Sky News with Ashleigh Gillon
Tuesday, 09 February 2010
Subjects: Arrest of former Sri Lankan Presidential candidate General Fonseka, Iran’s nuclear plans, Tony Abbott’s comment on housewives.
E&OE…
ASHLEIGH GILLON Julie Bishop thank you for your time. How concerning is it that the former Sri Lankan Presidential candidate General Fonseka has been arrested? Does it appear to be a case of the Sri Lankan Government getting rid of its political division?
JULIE BISHOP Well it is concerning because Sri Lanka has been through a very turbulent chapter in its history, a long running 30 year civil war. The Government won that war last year, claimed victory in the war. The Government’s won the war but it also must win the peace. Recently the Government was re-elected, the President was re-elected, and it is time for Sri Lanka to heal the divisions within the country and there is a concern that this will only exacerbate the tensions that already exist. So we will be monitoring the situation closely but we would hope that Sri Lanka would move on and focus on economic and social development in the country and not retribution.
ASHLEIGH GILLON What should the Australian Government do in reaction to this? Is there anything we can do?
JULIE BISHOP Well I note that over night the United States said that it was watching the situation closely. I don’t think there is anything more we can do at this stage. The arrest may well have been carried out under Sri Lankan laws, we obviously have to respect another country’s laws, but it is concerning that after such a bitter and long civil war it is time in Sri Lanka to heal the divisions and we are concerned that this will in fact only inflame the situation.
ASHLEIGH GILLON Also over night we learnt that Iran formally notified the UN nuclear watchdog of its plan to produce higher enriched uranium. That is pretty provocative isn’t it?
JULIE BISHOP Iran is embarking on a very provocative path. It has announced its uranium enrichment programme, it has also announced that it has plans for an advanced anti-aircraft defence system. It is going down a path that is escalating tensions in the Middle East not reducing them.
Over night Russia has indicated that Iran could face tougher and new sanctions. The United States Defence Secretary Gates has called on the international community to unite in putting pressure on Iran to stop it going down this provocative path. And I think it is interesting to note that the United States has been quite open in publicly building defence systems in neighbouring countries. It is not doing this in any covert way, it is actually announcing that it is building missile defence systems in the region. So the situation is very tense.
ASHLEIGH GILLON Again, what is Australia’s role in all of this? Can Rudd threaten to take Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice? Should that happen?
JULIE BISHOP Well I think that was just another one of Kevin Rudd’s broken promises. He threatened a lot of countries before the election. He was going to take Japan to the International Court over whaling, he hasn’t done that. He was going to ask the United Nations Security Council to take the Burmese Generals to the International Court of Justice, he hasn’t done that…
ASHLEIGH GILLON So it’s not Australia’s role?
JULIE BISHOP He threatened to take the President of Iran to the International Criminal Court, he hasn’t done that. So I think that was just pre-election rhetoric.
Australia should stand firm with the international community in maintaining the pressure on Iran. There are sanctions, as Russia had indicated there could be newer and tougher sanctions and obviously Australia must be part of ensuring that those sanctions take effect.
ASHLEIGH GILLON On domestic politics, did you cringe yesterday when you heard Tony Abbott imply that housewives do all the ironing?
JULIE BISHOP [laughs] No. I don’t think we should take political correctness too far. I saw Tony this morning, his shirt looks very well ironed, perhaps he’s learnt a lesson over night, perhaps he learnt something from the drycleaner that he visited. The film footage on television showed that he didn’t have such an adept hand at ironing. Obviously Margie, his wife, does the ironing at his place. But I don’t think we should get too hung up on that sort of comment.
ASHLEIGH GILLON Its not suggesting that he is very old fashioned and outdated in his views towards woman? I guess that alone isn’t a vote changer for woman, but when you add it together with his views on abortion and his views recently on virginity, for example, woman could be scared off by an Opposition Leader who has such conservative views.
JULIE BISHOP Well Tony is a social conservative I don’t think that is a surprise to anyone. But just on the ironing issue, I mean Tony has three daughters and a wife and perhaps he doesn’t do the ironing in his home but it doesn’t mean to say that he doesn’t understand that household jobs are shared across Australia. I mean that certainly is the case in the majority of households in Australia and that is the way it should be. But I don’t think, for example, Tony’s advice to his daughters on the fact that he wants them to have a stable relationship, I don’t think that there is anything controversial about that.
And I do find it amazing that people come out and attack Tony Abbott for comments that he made, but what about the Prime Minister who is verbally abusive to a female flight steward to the point where she is reduced to tears, and that seems to be acceptable behaviour? I mean that kind of bullying from a Prime Minister would not be accepted in any workplace in Australia.
ASHLEIGH GILLON Well that story did certainly did have its own fair share of headlines….
JULIE BISHOP And so it should have. So it should have.
ASHLEIGH GILLON One way the Coalition could potentially win over female voters is with a better paid paternity scheme than the one the Government is offering. There are reports in the Sydney Morning Herald today that you’re planning a six month paid leave scheme, is that right?
JULIE BISHOP We are in the process of discussing a whole range of policy announcements and that is one of them. Tony Abbott has spoken about it in his book Battlelines – there I am giving a plug for his book – but it is a matter that is under review by the Coalition and I’m not going to make any announcement prior to our formal policy roll out.
ASHLEIGH GILLON Do you think the Government’s scheme is too short at 18 weeks?
JULIE BISHOP I think that our scheme will be better than the Government’s. From what I’ve heard, the discussions within our Policy Review Committee, we will have a better scheme that supports families in trying to juggle that balance between work and family commitments.
ASHLEIGH GILLON Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop thanks for your time.
JULIE BISHOP Thanks Ashleigh.
