THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SUNRISE
MONDAY 14 OCTOBER 2024
SUBJECTS: ELECTION NEWSPOLL RESULTS, BANNING OF TIKTOK.
NATALIE BARR: Well, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has suffered a major blow in the polls with the latest Newspoll result showing the Coalition now leads Labor on a two-party preferred basis for the first time since the 2022 election, Albanese's net approval ratings have also fallen to a new low now level with Peter Dutton's. They're both down there. But when it comes to who would make a better Prime Minister, voters still prefer Anthony Albanese. For their take, let's bring in Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and National's MP Barnaby Joyce. Good morning to you. Tanya, don't say you don't listen to the polls because I know you guys all do your own polling. What do you think about this this morning?
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Yeah, well, I do say that every time there's a poll, whether we're ahead or not, Nat. And what I continue to say as well is we're not focused on the polls because what we're focused on is cost of living for ordinary Australians. That's why we made sure that every one of Australia's 13.6 million taxpayers got a tax cut, not just people on a high income. It's why we're so pleased that almost 3 million low-paid and award workers have got their third consecutive pay rise, supported by the Labor Government, particularly those aged care and early childcare workers that really, really needed that pay rise. It's why we're so focused on extra Commonwealth Rent Assistance, lower cost childcare, cheaper medicines, free visits to the doctor.
BARR: Okay Tanya, that's fantastic but when you guys wake up and you see a front-page headline, "Coalition ahead for the first time since the election". It's Newspoll. It's a credible poll. Are you telling me that none of you guys sit there and go, “okay, we're in trouble here, it's not good news”, or you just go, “Yep, we're focused. We're doing the right thing”?
PLIBERSEK: We're focused. We're doing the right thing. It's a very close poll.
BARR: So, you're not worried?
PLIBERSEK: What I would say is as an election approaches, people remember what it was like to have a Liberal Government. They'll remember Robodebt, they'll remember the secret ministries, they'll remember sports rorts, they'll remember car park rorts. They'll remember what it's like to have a Liberal Government.
BARR: Okay, Barnaby, let's go to you. They're not liking you guys that much better.
JOYCE: Well, the thing is, of course we, first of all, of course, we watch the polls and Tanya watches the polls and I watch the polls. And then when you say -
BARR: Do you guys do your own as well, Barnaby?
JOYCE: Yeah, we do our own as well.
BARR: So, both parties do their own polling so when you guys say, oh, we don't listen to the polls, that's not right.
JOYCE: Of course we do, I do. Absolutely. 100 per cent. And if you say you don't, people just say, "oh, you're not telling - you're not being straight with me". What's happening I think for the Labor Party, the bigger issue is the trend. Trend's been down all the way along. And what I put it down to is the three I's. One is intermittent power, your swindle factories you want to pull all over our countryside because that's tied to the price of power. Price of electricity has gone through the roof. Cost of living is absolutely tearing people apart. And when we just get that belligerent, "it's going to be intermittent power, it's going to be intermittent power. We'll never stop. We're charging on behind our leader, Chris Bowen. We're going to take this hill."
BARR: Okay, Barnaby, on your side -
JOYCE: Then you've got immigration.
BARR: Is it a problem when you look at better PM. Albanese, is still 45, Dutton still 37. Have you got a problem with Dutton? Is he not good enough for you guys?
JOYCE: No. Generally, the Prime Minister will always lead the Leader of the Opposition in that one. It's just, it's because he has the mantle. The Prime Minister has the biggest microphone and will always be there. But the issue you have to look at is the underlying poll. I've always said to my colleagues, when they say "there'll be a one term government label, be one term government said", I've said "no, look, if you get it and carried away with yourself". It's only happened once. Scullin from 29 to 32.
BARR: Okay. Do you reckon you can get majority, Barnaby?
JOYCE: I don't know. I reckon Mr Albanese is giving this a red hot go to be a one term government. He really is. He's just lost connection with the people. But I don't know whether we'd be - I think. I think hung Parliament is the number one horse in this race at the moment and it’s going to be chaotic.
BARR: Okay. You've got 20 seats to make up, remember, that's how many, that's the difference. Let's move on to some policy here. Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson has called for a more hands on approach by the government against the Chinese owned social media app TikTok, as the US is on track to ban the app completely in January next year. But while TikTok is already banned on government devices, the Prime Minister says there are no plans to regulate the platform for everyday Aussies. Tanya, if it's too dangerous for our politicians, how is it safe for the rest of us. Should we follow the US?
PLIBERSEK: Well, I think it's really important that it's not on government devices because we don't want anyone cracking into those systems. 8.5 million Australians have got TikTok. Peter Dutton has got TikTok. The Liberal Party's got TikTok. I've got it on a personal device so I can communicate with people. It's where a lot of people get their information and get their news from. So, we've got no plans to ban it. Of course, we listen to our security agencies on issues like this. But what I would say, Nat, is we're investing more than $600 million on upgrading our cyber security. And just one example of that is we're strengthening the cyber security around our electricity market, working with the Australian Energy Market Operator. It is really important to protect against foreign actors or anyone breaking into those really important systems. We're strengthening those systems to prevent that. That's something that could have happened under the previous government and didn't.
BARR: Ok, fair enough. Barnaby, let's go to you. We know Peter Dutton's on TikTok. I'm not sure whether you are. What's the Coalition's stance on TikTok?
JOYCE: I'm not. I tell you what, Tanya is on the talking points today. That's always a sign of nerves within the Labor - whenever they give you the talking points, saying "stick to these", you know.
BARR: Okay, let's talk about the Coalition's stance on TikTok.
JOYCE: But look, I don't do TikTok. And I think we do have to be really cautious. We've got to understand it's not like there's a person on the other side of the screen, there's a computer and there's artificial intelligence in this, and it's perusing everything you do to. And it's finding out who you talk to, and where you go and what you do.
BARR: And what's the Coalition's stance on it? Should we ban it for personal use?
JOYCE: I'll leave that to James. I'll give you my position is that I'm super cautious and I don't use TikTok.
BARR: Okay. Thank you both. We'll see you next week.
END
