THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
|SUNRISE WITH NATALIE BARR
MONDAY 21 OCTOBER 2024
SUBJECTS: PROTESTS AGAINST THE MONARCH, CHILD DISCIPLINE.
NATALIE BARR, HOST: Well, as hundreds of people line the streets of Sydney to catch a glimpse of the King and Queen, some are not quite as enthusiastic about their trip down under. Several protests, pro-Palestinian activists and indigenous rights groups have taken this opportunity to express their opposition to the monarch, with police patrolling the streets to monitor the demonstrators. Could the royal tour fire up the republican movement once again? For their take, let's bring in Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and National Senator Matt Canavan, good morning. Well, overall, the Aussie welcome has been fairly warm. Tanya, what's your message to these protesters?
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: People have a right to protest. They should do it peacefully and lawfully. But, you know, I'm looking forward to meeting King Charles later today in Canberra. I'm a republican, but I like him. I think he stands for some good things. And I've always said that as a republican, I want to make the case for an Australian republic, not against the British monarchy.
BARR: Yeah, you're right. Two things can be true. You can still be respectful to people, can't you, just because of your belief? Well, as the King travels across the country, the republican debate is flaring up. Matt, do you think there's much appetite for it?
MATT CANAVAN: Well, look, I'm a monarchist. I think we’ve got a pretty good system and we probably should just keep it rather than upset the applecart. And look with that hat on, I welcome these protesters. Get out there and say that because I think they're helping the monarchist movement. I don't think they do anything for the republican cause by, as you say, being so rude to people. I mean, King Charles and Queen Camilla are just here to visit us. They mean no harm. And yes, you can have different views while still showing respect.
BARR: Moving on. As the Queensland state election campaign enters its final week, Katter's Australia Party has doubled down on its tough on crime position by calling for the return of corporal punishment in Queensland. Matt, physical punishment for kids. Where do you stand on that?
CANAVAN: Well, you know, the picture that was on this online story gave me a bit of PTSD because I think it might have been a picture of me getting the strap in grade three. Probably was one of the last people to ever get it in Queensland before it was outlawed. Lucky it was outlawed, I didn't get it again. But, look, I think it should stay with parents, Nat. I don't think teachers want this kind of responsibility. I'm not against parents giving the odd smack as long as it's in a reasonable way to children, but it should be up to the parents, not at the school grounds, I believe.
BARR: And the occasional smack is one thing that some people believe. But when asked if he condoned the use of the jug cord or the cane on children, the party leader and member for Traeger, Robbie Katter, said, "I condone parents doing what they want". Would you support that? Like things like the jug cord or the cane on children, Matt?
CANAVAN: Well, look, I think the jug cord seems to be a bit strange. You know. Look, I mean, I got the odd cane from my dad. It didn't do me any harm. I do think more discipline is needed for children, I think that's one of the problems we've got –
BARR: In today's day and age, should we go back there?
CANAVAN: In today's day and age, I don't think – some kids, unfortunately, some kids don't face that discipline and therefore they do struggle to grow from being a boy into a man. So, you've got to realise there's consequences for bad conduct and the sooner you learn that, probably the better you'll end up being.
BARR: And the girls too?
CANAVAN: Look, yeah, you’ve obviously just got to be reasonable. That's right. And I just think it should be reasonable to all parents to make those decisions. I trust parents to do that. I think that's worked for a long time. As I say, I think, if anything, we're erring on the side of a lack of discipline for young children. And we see that in social breakdown and increases of juvenile crime. There's, I think, a need for more discipline in our society.
BARR: Tanya, a lot of people would agree with that. We grew up, you know, with the warning, I'll wash your mouth out with soap. And that threat was enough to pull a lot of people into line. Do we need to go back to some of these things?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, first of all, I think you'd find it pretty hard to find teachers who got into teaching so they could hit kids. I think it'd be very hard to find people who'd be willing to do it. When it comes to parents, you know, I got the occasional smack on the bum growing up and I think the much more effective times were when my parents talked to me about the consequences of my behaviour. And that relies on a close loving relationship in families. I guess the worry with saying parents should be able to do what they want is, in most cases, most parents are very reasonable, loving and show restraint. But there's parents out there that burn their kids with cigarettes. You know, you can't just say anything goes in a situation like this.
BARR: Okay, thank you very much for your views. We'll see you next week.
END
