E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
TODAY SHOW
TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 2020

SUBJECTS: Melbourne lockdown lifted; State border re-openings; Queensland election; NSW Premier.

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Welcome back to the show, Daniel Andrews summing up the mood of five million Melburnians last night, as promised, something from the top shelf, a large whisky toasting the end of 16 weeks in purgatory from midnight tonight. Plenty to discuss, from Melbourne, I'm joined by Shadow Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten and 3AW's Dee Dee Dunleavy. Woohoo, tell us how you really feel.

DEE DEE DUNLEAVY, 3AW: Freedom. Well, we were calling it doughnut day yesterday, Karl.

STEFANOVIC: Oh, yeah, why?

DUNLEAVY: Big fat zero.

STEFANOVIC: Yeah. Bill, are you happy?

BILL SHORTEN, MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG: Yeah, I'm rapt. I'm so pleased for my family. I'm so pleased for all Melburnians, all Victorians. It's been a tough road. But, gee, if you want to get a job done, give it to people in Melbourne. We have smashed this and it's fantastic.

STEFANOVIC: How will everyone celebrate in your family, Bill?

SHORTEN: Well, I'm up in Canberra in parliament, so I rang home. But it sounded like there was a bit going on at home, and I wasn't quite there. But it is really great news. I'm really pleased for people.

STEFANOVIC: Send us some photos will you? Dee Dee, 16 weeks, such a long stretch. It’ll all be worth it, won’t it?

DUNLEAVY: I think so, yeah. Look, I mean, personally, I'm feeling a little bit of pain still because it's a couple of weeks before we can go beyond 25 kilometres. And that's where my parents are. I haven't seen them for months, but I think for now we just celebrate. You know, I was taking calls yesterday all afternoon from people just delighted. We're very aware, though, there is a big job still to be done. The rebuilding and just stepping back into the retail environment, we haven't been into shops and there's a little bit of hesitation from some hotels. The Victorian branch of the Australian Hotels Association estimates that up to 70 per cent of venues say it's just not viable for them to open with the small numbers we can have inside. But baby steps, you know, like there's no way to not feel good about how we are at the moment.

STEFANOVIC: I agree with you, though, Dee Dee, on the 25 kilometre rule, that's quite strange. I mean, I'm not sure why he's staggering all of this stuff, the 25 kilometre rule would have reunited so many families and would have eased a lot of angst, right?

DUNLEAVY: Oh, absolutely. Look, the way I see it, travelling itself is not an issue. And you're going to get out of your car somewhere. And I can't see - I'm not an epidemiologist, but I can't see what the difference is, getting out of your car 25 kilometres from home and and 50 kilometres from home, which is where I want to get out and see my mum.

STEFANOVIC: That'll be nice anyway. Are you okay?

DUNLEAVY: Yeah, yeah. Look, it's interesting taking calls from people every single day on 3AW, there's moments that I will I will never, ever forget, you know, people crying and breaking down and just in desperation and loneliness and their businesses going to the wall. I'll never, ever forget that. But I don't want to be Debbie Downer today because everyone's feeling good.

STEFANOVIC: I get it. I get it. Bill, a Nine/Age poll reveals 52 per cent of Victorians support Daniel Andrews handling of the crisis. It's quite the number, isn't it? But the PM says it's not him who deserves the credit, but the people of Melbourne. Who do you think deserves the credit?

SHORTEN: Everyone in Melbourne. But I think Dan Andrews, I mean, he's been copping the brickbats so when there's good news, I think it's only fair he gets some of that. But I think Dan Andrews would be the first person to say it's the people of Melbourne. I mean, Dee Dee’s right as well. It's still tough. I've met with local travel agents in my community. I mean, their businesses have been wiped out and they've had to be chasing all the money that the tourists had booked for the airlines and whatever, they've had to chase it up, but they're still not getting paid. So there's a lot of heartache. I've got some friends who've run a small shop in the city and the city's been a ghost town. But you know what? At least it's gone from 723 cases to zero. There'll be some small numbers. It is it is genuinely some good news. And I think all of Australia is really pleased for Melbourne, too.

STEFANOVIC: We sure are. Did you like Peter Beattie?

SHORTEN: Well, he's a former leader, so I suppose there's a bit of solidarity there. But… you know.

STEFANOVIC: It's always the most simple questions that get the best answer. Peter Beattie weighing in on the Queensland election, saying Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to follow the lead of New South Wales and reopen the state. It is an extraordinary intervention from Peter Beattie, don’t you reckon, Bill?

SHORTEN: I don't think he's right on this one. Annastacia Palaszczuk, during the COVID crisis, she's been a real leader. She's withstood some of the reckless calls by her opponent to open up prematurely. I think she's shown strong leadership. She's got an election on Saturday. I happened to see a clip of a farmer up in Bowen in central Queensland and he said he’s a lifelong LNP member and supporter, but the packing sheds and the people working in them wouldn't be working there but for Annastasia's leadership. So, you know, I think we've got to walk in her shoes to understand some of the strong calls she's made to keep Queensland safe. And their economy hasn't gone through what we've gone through in Melbourne, so I think she's one strong lady.

STEFANOVIC: She's only 100 billion in debt. This is gonna be such a complicated election to work out.

SHORTEN: Scotty’s a trillion in debt.

STEFANOVIC: Well, she was 90 down before COVID. Anyway, she's got some work to do. She reckons that in one term or less, she'll pay that back. Anyway, one Premier who probably needs a good night out is Gladys Berejiklian, after saying for months she wants to open the borders with Queensland. She continues to refuse to open the borders with Victoria. Dee Dee, if you were her, though, would you trust Victoria?

DUNLEAVY: It's very hard, very hard to say. We do feel like the unwelcome neighbour at the moment.

SHORTEN: Yeah.

DUNLEAVY: I'm okay with caution. I really am at this stage. And I don't know that anyone is busting to get up to New South Wales. Queensland just on that, too –

STEFANOVIC: What a dig!

SHORTEN: Well said, Dee Dee.

STEFANOVIC: What a dig.

SHORTEN: Go Victoria.

DUNLEAVY: I mean, we’re used to not going outside our home. So we're certainly not rushing.

SHORTEN: So the Murray’s a long way away.

STEFANOVIC: You guys are on fire this morning.

DUNLEAVY: You're welcome to come here.

STEFANOVIC: Well, we'll just wait. We'll just wait and see that everything's okay. Is she right, though Bill, do you reckon, to hold off on that? You can't really ask for one border to come down, another one to stay shut?

SHORTEN: I think if I was Gladys, I'd trust Victorians ahead of her ex-boyfriend. So, you know, I think that in all seriousness –

STEFANOVIC: Again, that’s kind of true.

SHORTEN: But in all seriousness, I look at the United Kingdom or parts of America. Caution, and I know it's easy for some to stand up there and say’ just open this and open that’ and I know businesses are doing it hard, but, you know, we don't live in a vacuum. Have a look at the United Kingdom. At the same time in July, they had -

STEFANOVIC: A lot.

SHORTEN: - about the same number of cases. Now they've got 15,000. And in Victoria, we’ve got down to zero or one or two. So caution's working, but it is really hard and that's why economic recovery is going to be such an important journey.

STEFANOVIC: Finally on Gladys, it hasn't stopped the Internet. Obviously, she can't party at the moment. She's not allowing people in New South Wales to have more than 20 people over for a party at their house, which is only a small number. The Internet is going crazy with memes featuring the New South Wales premier in full party mode. Now, we've found another couple on the interweb. Take a look at this one right now [meme images of Gladys Berejiklian]. That’s with Vladimir Putin. And I think we've got one more. There she is, dancing with Donald Trump. Now she's having a good time. Gladys Berejiklian. Lovely stuff, isn't it?

DUNLEAVY: Mm hmm. Oh, I don't have a problem with it. Look, I think anything like that, if someone's having a laugh, then it's not gonna reflect badly on her. If there are any that particularly mean, it reflects badly on the people who put them together. But that's the Australian way. We tend to make jokes and make fun of stuff. I wouldn't imagine she has a problem with it. I'm assuming she has a sense of humour, as most of us do.

STEFANOVIC: Great to talk to you guys. Thank you so much for being with us today. It was one to remember, one for the ages.

SHORTEN: Yeah good on you, see you - bye Dee Dee.

STEFANOVIC: Any final word on Peter Beattie?

DUNLEAVY: Thanks, Bill.

SHORTEN: Well, I'm sure he'd want me to say this. Annastacia Palaszczuk, majority government. That would be the good outcome. That's what he should have said.

STEFANOVIC: If he was a Labor man through and through. Thank you, guys.