Transcript - Sky News with Tom Connell - Thursday, 25 February 2021

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
NEWSDAY WITH TOM CONNELL
THURSDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2021

SUBJECTS: Vaccine rollout; WA State Election; Falinskiland; JobSeeker dob in phone line.

TOM CONNELL, HOST: My panel joining me now, Liberal MP Jason Falinski here in the studio, Labor MP Patrick Gorman over there in the West. Gentlemen, thank you both for your time. Let's just start on vaccine confidence. Patrick Gorman, Labor is pointing out some concerns I suppose around the training, for example, this doctor. But do you have confidence still in the vaccine rollout and should Australians have confidence in it?

PATRICK GORMAN, SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Well, we need to have confidence in it because this is such an important operation for the safety of Australians going forward as we get hopefully past the worst of this pandemic. It is a Commonwealth contractor that made this mistake. It is the Commonwealth's responsibility to make sure that they provide certainty and confidence to the Australian public. This is the sort of the nightmare scenario of sort of news that you would have in the first week of this vaccine rollout. I hope we will get a full explanation and I'm comforted there will be some sort of proper investigation. But we can't afford another mistake like this, this early in the rollout. When it comes to the important thing of vaccine confidence, let me just say this. I am confident in the efficacy of the vaccine. I am confident that we can get Australians vaccinated and, as Labor has throughout this pandemic, will continue to offer constructive suggestions about how the Government can get this right.

CONNELL: I want to pick up your language there. This is the nightmare scenario you said, and obviously nobody wants these types of errors to be made. But from what we know here and indeed overseas, even if this mistake is made too much of the dose, we've seen no ill effects. So, doesn't that actually give you confidence that even if there are these type of stuff ups, this is actually minor without consequences and shouldn't make people alarmed?

GORMAN: It shouldn't make people alarmed, but these are emotional reactions that you're talking about from people and we're talking about making sure that the actual process is and it's not just the overdose. It's the fact that the medical professional hadn't completed the training, a Commonwealth contractor. So, we need to make sure that every part of this delivery chain is 100 per cent under control. I'm confident in the vaccine and I'll be at the back of the queue as is appropriate. But when it's my time, I will take the vaccine. I am unashamedly pro vaccine, I think no jab, no play has been a good thing for the health of our nation. We just need to get it right. These are things that we can get right. So, it is up to the Government to make sure that we don't have more mistakes like this.

CONNELL: Is it a nightmare scenario, Jason?

JASON FALINSKI, LIBERAL MP: Absolutely not, Tom. Healthcare Australia has been open and honest about this and transparent. This is an opportunity for us to build confidence in the rollout. That's what's occurred overnight. The two people who were subjected to the larger than necessary doses, families have been informed. They're under observation and having no ill effects. Healthcare Australia is investigating what has occurred. There's now been people embedded in the contractor. The contractors responsible for training signed off on that contract. This is human error. It is a regrettable human error, but this is how we build confidence in the roll out.

CONNELL: It's pretty embarrassing isn't it?

FALINSKI: This is incredibly embarrassing. Healthcare Australia is investigating. Yeah.

CONNELL: Well can they be trusted to do it?

FALINSKI: Healthcare Australia, of course they can be trusted. Yeah, absolutely.

CONNELL: OK, look, I want to pull this front page out from The West Australian. Patrick Gorman, presumably you're on the tins already. Zak Kirkup has … I shouldn't say now, I'm should say post show - but he's given up 2021 is not my time. Do you want to declare victory now for the Labor Party?

GORMAN: I think it's incredibly arrogant of Zak Kirkup to claim the outcome of an election two and a half weeks out regardless of whether he's claiming a win or a loss.

CONNELL: Is it arrogant if he is claiming a loss?

GORMAN: West Australians started voting yesterday and it's actually their choice to make. This smells like just another smart political tactic from Zak Kirkup and the Liberals. It is hard to believe that this wasn't very carefully thought through. They have the Leaders Debate here in Western Australia tonight. I don't think Zak actually has given up. I think he's just found the latest smart tricky little tactic. But if indeed he has actually given up, I'd be interested to hear what his Federal colleagues say about this very unique approach for the Liberal Party in their election campaigning mechanisms.

CONNELL: Well, not from WA, but I know Jason Falinski keeps a close eye on the state, you know, being a good friend of yours now, Patrick. What did you make of this tactic, Jason?

FALINSKI: Look, I don't think it's a tactic.

CONNELL: It's always a tactic.

FALINSKI: I know it comes as a complete shock to people in the press gallery, but politicians are human beings, and from time to time they have emotions, and those emotions get expressed to the media who then in turn them into tactics.

CONNELL: Sorry...

FALINSKI: The fact of the matter is, this ... I accept your apology. I'm trying to tell you that I accept your apology on behalf of, I am sure, the entire press gallery in Canberra. Look, I think Zak's got a hard time. He's doing the best that he possibly can. He's got an alternative set of policies and an alternative vision for Western Australia that I think is far more attractive than the closed down one that has been expressed by the current Premier of WA. And I think that Western Australians should have a look.

CONNELL: It's interesting. You've got these huge offices and all these advisors and spinners, and all you need to do is just get to the heart and the emotion of the politician and the media will get the tactics going.

FALINSKI: Yes, it's ... Look, I mean, why are why is the media so cynical?

CONNELL: We better get onto ...

FALINSKI: No answer to that question.

GORMAN: I have entered alternate reality where the Liberal Party somehow try to use smart tactics to concede a state election two and a half weeks out is somehow the media's fault in Falinskiland, that's a very interesting take Jason. But I'll just say this. I don't think the Liberal Party in Western Australia have given up for a second. I think this is a smart political tactic. They're still rolling out the negative ads. They're still rolling out policies. They are not going to give up.

FALINSKI: Oh come on, you are outspending the Liberal Party in Western Australia. You are outspending your opponents over there like 12 to one Patrick, it's just absurd.

CONNELL: Now we have gone right back to politics. I like the sound of Falinskiland.

CONNELL: Just finally, it would be really interesting to get your thoughts on this, as a straight shooter Jason Falinski. The Government announced an increase to JobSeeker but also this dob-in line. So, if someone doesn't accept a job, there will be a line that the boss can call up and say, hey, this person didn't want a job going to dock their dole payment. Is that a good idea?

FALINSKI: Look, I think it's one element of a major suite of policies.

CONNELL: Is it a good idea?

FALINSKI: Look, certainly it is a response to the fact that there have been a lot of people that have approached all sorts of members of parliament that have been talking to all groups of people, a lot of employers. You only have to walk into a restaurant these days, and they'll say to you, look, I can only open for dinner because I can't get anyone to work during lunch. That's not made up. That is actually real.

CONNELL: So, is the dob-in line a good response?

FALINSKI: So I think that this is a response to a problem that has been reported and is so widespread that it is something that we actually want to collect data on, whether it works or not, we'll have to wait and see.

CONNELL: Briefly your thoughts on this Patrick. Nearly out of time.

GORMAN: Well, it does seem like an incredibly punitive approach when we have here in Western Australia ...

FALINSKI: It's a punitive approach? Seriously?

GORMAN: ... for every seven people looking for a job, there is one job.

FALINSKI: So, so Patrick you're telling us ...

GORMAN: There are not enough jobs and ... Jason. Jason.

FALINSKI: ... that employers in an uncoordinated sense are all coming up with the same story? We've got farmers saying they can't get people to pick fruit. We've got cafes saying they can't get anyone to serve tables. We've got restaurants saying they can't open because they can't get anyone in the kitchen or to wait tables. That's all made up is it?

GORMAN: Jason, do you want to go back to some sort of form of modern slavery where people have to take a job …

FALINSKI: ... Oh my god ...

GORMAN: ... regardless of the terms and conditions of that job? Is that what you want to do? ...

FALINSKI: ... Asking people to move from welfare into work is slavery?...

GORMAN: ... Is that the Australia that you want to have? Where people are dobbed into the Government, don't have a right to live out of poverty …

FALINSKI: ... Is that seriously the Labor Party's position ...

GORMAN: ... where they don't have the right to reject a job ...

FALINSKI: ... that asking people on welfare to look for jobs which is actually ...

GORMAN: ... where we know from time to time...

FALINSKI: ... Oh, I see. That's slavery is it?

GORMAN: ... There are employers who are not upstanding citizens ...

FALINSKI: ... You heard it here first, on Tom Connell, Labor believes ...

FALINSKI: ... that work is slavery ...

GORMAN: ... they pay below the award rate.

FALINSKI: ... That is extraordinary ...

GORMAN: ... It is well-known a blacklist of employers who do not treat their staff appropriately ...

FALINSKI: ... that is an extraordinary position …

GORMAN: ... employers who do not pay the appropriate terms and conditions ...

FALINSKI: ... There is no-one getting paid below the award rate and you know it ...

GORMAN: ... and this sort of behaviour ...

CONNELL: Jason and Patrick , I promise we'll pick this up next time.

FALINSKI: Oh, here we go. Talk about tactics.

GORMAN: I look forward to the transcripts coming out from the two advisors and what they choose to show. Thank you as ever, we'll talk next week.

FALINSKI: Cynical to the end, Tom.

GORMAN: Thanks, Tom.

ENDS