Channel 10, Breakfast with Paul Henry, Kathryn Robinson and Andrew Rochford
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Subjects: Labor leadership
E&OE…
PAUL HENRY Julie Bishop is the Deputy Leader of the Federal Opposition and she joins us now. Julie thanks for joining us. In November you called Kevin Rudd a tosser, anything you saw last night that convinced you otherwise?JULIE BISHOP It is a shocking state of affairs when the Foreign Minister resigns from his job while on official duties overseas because he can’t work with the Prime Minister. And it just shows how deeply divided and dysfunctional the Government is. It really is in crisis. This is probably the worst Government crisis since Whitlam in 1975.
PAUL HENRY Alright, so what do you believe should happen now? What is in the best interests of Australia?
JULIE BISHOP Well there is no doubt that the instability and uncertainty and the conflict at the highest level of government is impacting on confidence across the nation and indeed on our international reputation, as Kevin Rudd himself alluded to last night. I don’t believe that a leadership spill will resolve the crisis at the top of government because the two camps are so deeply divided. The vitriolic and acrimonious statements they are making about each other are not going to be resolved by a leadership battle that will come to a head next week. I believe that we need to have an election to put certainty and stability back into the Federal Government.
PAUL HENRY Who would Tony Abbott, do you imagine or do you know, rather be up against in a federal election? Julia Gillard as Prime Minister or Kevin Rudd?
JULIE BISHOP Well they are both deeply damaged goods in the eyes of the Australian public, but the point is their policies would need to change. And at present they are both on the same page in relation to the carbon tax, which is so damaging to the Australian economy, they have no different ideas for the asylum seeker problem, we want to hear what differences they had in relation to the deepening debt and deficit that they have been plunging Australia into. So it is not a question of changing the decks on the Titanic, they really do have to look at the policies that they would take to the next election and spell out to the Australian people what differences they would make.
KATHRYN ROBINSON This has all really played into the hands of the Liberal Party, have you discussed with Tony Abbott or do you have any idea what the Liberal Party plans to do over the next coming days?
JULIE BISHOP Well clearly this has been brewing for months and I know there have been many in the Labor Party in deep denial accusing the media and the Opposition of making it up. But the simmering leadership tensions that we have been witnessing for months have now spilled over into open hostile conflict. So of course the Liberal Party has been considering the situation should it change - I mean clearly it was untenable, it couldn’t go on as it has been for the last few weeks in particular - and the Coalition will be talking over the next few days as to what we expect to happen next week. But currently the uncertainty, the division, the hostility is undermining confidence in the Government.
PAUL HENRY Absolutely, in fact I think confidence is pretty much undermined. Julie just very quickly I want to come back to a previous question just to get your actual answer to it. Given that it is unlikely that they will call an early election, that they will call an election, that they will go to the polls, who would be the better leader Julia Gillard or Rudd?
JULIE BISHOP Well neither of them will be a good leader because…
PAUL HENRY I know you don’t like either of them but who would be the better one if you had to choose?
JULIE BISHOP Well neither of them have proven to be good Prime Ministers. Kevin Rudd was dumped by his own party back in 2010…
PAUL HENRY Sorry to interrupt again, but I know what you are saying is true because we all know that, except perhaps the individuals involved, but if you had to choose one because we could well be in the situation where one of those people will go forward, in fact we will be in that situation, who would you choose?
JULIE BISHOP If I had to vote in the leadership ballot?
PAUL HENRY Yes, exactly.
JULIE BISHOP Well it would be very hard, I would probably go for a third candidate. I would go for Simon Crean.
PAUL HENRY Come on. Look, just choose one! There are two of them, you must prefer one to the other.
JULIE BISHOP Can’t I have none of the above? Isn’t that an option?
PAUL HENRY Don’t you understand the question?
ANDREW ROCHFORD What if we say please Julie?
JULIE BISHOP I understand the question alright, and I don’t think either of them will be properly serving Australia’s interests. They haven’t in the past and there is no reason to believe they will in the future. That is why we believe a general election is required.
PAUL HENRY Brilliant.
KATHRYN ROBINSON I don’t think she is going to answer it.
PAUL HENRY Julie, thank you very much. Thank you very much that was fantastic.
JULIE BISHOP It has been my pleasure.
