Transcript - 6PR Drive - Shadow Cabinet reshuffle - Thursday, 28 January 2021
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
6PR PERTH LIVE WITH OLIVER PETERSON
THURSDAY, 28 JANUARY 2021
SUBJECTS: Shadow Cabinet reshuffle; new position as Shadow Assistant Minister for Western Australia; the next Federal Election.
OLIVER PETERSON, HOST: We detailed a bunch of changes that Anthony Albanese's made today to his front bench of the Australian Labor Party and one that stood out for me is a promotion to the member for Perth, Patrick Gorman. He is now Labor's Shadow Assistant Minister for Western Australia, and he joins me live on the program this afternoon. Patrick, congratulations on your promotion. I'm going to call you the megaphone of WA. How does that sound?
GORMAN: I love it, Ollie. That's a fabulous title. I'll have a chat to Anthony about changing my title as soon as he can.
PETERSON: Well, what does your new role entail?
GORMAN: It's about being Western Australia's voice in Labor's policy development, making sure that we continue to work to make sure WA get our fair share out of the current Federal Government. We've seen from sports rorts through to the light, through bungles on the vaccine rollout that WA is an afterthought and I'm a bit sick of it. And this is the chance for me to step up and try and turn things around.
PETERSON: And by extension, Patrick, has Albo also now got a shadow assistant minister for Queensland or the Northern Territory or South Australia?
GORMAN: He has one for Tasmania and he's got very senior people around the country in his Shadow Cabinet. I think this is a recognition that most West Australians will welcome, that Western Australia is a bit different. The tyranny of distance and indeed, in more recent times, feeling a little bit more disconnected from the Federation. This is our chance to make sure that when it comes to Labor's policy, development is not left behind ever.
PETERSON: Well, the way you started to talk, I thought you might start talking about the fact we should secede, Patrick.
GORMAN: No, no. The one thing I'd be happy to lose an election over and lose my state over would be opposing the secessionists. I think secession would be as mad as what we've seen with Brexit in the United Kingdom. It will do huge damage to us. And if we look at it - we're a trading state, I would say, when WA does well, the nation does well, but we are stronger together.
PETERSON: So why is WA and by extension then Tasmania now as well, so special we need our own portfolios?
GORMAN: I don't think I need to tell any of your listeners why Western Australia is special. It is a unique place. And we just saw as we come out of this pandemic, some of the unique economic pressures that Western Australia is experiencing that are different to the rest of the country. And indeed, Sandra Brewer and the Property Council's idea of looking for a way to get those skilled workers here. We need to look at things slightly differently to how some of our good friends in the East Coast looking at this post-pandemic recovery. And if you look at the announcement that Anthony made today, it was all about how do we set up Australia for a post-pandemic economy. That is the work Richard Marles will be doing. The work my colleague Madeleine King will be doing in the resources portfolio and continuing her work and trade portfolio. That's going to be our focus. And we have a multispeed economy in this country at the moment. So we do need to look at things at a state-by-state level.
PETERSON: Mark Butler loses the climate portfolio is replaced by Chris Bowen. What's Labor's policy going to be about climate targets and the like?
GORMAN: Yeah, well, we've already said that our long-term target, which is the target that I think Scott Morrison should copy, is net zero emissions by 2050. As for the medium-term targets, which everyone wants us to announce, you know probably yesterday, we will put out our policies as we head towards the election. It will be based around a strong investment in renewable energy and making sure that we look after people on the way through because the transition to a clean energy economy is a huge transition and we don't want to leave anyone behind.
PETERSON: This reshuffle today by Anthony Albanese, is the team that will defeat Scott Morrison at the election, which we expect to be called later this year?
GORMAN: I hope it is. I don't think Scott Morrison deserves to be re-elected. Labor's job is to get out and win the election. It is going to be a tough ask - like we are pandemic-level underdogs in this fight. But I always believe that every election is winnable and this is the team to do it. It's great to see Richard Marles stepping into domestic portfolio. You mentioned Mark Butler heading into the health portfolio. I think that's a fantastic appointment. I think this is the team to do it, and frankly, when it comes to here in WA, I think Christian Porter, Michaelia Cash and others have been getting a bit of an easy run for too long. It's time that stopped.
PETERSON: Big profile the Liberals have in WA. Don't you think that they punch above their weight in Scott Morrison's Federal Cabinet? You mentioned Porter Cash. Obviously, Cormann is now retired, but Linda Reynolds is the defence minister. Julie Bishop, obviously, before that, it seems as though the WA Liberals of have had some very senior portfolios now for the last decade that they've been in Government. By elevating yourself and Madeleine King as well, is this an admission, do you think, that Canberra, that Federal Labor, Patrick, now understands as well to have a fighting chance, for yourself and your colleagues here in the West, you need to also elevate your positions in your public profiles?
GORMAN: Well, I think you're seeing a great rebalancing. You mentioned Julie Bishop and Cormann. I think the Liberal Party is hurting a bit. They've kind of stepped off the scene. You can't deny they were heavy hitters, but the team that's been left behind, I just don't think are of that same quality. And so I think when Western Australians be they Labor or Liberal are out there banging the drum for WA, as I said, the West Australian economy as well. The national economy does well.
PETERSON: Bill Shorten's raising his public profile again. Do you reckon he wants Albo's job?
GORMAN: Bill said that he doesn't. Like he said that, I think he's getting sick of saying that because he said that he had two opportunities as leader and as you know, I worked my guts out two elections to try and make Bill Prime Minister. That wasn't to be. Bill is doing a great job in the NDIS. It's an area he's passionate about, obviously continuing in that role. And I always believe we should respect our former leaders. But I also think when they say, 'no, I'm done, I'm happy' to take them at their word.
PETERSON: We'll take Bill at his word. What about Tanya Plibersek?
GORMAN: Tanya - again, I would have loved to, at the 2019 election, we took the approach of trying to make Tanya the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and that would have been fabulous. But again, after two elections, she has decided to continue to serve. And I think that after an election defeat for these very senior Labor people that they actually know 'in my DNA is public service. I might not be able to do the role that I want, but in my DNA, I want to serve the people of Australia' and Tanya's passion is clearly in education. I've held community forums with Tanya on Zoom last year with university lecturers and students talking about the future of education policy and it is clearly her passion. I think it's great that she's continuing that role. But I think what happened today with Anthony Albanese saying 'this is the team, this is it, it's now time'. The starting gun has well and truly been fired. There will be an election this year. We all know it. We can all feel it. My view is that now Labor's job, just get out there and win it.
PETERSON: We wish you well as a megaphone for WA, Patrick Gorman, thanks for your time.
GORMAN: Thank you, Oli, and thank you to your listeners.
PETERSON: The Shadow Assistant Minister for WA. That's his portfolio in the Labor ranks, a promotion of sorts for Patrick Gorman, Madeleine King as well, promoted as the Shadow Minister for Resources.
ENDS