TRANSCRIPT: THE NATIONALS FEDERAL CONFERENCE PRESS CONFERENCE, 27 March 2021
E&OE
Subjects: Address to The Nationals Federal Conference, Senate Pre-Selection, The Liberal Party, Andrew Laming;
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, it's fantastic to be at the Annual Conference of the National Party. We haven’t been able to hold a conference for quite a while, of course last year with the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to meet as we normally do. We were unable to debate the issues of the day and indeed, decide upon new policies as we normally do. But it's great to be back – great to be back with colleagues from all around the country. Of course, the National Party, has people, has supporters, has voters in every jurisdiction and it's fantastic to be with each and every one of them and really, really good to announce this small water initiative. This investment in not just necessarily the big dams – of course, we've got $3.5 billion through the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund to do just that – but perhaps just as importantly, in the little projects, where we're going to collaborate with states, $20 million, to get those little water pipelines, weirs, dams potentially, happening because we know that water grows agriculture. We know that when you add water, you add agriculture, you add wealth and investment of course, as we work towards the $100 billion target for agriculture by 2030. Well, that's what we're doing, you need to have more water. And it's good to have David Littleproud here because he's the Minister for Agriculture and of course, no one knows this better either than Andrew Gee, who is our decentralisation and regionalisation Minister and there are 56,510 jobs vacant in the regions right now and we want to make sure that Australians know that the regions are a great place in which to go to live, to invest, to raise a family. It is a great place, go to regional Australia. You'll fall in love, you'll fall in love with the community, big enough in which to get a good cup of coffee, small enough to still care.
JOURNALIST
This review of the Party’s Code of Conduct to ensure that everyone's treated equally and respected. Do you think there are areas within the Code that need to be updated?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I’ve supported what Emma Watts has brought to our Federal Management. I've supported indeed, what the National Party is doing and yes, of course, we need to be our best selves, we need to be better. Right across the political spectrum, not just The Nationals, not just the Liberals, it's every single party, every single person who goes up on that hill needs to remember it is an honour and a privilege to serve our communities, our country and we need to be better.
JOURNALIST
Are you concerned about behaviour within your Party?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I think we need to be better, yes. I've actually said that, I've said that in my speech today. I've said that if people felt let down by the system, then I apologise. I said, if I felt that people weren't being supported, then speak up. We want to take on board what we've heard, what we've seen and we need to be better.
JOURNALIST
Why did you say that today?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I said it today. I said it to all the Coalition staff during the week. I've said it to my own staff. I've said to my own staff, that I want them to feel supported and I wanted them to even go home and tell their partners and indeed, tell their parents that, in me, in a boss that they've got, that they are supported and that if there are things that are being said, that are careless, if there are words that are being uttered, that are inappropriate, then sing out, speak out. I think it's so important, I said in an article yesterday, printed across many, many newspapers, that men need to be better and not just when women are around but indeed and more importantly, perhaps when they're just talking man to man, bloke to bloke, mate to mate. They need to watch what they say and they don't need that lewd comment about a female. They don't need to tell those jokes. They just need to be more respectful.
JOURNALIST
Larry Anthony spoke about female representation, this morning. Do you think there is a case [inaudible]?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I'm proud of what I've been able to achieve, when I took over as leader in February 2018, we had two female representatives – two great female representatives in our party room – we’ve tripled that. In the last election in 2019, we actually had 80% of the candidates who were successful, were women. So I encourage women of course, at every level of the National Party to participate. You'll see on the debating floor today that there will be just as many women get up and discuss policies, discuss initiatives and discuss a better regional Australia as there will be men and I'm encouraged by that. I went to my own branch meeting just a couple of weeks ago, there were two women at the executive table, Mackenna Powell and Anna O'Brien, and as I looked around the room, there were more women than there were men. Women are playing a powerful part in our National Party and I want that to increase in the future. As far as quotas are concerned, I do believe in merit based – I do believe that it needs to be merit based. But that said, it will be up to our members, our grassroots members as to where we go with this sort of thing in the future. The National Party has always listened to its members, every member, every grassroots member gets a vote on who they want to serve their communities and we're not people, we’re not a party who parachutes candidates in just for the sake of dropping a candidate in, we base it on local champions, male or female, doing what we believe that they're going to do to the future for the communities they serve.
JOURNALIST
The New South Wales senate spot that's up for grabs that John Anderson has put his hand up for, would you like to see a woman pre-selected for that?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, so has Alison Penfold. So has Fiona Nash. They've also put their hands up and it's going to be a great field. And again, it will be up to the people in the National Party to determine who that representative will be to take that number two on that Senate ticket, then of course, it'll be up to the New South Wales voters as to whether that person is successful.
JOURNALIST
Would you like to see one of the female candidates? You mentioned pre-selected?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I'd like to see the best candidate selected, who is going to bring about the best outcomes for regional New South Wales and through it regional Australia – be selected for that vacancy.
JOURNALIST
Do you think that your Coalition partners, the Liberals, should have quotas or should be doing something to attract more women to that Party?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I'm not about to start telling the Liberal Party what they should be doing in that regard.
JOURNALIST
It's not telling them what to do, it's an opinion –
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Again, I'm not in the Liberal Party, never have been, the only political party I've ever been a member of is the National Party. As you can see, I'm proud to wear the green and gold. It'll be up to the divisions and Liberal Party is set up exactly like the National Party is, they are state divisions of a federated model, it will be up to the New South Wales division, just like it'll be up to the Victorian division and elsewhere, of course, in Queensland it is a little bit different, they’ve got the LNP and in the Northern Territory, they’ve got the Country Liberal Party, which is the Coalition version of the LNP in the Northern Territory, but it will be up to those state divisions. But as I say, I'm not a member of the Liberal Party and I'm not going to start telling them what they should or shouldn't do.
JOURNALIST
Deputy Prime Minister, looking at what is happening across the country. We saw the March 4 Justice rally here not so long ago. Do you think the Government has misjudged the mood of the nation? Is there now a push for change that you didn’t recognise four weeks ago?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
There's a push for change, certainly and we need to be our best selves. We need to be our best selves, always.
JOURNALIST
Did you think there was a push for change?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I think what it has done is highlight that people are frustrated at the fact that in workplaces, not just on the hill, not just in Parliament, but indeed right across the nation, in offices everywhere, in factories, on farms, that the men and all people need to show more respect to one another.
JOURNALIST
So you've misjudged it?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Men and women need to show more respect to one another and particularly men.
JOURNALIST
So you misjudged it?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I'll repeat the answer if you like, people need to show more respect for one another.
JOURNALIST
I'm asking you whether you thought there was need for change a month ago.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I just don't think it’s parliamentarians, I just don't think it's certainly the Coalition. I think we need to show more respect for one another, I think there's an absolute movement and push on for that. And to that end, that is a good thing because if it creates a better culture in a workplace, then that has got to be seen to be a good thing. I sat with Ricky Stuart, the Canberra Raiders’ coach, the other day and he wasn't talking about their success or otherwise on the football field. He wasn't talking about how many premierships they'd won or how many Tests he played – even though I was always most interested in Ricky – but he was talking about culture. He was talking about those Raiders, those men of the Green Machine being their best selves and not just on the footy field but outside, outside the Raiders’ Stadium, outside the football environment. In their homes and whatever they're going to do in future and I really took heed of that. People like Ricky Stuart and others right across the nation, they're big on culture and that's why they're successful. And workplaces that are big on culture, on fostering a better culture and a better workplace, a happier, healthier and safer workplace. Then they are the workplaces which will succeed in the future.
JOURNALIST
Is Andrew Laming’s position tenable?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, that's entirely a matter for his voters. Andrew Laming has apologised to the Parliament, as he should. The Prime Minister has said that Andrew needs to take on some training and I encourage that. Andrew has done a lot of good for the electorate of Bowman. Yes, [inaudible] he's been called out for that, he's apologised to the Parliament and he will now undergo some training to ensure that he doesn't do it again.
JOURNALIST
Should all MPs in the Parliament and Senators undergo a similar behavioural course?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, as part of our Code of Conduct and as part of what we discussed yesterday, we will be undertaking training in the National Party and that's a good thing and we can always take on training courses, we can always learn. The person who decides that they're going to stop learning in their job or in their life, well, they're not going to go forward, they're not going to grow and be better people and they're not going to think of others the way they should. So, I'm looking forward to undergoing that bit of training and to see where I can be better individually and personally.
JOURNALIST
Deputy Prime Minister, this sounds like a bit of a cop out though, why are people in their 30s, 40s and 50s having to undergo a training course to identify that bullying people and trolling them online is disrespectful?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Because we can always be better, we can always be better and we should be always better and if we need to sit around for an hour or so listening to an expert in the field, saying that this is acceptable, this is not accepting. Yes, of course, common sense comes into it, common decency comes into it and I've always endeavoured to be both of those things. But if we can learn from an expert, a counselling expert or a psychological expert, whatever the case might be in this regard and actually learn a few tips on how to not only be better ourselves, but how to call out others for it, then I think that is a good thing.
JOURNALIST
An expert to tell you that bullying is bad?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Bullying is bad and you’re not going to lead me down the path that I'm ever going to say that I've never thought that bullying is good. Bullying is not good in any – in any situation – whether it's the schoolyard, whether it's the workplace, office, farm, factory. Bullying is not acceptable, never has been in Australia, never will.
JOURNALIST
Should the LNP re-endorse Andrew Laming?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, that is entirely a matter for the LNP. Thank you very much.
ENDS 12:16PM