E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
TUESDAY, 22 MARCH 2016
SUBJECT/S: Malcolm Turnbull puts his own future ahead of Australia's future; Labor’s positive plans for the future of Australia.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE: Joining us now is Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Bill good morning to you, thanks for your time.
BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Good morning.
ARMYTAGE: Now, not long to go here, is there any chance the Senate will actually pass these two industrial relations bills and avoid a double dissolution election?
SHORTEN: I can’t speak for the Independent Senators but Labor won't be supporting the Government's measures. So, I suspect in fact, I am pretty sure, we will be having an election on 2 July in 103 days time. What Mr Turnbull has done is he’s just confirmed what many of us have suspected for a while, that the election will be after a 103 day campaign.
DAVID KOCH: Okay, is a this a bit tricky of Malcolm Turnbull because he’s using industrial relations to trigger the election. There is a perception that you are too close to the unions. You did appear before the Dyson Royal Commission. Is he being very shroud in this?
SHORTEN: You can take your pick, it's either chaotic or tricky. What we see is that Mr Turnbull has got a plan to call an election on a Saturday in July. I and Labor have got a plan for Australia and we’re really looking forward to putting forward our positive plans to Australians. I think the election won’t be fought about Mr Turnbull’s manoeuvrings in the Senate. I think the election will be fought on standing up for Australian jobs, protecting Medicare, ensuring that every child in every school gets every opportunity, promoting renewable energy as a means of tackling climate change and of course, fair taxation policies, so first home buyers have got a level playing field in the housing market against property speculators.
ARMYTAGE: Okay, but will you move to distance yourself from the union movement, given that you appeared before the Dyson Royal Commission and it is highly likely this that election will be triggered because of an industrial relations issue?
SHORTEN: No-one is above the law and unions have got to adhere to the law just like businesses. We’ve proposed our own sensible measures of governance which would double penalties for lawless behaviour in unions, but I don't think that we should be creating laws where construction workers, building workers are governed by one set of laws and everyone else is governed by another set of laws. I think there’s better ways to handle workplace challenges and workplace relations and I also know that when it comes to workplace relations, there is plenty of other important issues such as protecting penalty rates and the Labor Party can be trusted to stand up for people on penalty rates which Mr Turnbull sadly cannot.
KOCH: This is do or die for you, this election, it is an uphill battle. You are way behind in preferred prime minister. Can you win? Yes or no.
SHORTEN: Yes. Absolutely, we can win. And it's going to come down to who has the positive policies. I look forward to the fact that over the next 103 days, we will outline our positive plans. As I said earlier in our interview, Mr Turnbull’s got a plan to have an election, we’ve got a plan for Australia.
ARMYTAGE: And the campaign begins. Bill Shorten thanks for your time.
SHORTEN: Have a nice day.
ENDS
