THE HON. BILL SHORTEN
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RN WITH FRAN KELLY
FRIDAY, 14 AUGUST 2015
SUBJECT/S: Tony Abbott’s royal commission; Renewable energy policy;
Marriage equality
FRAN KELLY: Earlier I spoke with the Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten.
BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Good morning Fran.
KELLY: Is Commissioner Dyson Heydon biased?
SHORTEN: Well Labor has said form day one that this was Tony Abbott’s royal
commission. We’ve said it was a political exercise purely deigned to smear his
opponents and I think that many Australians will see the fact that Mr Heydon was
billed to speak at a Liberal fundraiser as a smoking gun of political bias.
KELLY: But are you alleging that he is biased or is it just you simply saying this
perception now exists therefore he can’t stay on the commission?
SHORTEN: Well let’s go through the facts. We understand that, I think a lot of
people had deep scepticism about the motives of Mr Abbott in setting up this royal
commission to investigate his political opponents. But the idea that his handpicked
royal commissioner, the captains pick so to speak, would be attending Liberal Party
events, fundraising events, I think is serious, it is significant. I think for a lot of people
it’s not about how much money was going to be raised, it’s about it being a Liberal
Party event. I do believe that the credibility of the royal commission is now bought
into further question.
KELLY: So just trying to clarify, you’re calling on the former High Court judge to
stand down from a royal commission because of the perception that he is aligned to
the Liberal Party or the perception that he is biased, not necessarily the reality?
SHORTEN: Well just going through the facts as we see them as they’ve been
reported. There are very clear standards for judges and commissioners - bias or
even the perception of bias which was your question, so bias or the perception of
bias is serious because judges and commissioners must be fair and impartial and be
seen to be fair and impartial. So that’s why I think there’s been quite an outcry in the
last 24 hours about the tenability of the royal commissioner’s position.
KELLY: Dyson Heydon said he didn’t know the Sir Garfield Barwick oration was a
Liberal Party event, do you believe him?
SHORTEN: Well I think what should have happened yesterday and hasn’t so it
should certainly happen today is that the commission should immediately release all
documents relating to this matter. Correspondence, emails, SMS messages, diary
entries and if the commission refuses to do so I think that becomes even another test
for Mr Abbott. I mean this issue is getting bigger each day, we know that just like with
Bronwyn Bishop Mr Abbott just doesn’t seem to get it. So I think that Mr Abbott has a
test here and I think that we need to see what information was available in terms of
the invitation. We’ve only seen documents that go back a total of 24 hours, this event
has been weeks, months in the making and I think there is more to be revealed here
and I think we should see it in the interests of clearing this matter up.
KELLY: One of the emails we have seen suggests that when Dyson Heydon
realised it was a Liberal Party sponsored event he pulled out. If that’s the case how
could have he acted any more properly?
SHORTEN: What we don’t know is the circumstances by which the initial invitation
was given. I don’t know all the details but, do people send invitations to Liberal Party
events on blank letterhead? Do they say, you know, dear friend, please come along
and catch up with some friends and give us a speech. You and I both know Fran the
Liberal Party’s tried to say they weren’t going to raise a lot of money. What is it that
Mr Abbott and his Liberal’s don’t get about bias or perceptions of bias. He has to act.
KELLY: This is personal for you isn’t it? Dyson Heydon humiliated you to a degree
when you were before the commission, he said your answers were evasive, they
could damage your credibility as a witness?
SHORTEN: Well first of all I’ve always been willing to cooperate with this royal
commission. I’m still convinced as I was from day one that Mr Abbott is engaging in
the low use of high office by spending $80 million of taxpayer money to investigate
his rivals which has seen since Mr Abbott and his Liberals come to power just about
every Labor leader, or all three Labor leaders, have been called before royal
commissions. So in terms of my own record I am absolutely up for scrutiny, I think
when you offer yourself to be a leader that that’s legitimate, but it should be
reasonable and the process should be fair. I certainly stand by my record of standing
up for workers and improving not only their conditions but the job security they have
and also better outcomes all round for the enterprise.
KELLY: But biased or not, it is still true isn’t it that we now know, because of the
royal commission, that a business you were negotiating with on behalf of your
members when you were with the union made an undisclosed donation of $40,000 to
your political campaign to pay for a staff member to help you get elected to
parliament, we wouldn’t have known that without this royal commission. The workers
you were representing wouldn’t have known that?
SHORTEN: Fran not everything you say there is correct but what I will say to you is I
answered 900 questions, 900 questions and also I would submit to you that I’ve
always acted in the best interests of workers then, now and I will in the future and I
will always put up Fran at the heart of this issue, my record for standing up for
Australian workers and Tony Abbott’s. My record is that I’ve engaged in getting
people wage rises, safer jobs, better conditions, more job security. Mr Abbott’s
record is being the Minister for WorkChoices where he took away the conditions of
literally millions of people.
KELLY: Can I just ask you before I move on from this, if Dyson Heydon does not
resign and the Government does not withdraw his commission what will you do? Is
there anything Labor can do to compel Dyson Heydon to resign?
SHORTEN: There are clearly lots of questions for the Prime Minister, the AttorneyGeneral, the royal commissioner and the Liberals still to answer here. It would
beggar belief if the Government doesn’t act in some way. The fact that they so
arrogantly dismissed yesterday nothing to see here and when you look at the
legitimate outrage expressed today in the media and by all quarters, we all know that
there is an important issue to be addressed here. The fact that the royal
commissioner, Tony Abbott’s captains pick, Mr Heydon, was billed to speak at a
Liberal fundraiser it will be viewed, I believe, as a smoking gun of political bias.
KELLY: You’re listening to RN Breakfast, our guest is Opposition Leader Bill
Shorten. Bill Shorten you’re giving a major speech today on renewable energy,
you’re going to pledge to scrap the Government’s emissions reduction fund, which is
the heart of direct action, should you win government. Is there any element of direct
action you’d keep?
SHORTEN: Well I think the bulk of direct action is a waste of money built on one
counterproductive idea, giving great wads of taxpayer cash to big polluters to keep
polluting. Malcom Turnbull has said direct action is a recipe for fiscal recklessness
on a grand scale. And indeed last week Reputex reported last week that under Mr
Abbott and his Liberals policy emissions are actually going to rise by 20 per cent
over the next decade and this is in spite of all the money being paid to polluters? We
can’t afford to waste taxpayer’s money on a plan that work. You and I both know
Fran and so do millions of Australian’s that Mr Abbott’s a climate sceptic and when
he talks about climate change you can see it done through gritted teeth. He will do
the minimum possible so as to try and be a fig leaf for his climate change scepticism.
KELLY: So you say this is going to save $4 billion which you can use, put to other
areas but let’s talk about the cost of your policy. You’ve got a pledge to make 50 per
cent renewable energy target by 2030, how much is that going to cost the Budget to
achieve?
SHORTEN: Well, the idea that 50 per cent of renewable energy as part of our
energy mix by 2030 is an excellent idea. What I’ve been doing, while Mr Abbott’s
been angsting over whether or not he’ll give his members a conscience vote on
marriage equality or defending his royal commissioners captain’s pick from
accusations of bias, is I’ve been visiting the universities of Australia who are world
leaders in terms of developing solar technology. I’ve been visiting solar farms where
we’re generating literally power into the mainstream grid which provides power for
thousands of houses. Solar energy is going to be part of the future of energy across
the world –
KELLY: Yes but renewable energy does not work in the market yet without subsidy,
we know that. The Government says your plan, your goal of 50 per cent renewable
energy would cost $85 billion.
SHORTEN: Oh Fran, the Government has made up so many different numbers to
scare people –
KELLY: Well what will it cost? Have you done some modelling?
SHORTEN: Well first of all, let’s go to how we’re going to handle to whole policy of
renewable energy. We believe the renewable energy target should be bipartisan.
Now we finally saved the renewable energy target from Mr Abbott’s degradations
and we negotiated a compromise. Now I happen to believe that sooner or later the
once great Liberal Party will end up without Mr Abbott at the helm and they’ll join
modern 20th century science and we’ll be able to work out new bipartisan consensus.
I also know that when you speak to any of 1.2 million Australian householders who
have solar energy on their roofs, that the only question they ask is not can we afford
this, but why didn’t we do it earlier?
KELLY: Okay, Bill Shorten just finally and briefly if I can, we’re almost out of time.
Same-sex marriage, there won’t be a vote in this Parliament on this issue now. In the
interests of speedy action though do you support Malcom Turnbull’s idea of a
plebicite before the next election with legislation enabling same-sex marriage ready
to go?
SHORTEN: Well I think it’s as plan as this, while Mr Abbott’s the Prime Minister
you’re not going to have marriage equality. You and both know he can out trick and
outsmart Malcolm Turnbull or any of the proponents who are legitimately interested
in marriage equality on the Liberal side. If you want to see change in this country
then I think it starts with changing the Prime Minster.
KELLY: Bill Shorten thank you very much for joining us.
SHORTEN: Thank you.
ENDS