E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
MONDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2024

SUBJECTS: OPERATION SOVERIGN BORDERS; BEHAVIOUR IN PARLIAMENT.

NATALIE BARR: The Federal Government is under pressure this morning over Australia's border security. It comes after a group of asylum seekers managed to evade detection and make landfall in a remote part of Western Australia. Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, says the incident shows the Government has lost control of the borders. But the Home Affairs Minister has accused him of undermining national security with his comments. For more, let's bring in the pollies, Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, and Nationals MP, Barnaby Joyce. Tanya, how do you think people smugglers will react to the news that asylum seekers have managed to evade the Border Force and actually make it to shore?

TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well, those asylum seekers were straight on a plane to Nauru, and the only person who would be helping the people smugglers right now is Peter Dutton; he could be running their advertising campaign for them the way that he's carrying on. We know that under the previous government boats also made it to Australia. We didn't make a big deal about it, because we know that you are helping the people smugglers when you do that.

The head of Operation Sovereign Borders has made clear that nothing has changed, and what would be great is for the Opposition to work with the Government to send that message to people smugglers so they can't take money from vulnerable people, get them to risk their lives trying to get to Australia.

BARR: So Tanya, 12 asylum boats, I think, have arrived since Labor was elected. Should people believe that you have control of the borders?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Dozens arrived under the previous government. We didn't make it a big deal because we know we're helping the people smugglers if we do that.

This really reminds me of 2001 when the Liberals and Nationals voted against an arrangement with Malaysia that would have had asylum seekers taken to Malaysia. They did it completely for political reasons, and once again they are running this completely for political reasons. They're not thinking about Australia's national interests.

The head of Operation Sovereign Borders has made clear that nothing has changed. They're not thinking about Australia's national interest; they're undermining our national security, and they are giving people smugglers the content they need to sell spots on these dangerous leaky boats coming to Australia. Peter Dutton is helping the people smugglers advertise their deadly trade.

BARR: Barnaby, Tanya's right, in that the Rear Admiral, the Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders is saying, "You should not be speaking, you should butt out of this." Why is your side talking about the boats arriving? The boat, I should say; there's one boat.

BARNABY JOYCE: Well, there's three things. First, and without being a pedant, I think it might have been 2011, Tanya, not 2001, the Malaysia issue.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Oh, 2011, you might be right.

JOYCE: Number two, every time Labor gets something wrong, they then say, "Oh, the Coalition shouldn't talk about it, they should work with us," every time they botch something up. So you're starting to hear that line quite a bit.

The next thing, why talk about it? Because they just wandered into Truscott Air Force base, they wandered into an Aboriginal community, they told everybody that they just wanted to get to Sydney and start sending money back to Indonesia and Bangladesh, a very noble cause, but there are a lot of people in Sydney who think, "Oh, this is a bit of a concern of ours." 

Now 12 boats have arrived, and that can't be a case of you've got it all under control, that is a case that you're losing control. I acknowledge that they're doing a different form, it's dump and run, but it's still the same. We wouldn't have to talk about them if they weren't talking to people in Western Australia saying, "Hi, we're from Bangladesh, we're from India, and we just want to go to Sydney and start work and we don't really want to go through the proper channels, we'll be lined up with everybody else, we've decided to take the boat alternative" ‑‑

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And they're in Nauru now.

JOYCE: And the Australian people are very sensitive to that. It's a sign of the competency of government.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Yeah.

JOYCE: And if you can't control cost of living and you can't control the boats, and then people just call it for what it is, is you're incompetent.

BARR: Okay. Next topic now. Moving on.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: And they're in Nauru now.

BARR: Nationals Deputy Leader, Perin Davey, has denied being drunk during a Senate hearing. It comes as video of her slurring her words during the hearing went viral. She says she had two glasses of red wine at a staff function. Take a listen.

[Excerpt]

BARR: There are now calls for a booze ban inside Parliament House, and even alcohol testing inside the building. Barnaby, of course, let's go to you.

JOYCE: Why would you go to me? Why would you go to me?

BARR: I know, I know.

JOYCE: But anyway, go on.

BARR: I know it sounds obvious, but you know, people outside, and you know, people can laugh, but people outside in other industries are tested for alcohol, are tested for drugs, they are looking at you guys, you know, up on the hill in the big house saying, you know, "You shouldn't be drinking before you go into the House." What do you say?

JOYCE: Well, I've given up two things for lent, one is drinking, the other one's talking about other people in regards to that. I'll let other people deal with the issues that are personal to them, and I won't be adding commentary to it, and sometimes I do get a sense of let's exploit this issue politically for all the purpose we can get, that's an issue for the parties to decide, I'll let them have that discussion.

BARR: On the issue of a booze ban generally, Tanya, what do you think, because people in other industries do have views on this because they live it.

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Look, I think the first thing to say is people shouldn't be drunk at work. I know it sounds obvious, but people shouldn't be drunk at work. And I really think adults need to think very hard about their consumption of alcohol in the workplace. I don't really see any cause for it at all.

I don't know whether a booze ban is the way to fix that. I mean the truth is most parliamentarians don't drink at work. What you see is a few high‑profile cases that I suppose give the impression that we're all out there, you know, on the turps every night. It's simply not the case. It's simply not the case that most people are behaving this way.

BARR: Tanya, would you support random testing in Parliament House?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Oh, look, if it was introduced of course I'd submit myself to it like anybody else would, no question.

BARR: Should we introduce it?

MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Look, I really don't think it's the right approach. I think if you trust people to be elected to the Federal Parliament to run the country, but you can't trust them not to drink at work, there's a real problem. 

And for those people ‑ I'm not making any comments about any individuals here ‑ but for those people who end up on the wrong side of this discussion, I think it is something that they need to work through; first of all with the constituents that give them the great honour of being sent to represent them in Canberra in the national parliament, with their political parties, and with their families.

BARR: Okay. Thank you both, we'll see you next week.

END