E&OE TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECTS: Union splits; RBA Governor speech; Bill Shorten resignation
KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Well, former federal Labor Leader and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has shocked the country by announcing his retirement from politics after 17 years in parliament. To discuss this and more, we're joined by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Bill Shorten from Canberra. Good morning, guys. Nice to see you, Billy. You haven't changed your mind, have you?
BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FOR THE NDIS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: Well, it's been a big, it's been a big 24 hours, but there's still plenty to do. And I just wanted to say to Peter, I'm still here, so you're not out of the woods yet. And maybe you shouldn't cancel your Bill therapy sessions with your therapist yet.
STEFANOVIC: Hey, listen, I'll get Pete's response in a second. A little politics before we say the long, sad goodbye, Billy. Billy, I know why you're getting out, though. Your party is battling some factional wars, the unions are spoiling for wars of their own, the economy has hit the skids, and you just can't stomach Peter Dutton becoming PM.
SHORTEN: Well, first of all, unions having an argument, well, that's business as usual. The Greens being an A-grade nuisance, standard business. But returning to Pete, I'm still here till February. So, I just wanted to – and, you know, Pete said some lovely things about me and I just wanted to encourage him to say, one, I wish you could have said it when I was Leader of the Opposition, but, hey, that's life. And two, make sure you bring you’re A-game, or maybe even just the nuclear costings for your policy.
STEFANOVIC: Harsh.
PETER DUTTON, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Boom, boom, boom. Karl, I do want to say some nice things. Is it time for that yet?
STEFANOVIC: No, no, no.
SHORTEN: Yeah, yeah, it’s time.
STEFANOVIC: I just want one more question for the news cycle.
SHORTEN: Oh okay.
STEFANOVIC: The RBA chief had a brutal warning yesterday. Some will have to sell their houses because of the interest rates, right? It's those on lower incomes who will suffer the most. Maybe Jim Chalmers is right about all this?
DUTTON: I just think families are living now in the 6th, in the 6th quarter of a recession themselves. People are going backwards. People are working harder, they're working longer, but they're going backwards and I just don't think the Government has any answers for them. The Prime Minister spent the first 16 months on the Voice, he should have been making decisions to try and buttress our economy against what was coming. Interest rates have gone down in the UK, in Canada, in New Zealand, and they're still sticky, and with the prospect of going higher here, they should already be coming down.
STEFANOVIC: All right, we're just going to get – a little bit of a delay to Pete there – so I'm just going to get straight to Bill. Billy, I've known you for a long time, since Beaconsfield. Whenever I've been down and out, you've always reached out, and so has Pete. Says a lot about both you, I reckon, but politics takes a toll. It's had a huge, you've had huge ups and downs, haven't you? It has real impact on loved ones. What does this move mean for you, Chloe and the kids?
SHORTEN: I think it's going to be very good for my family, but I have to say that with the political highs and the political lows of the last 17 years, there's not a single day I would give back. I understand how extraordinarily lucky I have been to represent my electorate and to represent people with disabilities and to represent the Labor party. Like, I'm finishing up in five months and I feel that I've been very privileged, very lucky. One thing, though, I am looking forward to is, I keep a bit of a rough count of the nights away, when you're a politician at sort of a senior level, it's been about 130 days each year where I've just been away at night. So, that's longer than six years away, that's longer than World War II. And the other thing I'm not going to miss, but probably some of it is, you know, all those cowardly keyboard warriors who write crap about you. I can read it, it doesn't change my mind at all, but when your family's got to read stuff, at least maybe, you know, that'll give my family at least a little bit of relief from having to, you know, put up with the slings and arrows, because your family are conscripts to your career and your aspirations, so, I'm looking forward to a little less travel and, you know, perhaps a little less trolling. But anyway, I'm sure I just triggered more trolling then.
STEFANOVIC: But your family, mate, what do they mean to you?
SHORTEN: I couldn't have done anything without them. My family are more important to me than my political party, and there's three big things for me. There's our country, there's my family, and then there's my party. But I think for me, my priority has got to be my family, my country and my party, which has been very good to me.
STEFANOVIC: Pete, this is, as I mentioned, this politics game is a hard one. Do you worry about the impact on your family?
DUTTON: Yeah, of course you do, Karl, and as Bill rightly points out, you know, your wife gets death threats, your kids get death threats, the online nonsense is out of control and people would never say those things to you, even if you ran across them in the street, let alone if you were sitting down with them having a conversation, so, I think Bill's spot on. I really, I'm happy, if I might say, for Chloe and, you know, Bill's family. I think that, you know, the Shorten family's been through a lot. I think our country's been the net beneficiary from having Bill in public life. I know that he contributed significantly, particularly when he was Opposition Leader, to national security debates, which are ultimately the most important thing that we can do for our country and he's been somebody who, when you shake his hand or you have a conversation, you do a deal, he honours it. And you've seen the human side, the compassionate side, with Beaconsfield, but he has continued that honour through his public life and he's given an enormous amount to the union movement and he is as big a figure as Bob Hawke was in the union movement, and he's done a lot for his party. I think he's grown apart, or the party's sort of grown apart from Bill a bit, which he won't comment on. I think he's sort of the last adult in the room of that Albanese Cabinet, and I think they will dearly miss him when he goes, but his family will get him back and I think we should, you know, we don't agree on politics, but I respect Bill very much.
STEFANOVIC: Oh, I feel. I feel slightly uncomfortable and awkward being here when you're having this conversation, you two, but, but I'll persist with it nonetheless. Billy, how do we –
DUTTON: Lucky we’re not all together.
STEFANOVIC: – how does that sit with you, Bill?
SHORTEN: Oh, that's generous. That is generous, Peter, thank you. I – but just the reference to the party, this is a Cabinet full of people who just want the best interests of Australia. So, I don't share that last sort of bit of the politicking. And also, I've got a chance now to, you know, there's work we've got to complete with the NDIS and government services, so, I'm very focused on that over the next five months. And after that, I want to keep making a contribution, so, I'm going to try and help at University of Canberra. Nothing, I think, could be more pleasing to help young people and to help people with inquiring minds, and we need – the best thing this country can do is invest in its people. That's our future. I'm looking forward to keeping contributed using the same values and experiences in a different area. But next five months, I did want to give this cheerio to any NDIS crooks. We are on your case, so don't take a hold.
STEFANOVIC: We've got to roll on, but how does Chloe feel about seeing a lot more of you?
SHORTEN: We've got to go to refamiliarisation classes.
STEFANOVIC: Well done, mate. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. We'll see you next week.
SHORTEN: See ya. Thank you.
