E&OE TRANSCRIPT

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

THE PROJECT, NETWORK TEN

TUESDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2014

 

SUBJECT/S: Polls; Tony Abbott’s unfair Budget; Lame pop culture references

 

ROVE MCMANUS, CO-HOST OF THE PROJECT: Well, the PM has declined our offer to talk to us about the topic but the Opposition Leader has stepped up to the plate. Bill Shorten, let's start with this one.

 

[APPLAUSE]

 

Yes, we have got to start with this though Bill, why do voters hate you?

 

BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: I didn't realise so many people knew I barracked for Collingwood.

 

MCMANUS: What do you make of these polls when they have this sort of weird split, almost 50-50?

 

SHORTEN: Well, in terms of people and how they feel, I genuinely think being a politician, if you go into it to be liked, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Democracy is one of the great opportunities for everyone to have a view on what you do. So some people will be happy with you on any given Saturday. Others, well, they'll hate your guts.

 

CARRIE BICKMORE, CO-HOST OF THE PROJECT: Being liked is pretty helpful on Election Day though I would have thought Bill –

 

SHORTEN: I haven't given up being liked yet, I’m not Tony Abbott.

 

[LAUGHTER]

 

STEVE VIZARD, PANELIST ON THE PROJECT: I guess the good news is if an election was held today, Labor would just squeak it in even though you're not the preferred PM. Would you be happy with that win? I mean is a win a win?

 

SHORTEN: I think by the next election I'll be happy if people know that Labor stands for good health care, getting jobs, making sure people don't pay $100,000 degrees. Labor’s got work to do to build who we are and get the electorate to think about us.

 

PETER HEILER, PANELIST ON THE PROJECT: Bill, I think I may know what one of the problems is. It seems that you and your colleagues can't help yourselves when it comes to, well I am going to call them, lame pop culture references. I want you to take a look at this –

 

CLIP:

 

SHORTEN: What we've seen in the last 24 hours, in the last 36 hours, is a dirty deal done dirt cheap.

 

[LAUGHTER]

 

CLIP:

 

DEBORAH O’NEILL: The reality is we have Tony Abbott at the head acting like father knows best from the 1950s.

 

CLIP:

 

KIM CARR:  No spoonful of sugar is going to let this medicine go down.

 

CLIP:

 

SHORTEN: Is it OK to go.

 

[MICROPHONE ISSUES]

 

JOURNALIST: My apologies.

 

SHORTEN: No, that's alright. It's like R2-D2.

 

HEILER: I will allow the R2-D2, I quite enjoyed that one. Do you think it's time to hit refresh on the pop culture references because there was nothing there post 1977, Bill?

 

SHORTEN: Oh, well, I thought dirty deals done dirt cheap was clever.

 

[LAUGHTER]

 

HEILER: Kim Carr went marry Poppins, Bill. Is there a chance you could work in a fresh, Iggy Azalea reference or Justice Crew? Give us some Justice Crew Bill?

 

SHORTEN: I was thinking about maybe, I don't know, Avicii or my kids, One Direction.

 

MCMANUS: Oh, hello. Getting back to the polls, it seems like these things seem to come out every couple of weeks. Is there any way you can avoid them? It would be like me getting a review every single day for a show I've been doing. Normally you would just ignore those types of things but you can't really do that, can you?

 

SHORTEN: I hope you don't get reviews like I get polls. What really matters I think the numbers in terms of a better future, $100,000 degrees, petrol tax going up, pensions going down. Those numbers concern me more than the polls.

 

BICKMORE: I’m disappointed Bill, I needed to hear the line that every politician says - the only poll that counts is on Election Day.

 

SHORTEN: Well, the only poll that counts is on Election Day.

 

HEILER: If you had have worked Avicii in there it would have been perfect, Bill.

 

BICKMORE: Thanks for talking to us Bill, appreciate your time.

 

SHORTEN: It's been real, thanks.

 

HEILER: He’s hit refresh already.

 

ENDS

 

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