E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
TODAY SHOW
TUESDAY, 4 MAY 2021
 
SUBJECTS: Michael Slater’s stark words for Morrison Government; Indian travel sanctions; Melbourne’s vaccination hubs; rhetoric on China, Qld Deputy Premier Steven Miles’ slip of the tongue.
 
KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: Welcome back to the show. Well, “blood on your hands PM. If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies, they would allow us to get home”. Those are the strong words from cricketing great Michael Slater, who along with a group of IPL players and nine thousand other Australians remain trapped in India as the COVID situation worsens. For more, we're joined by Shadow Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten, and from Nine News in Melbourne, Brett McLeod. Morning, guys. Nice to see you. Bill, a brutal takedown from Michael Slater. What
do you think? 

BILL SHORTEN, MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG: Michael Slater is just saying what a lot of people are thinking. I mean, we all get why the borders have to close. We discussed this last Tuesday on this segment. But I also said they should work out how to repatriate Australian citizens to Australia and keep them in quarantine. I just want to say to the punters out there who think that the people overseas should just be left to be stranded, it's not right. I think that Mr. Morrison should have created special quarantine facilities here, he’s had 16 months. So, Michael Slater’s just telling the truth.

STEFANOVIC: There is a provocative headline in today's Age Brett, it says if there were 10,000 Australians with white skin, would they have done the same thing? Do you think there's anything to that? Or is it a bit harsh?

BRETT MCLEOD, NINE NEWS: It might be a bit harsh in the sense that there are Australians with white skin who are stranded in India too. I don't see this necessarily being racist. I know some people have said that, but it is discriminatory. When I was in Lebanon in 2006, when Australia organised a special boat to get people out of Beirut to Cyprus, and I've always thought that that is the Australian ways for Australian Governments do is when Australians are in crisis, they get them out. But not only to shut the door. Yes, many other countries have banned flights from India, the US in the UK included. But to make it a criminal activity, to threaten people with jail does take him home is not in any way right I think, and I think I would not be surprised the Government changed its policy here.

STEFANOVIC: And look, this pandemic is truly awful in India, the numbers are beyond anything that we've ever seen. So, we get the whole idea and the whole notion of trying to prevent them or at least limit them. But the idea of that fine or jail term and times is awful for any Australian. It's incredibly heartless. The problem is our hotel quarantine system can't cope with a big influx from India, Bill.

SHORTEN: Well, again, it goes back to what has Mr. Morrison been doing for the last 16 months? I mean, people don't want to hear about politics is early in the morning on breakfast TV, but you’ve got to ask yourself as you're packing the kids lunch today, why didn't Scomo build facilities away from the big city so he could cope? I mean, that this is at the heart of the matter. I think it is disgusting that Australian citizens can't come home to secure facilities. I think it is a complete failure of leadership.

STEFANOVIC: Brett?

MCLEOD: I ask, if this ban is lifted, at what point can we start accepting people? Like, if we can't do it now, can we in two weeks, can we in four weeks?

STEFANOVIC: Well it's getting worse. It's getting worse.

MCLEOD: We are not going to be able to just to hold back the bay forever. We have to allow people to come home at some point. We can't say come home next year. So really, we have to start preparing for it. And I think that unless we have more purpose-built facilities. We're not going to be able to get past this, and that's really where it sits now. 

STEFANOVIC: Should we get our cricketers back, should they be given special treatment, Bill?

SHORTEN: I think if you have an Australian passport, that's what should justify your special treatment, not what sport you play. It should be special treatment for Australian citizens. You know, on our passport, and I mean, we haven't got them out for over a year, but if you have a look at them, it does say this, the bearer should be afforded all means of support. The problem is the Australian Government's not even reading the fine print on the passport.

STEFANOVIC: Well, the issue again. back to the issue, though, is if we have nine thousand Australians coming out of India into our quarantine system that is not up to it, then, do we risk the majority of our population here?

MCLEOD: We're having nine thousand people but we won't be having nine thousand people at once. It's just not physically possible that we would be taking that many people back. 

STEFANOVIC: Yeah.

SHORTEN: Well just build them, let’s build the facilities, Karl. Do you know every day that goes by without us building facilities, we've got Australians in harm's way. That's the real issue. I think that's what Michael Slater was saying.

STEFANOVIC: Okay, the Prime Minister is on the show in the next 30 minutes. Stay tuned for that. Let's move on and the big first day in Victoria, with Phase 2A of the vaccine rollout. Brett McLeod, you've gone out there, you've gone right in there and you've done it, well done. How do you feel? 

MCLEOD: Actually fine. You know, I got the AstraZeneca about 10 o'clock yesterday at Jeff's Shed, as we call it. The process is really smooth. Once I got checked in about half an hour later, I was walking out with my arm full of AstraZeneca and very happy to have it. And I was very impressed with the process. I was also super impressed by how many people turned up. I think the estimate was yesterday, two thousand people at the Convention Centre, more than one thousand at the Exhibition Building. This is great. I wish it did happen weeks ago but I'm really proud of Melburnians for getting out in rolling up their sleeves literally and getting the vaccine it's great. 

STEFANOVIC: Bill, when are you lining up?

SHORTEN: I'll try and do it this week, I'm still grappling with the fact that I'm over 50. I'm traumatised by that. But you got to love Victorians and Melburnians, we’ll turn up to the opening of an envelope or even to get a needle.

STEFANOVIC: It says how hard it’s been there too doesn't it, goes to the heart of the how difficult the last year has been, Bill. And when you get yours, it'll be great. But around the rest of Australia, there's still, it's very difficult to get it all out there, especially with limited supply.

SHORTEN: Mass vaccinations make sense. And putting them in big centres where people can go, I mean, for the people who can get there that's just excellent, it takes out all the paperwork. I've got local GPs in my electorate, who are at wit's end. If you if you ring them up on their voice service they say, listen, we've only got 50 doses. So, I think there is a problem with the distribution. Mass vaccination centres a part of it, we've got to help our frontline GPs more, they're being forgotten.

STEFANOVIC: Well, we better get our vaccinations Bill before we go to war, a war with China, one of our top generals, is saying the threat of military conflict with China is present. What do you think?

SHORTEN: I don't know if this was a particular internal military briefing. I think the politicians have to keep the rhetoric in check, though. I mean, sure, the military guys, all men and women will work and prepare for different scenarios, I'm probably less concerned about what they say, in their own areas. But I do think that we need to start working out what our relationship with China is and how, on one hand, the budget’s coming down next Tuesday, and all the iron ore the Chinese are buying is probably going to be used to say how good our economy is. Yet on the other hand, we're saying that there could be conflict anytime soon. So, I think there is a dissonance between what we're saying in some quarters and what we're saying elsewhere. And I'd like to get more certainty out of the Federal Government.

STEFANOVIC: They’re still not picking up the phone. Meantime, an embarrassing slip of the tongue by Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles yesterday, or was it a slip?

STEVEN MILES, QUEENSLAND DEPUTY PREMIER: Think about that, will ya? Albo’s here with us at Labor Day, while Scott Morrison’s charging 5000 bucks a head to have dinner with him. What a [expletive] contrast.

STEFANOVIC: Brett, he is a troublemaker, isn't he that Steven Miles?

MCLEOD: Yeah look, and I love a bit of larrikin humour, but I the fact that he was grinning so much after he said it, it sort of undermines his argument was a slip of the tongue. I think in political debate, we can do this a smidge better, especially in public. I don't think that's really what we need to hear in any context when it comes to politics. 

STEFANOVIC: Bill, any slip of the tongues for you?

SHORTEN: I once was talking about some cuts that I think it was Turnbull was making to pensioners. And I said pensioner cuts, but I didn't necessarily articulate the end of the T-S as clearly and on TV, it sounded like… something else. 

STEFANOVIC: We've all been there.

SHORTEN: So, you’ve all been there, haven't you? I think he was smiling because he was embarrassed, not because I think it was a deliberate sort of shot. But there you go.

STEFANOVIC: Two differing opinions, which is what we like. Good on you guys. Thank you. 

SHORTEN: And May the fourth be with you, Karl.

STEFANOVIC: And also with you.