E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
TODAY
TUESDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2020

SUBJECTS: Victorian coronavirus roadmap; Australians stuck overseas; Former Labor PM’s on superannuation; AFL Grand Final location.

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Welcome back to the show. A critical week ahead in the nation's COVID recovery. Scott Morrison will use Friday's National Cabinet to ramp up pressure on Premiers to reopen state borders and their economies. And just two days later, on Sunday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews laying out his much anticipated roadmap out of lockdown. Joining me now from Melbourne, Bill Shorten. And from Brisbane 4BC’s Scott Emerson. Good morning lads, thank you for your time. Bill, those pesky Premiers just not making it easy are they?

BILL SHORTEN, MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG: Well, I don't think it's as simple as that. I'm now on day 62 of my Stage 3 or Stage 4 lockdown. I talk to a lot of people, a lot of businesses. People want hope. Dan has said that he's going to outline a plan on Sunday. So that's a tick. People are doing it hard in Melbourne with a lot of mental health pressure, a lot depression, small business, joblessness. People just want to get it right. They've come this far. What they don't want is politics. And they don't want to see the Prime Minister or anyone just sort of trying to score points. What we just want is a plan out of this. And I think Victorians are just going to go the distance and we're going to look for some hope to Sunday's announcements.

STEFANOVIC: Well, there are some in Scott Morrison's cabinet now who are really exerting maximum pressure on the Dan Andrews government. Is that not right?

SHORTEN: Well, I think if you ask most Victorians and I have lots of conversations, I've seen different bits of polling. People do want to plan. They're worried about economic recovery. What they don't want is politics being played. Mr Morrison doesn't seem to be very vocal in his criticism of Tasmania and South Australia with Liberal administrations when it comes to a state Labor government, he seems, he and his people seem, to have a lot more to say. I would just encourage the Prime Minister to take the high road. We're all in this together. Victoria's feeling pretty hard done by. We just want to get it right. We don't need any more politics.

STEFANOVIC: Scott, the PM will have a bigger problem getting Annastacia Palaszczuk to do anything in relation to the borders. I mean, she's in no rush and it's incredibly popular for her to stick with what she's doing.

SCOTT EMERSON, 4BC: Oh, you’re right Karl. Look, we've got an election here on October 31. This is very popular. The Newspoll out yesterday just showed that 80 per cent of people supported the Premier's having control of the borders. I think that she's not going to shift much on this, no matter what Scott Morrison says, until after October 31.

STEFANOVIC: And what does that mean for Christmas? Or I mean, why would she take down the borders?

EMERSON: Well, it's extraordinary some of the comments she's made. She talked about not opening the borders until those four weeks of no community transmissions in any of the other states, four weeks of that. Now, even if you get back to Victoria getting its numbers down, New South Wales have its numbers down, having four weeks free of community transmission, that's not going to happen for ages. We're looking at 2021 before that would happen.

STEFANOVIC: And it decimates business doesn’t it?

EMERSON: Oh, it destroys businesses and destroys jobs. And this is, don't forget, tourism is such an important sector up here for Queenslanders. But look, there is clearly - Queensland has done it well in terms of COVID. I don't think anyone is complaining about that. But clearly, also there’s politics at play here as well, with an eye very much on that October election.

STEFANOVIC: Yeah, Bill, there's no incentive, though, is there either, for the Premiers to do that, when the federal government's picking up the bill?

SHORTEN: Well, again, I think what the state premiers are doing – Annastacia, I mean, she can be the whole back line of the Queensland State of Origin team, she's that pro Queensland. But the same with Dan Andrews, is that we want to get it right. And listen, I do speak to a lot of small businesses doing it tough. This is hard. The economic recovery is going to be crucial. But, I mean, one area which I'm getting inundated by constituent correspondence in is that we've got Australian citizens overseas who were told not to come back in March, but who for various circumstances beyond their control, need to get back and yet what we've got is a situation where international students are able to come to Australia. I've got a bloke in Singapore, all his contracts are finished. He's an Australian citizen, can't get home. But we're taking international students. International students are good, but we've got a lot of Aussies stranded abroad. And I just think that we should be prioritising Australian citizens. And that's something Mr Morrison can work on without bagging the state Premiers.

STEFANOVIC: Okay. Let's move on. And Labor's old guard were wheeled out of the political crypt yesterday. Former Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Kevin Rudd launching fierce attacks over fears the Morrison Government is planning to dump superannuation increases. Bill, it was lovely to see the great Paul Keating yesterday, it made us pine for charisma and expensive suits. But where was your man Albo?

SHORTEN: He's been out there every day. He's been out there every day. This superannuation delaying by the government - I mean, I was the Minister in 2012 when it was agreed that we would pass a law then to lift superannuation nine to 12 per cent, Tony Abbott said he'd do it. He welshed on his promise when he was Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull welshed on his promise to lift the super and then, of course, unfortunately, Scott Morrison seems to be going down the same copybook. The importance of increasing super by half or one per cent over the next few years is very clear. Our young people are having their economic futures destroyed by COVID. It is important that we have some money, that they save a little bit of money for the future. These increases are modest, they’re tiny, but it'll make a big difference in 20 and 30 and 40 years’ time.

STEFANOVIC: Isn't it fair enough, though, for the federal government to go you know what, let's put that on hold just for a few months? I mean, we were going through COVID right now and everybody needs every little bit of cash they can get.

SHORTEN: You'd believe it, except they've been saying that now for many years. And on this one, I have to say that it's more politics than reality. This is a small amount of money, but the beauty is compound interest over 50, 40-50 years is we're not abandoning our 20 year olds and our 30 year olds. I mean, if we don't save it in super, we're going to pay it in the pension. So there's no free lunch.

STEFANOVIC: Okay. Some were comparing Kevin Rudd yesterday [comparison image on screen of Kevin Rudd and Colonel Sanders], perhaps a little unflatteringly to another great leader. Not of the GFC, but of the KFC (panel laughter). Scott?

SHORTEN: Social media is so harsh, there is no thing.

EMERSON: There’s no finger lickin’ good there Karl, I can tell you that.

SHORTEN: Goodness me.

STEFANOVIC: Scott?

EMERSON: You are so cruel there. At least it’s not Ronald McDonald..

SHORTEN: Kevin rocks a beard!

EMERSON: Politicians start to grow beards when they're not planning to come back to the leadership. I'm pleased to see that Bill there hasn't started growing. So I wonder about that.

SHORTEN: No, me shaving is a sign of mental health. I've gone days in this virus and not shaved. And I felt like, I am not giving it to COVID depression, I will shave.

STEFANOVIC: Whatever you need to do to get through the night. And it's a long night, isn't it Bill? And finally, could Brissy have it in the bag? AFL chiefs meeting today to decide to pick a Grand Final venue with the big announcement happening tomorrow. Scott, the Gabba is the red hot raging favourite.

EMERSON: And why shouldn't it be Karl? You know the Gabba well. Look, 16 of the 18 teams are based up here already. Gil McLachlan I think after tomorrow is coming up into the bubble up here. Of course we should hold it. There's no way Victoria's obviously going to hold it, and W.A. and South Australia, they've done their run. Queensland will be named tomorrow.

SHORTEN: Well, I do think AFL owes a big favour, and all supporters, to Queensland, you’ve helped save the season. So I suspect Queensland's the favourite and all my in-laws live in Queensland, they'd want me to say that. But Gillon McLachlan has invited people – do you know, he's an ideas man, Gillon McLachlan, he had the square footy oval, you know, whatever. So how about this? How about this? It's winner takes all, if you are the top of the home and away season table. So, Port Adelaide, maybe if they are on top, South Australia gets it. If the Eagles get on top, they get it. Geelong is only in Stage 3, you know, they're not even Melbourne, so maybe they could get it. Just putting it out there.

STEFANOVIC: You’re an ideas man, Bill Shorten.

EMERSON: And Bill, that is why you lost so badly in Queensland.

STEFANOVIC: You leave Bill Shorten alone.

SHORTEN: Yeah. Don't you want to spice it up a bit? Just putting it out there as an idea.

EMERSON: Well go Queensland, that’s all I can say. Go Queensland, we saved the AFL.

SHORTEN: Yeah no, that's fair. You have. And thank you, Annastacia.

STEFANOVIC: Yeah, he's the Today Show’s Bill Shorten now, Scott, you gotta be careful. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.