that there is help there, and don’t be afraid to come forward.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Indeed. Indeed. Well said. And we’ll get the PM on your show very, very soon.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Good on you. Thanks a lot, Michael.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Good man. Thanks, Rodney. Thanks, Andrew.
RODNEY ROBB:
Thank you very much.
ANDREW BENSLEY:
Michael McCormack, the Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the National Party around Australia.