CANBERRA, ACT, Jan. 19 -- The Prime Minister of Australia issued the following media release:
RAF EPSTEIN, HOST:I had a chat to the Prime Minister earlier this morning.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Good to be with you, Raf, and welcome back. I hope you had a good break.
EPSTEIN: I did, thank you. Do we need some hate speech laws?
PRIME MINISTER: I think we certainly do. And we are going to proceed with what we can get through tomorrow through the Parliament. Firstly, one bill dealing with gun reform and a second bill covering the remaining hate laws and migration controls. We're not pursuing the racial vilification elements that were recommended by the Special Envoy on Antisemitism, Jillian Segal. We said we would try to implement the Segal Report in full. That does not have the support of the Coalition or the Greens.
EPSTEIN: And does not pursuing mean never pursuing?
PRIME MINISTER: It means that we have tried to do that and it has not received support from the Coalition or the Greens party. It's up to the Coalition in particular to explain why it is that they said they wanted the report implemented in full, and when they've had the opportunity of walked away from it, just like it's up to them to explain why it is they call for Parliament to be resumed and pass all these laws before December, but when we're actually doing what they asked us to do, have expressed that this is somehow rushing the process.
EPSTEIN:So, just to confirm, this is it like there's no other attempt on hate speech laws? Like it's tomorrow or nothing? You won't pursue anything with the Greens or the Coalition in the next few weeks or months?
PRIME MINISTER: Correct.
EPSTEIN: That's very convenient for you, though, isn't it? Like, if you think they're important and good, isn't it worth pursuing them in the future?
PRIME MINISTER: It is. But if the Parliament changes, then the laws can change. But you deal with the Parliament that the Australian people voted for. It's very clear that there's not a majority in the Senate for it. So, we have a big agenda dealing with cost of living issues, dealing with housing, dealing with childcare, dealing with health. It's a full suite of measures that we have to deal with. We'll pursue what we can do, but where there is clear opposition - we took the Coalition at their word that they wanted this, the Segal Report implemented in full. We have tried to pursue that, and it hasn't been successful. So, we accept the reality.
EPSTEIN: And so not in this term? No more? Not another attempt, even in this term of Parliament?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not going to - we're not a government that puts things up over and over again to see them defeated. What we do -
EPSTEIN: It's just that the Greens might be open to changes that are broader. You're not talking about hate speech around things like sexuality or disability. You could.
PRIME MINISTER: No, we accept that there's not a majority for the reforms that we were pursuing.
EPSTEIN: Are you prioritising Jewish Australians by narrowing it down to what you wanted to do with hate speech?
PRIME MINISTER: On December 14, there were 15 Australians lost their lives. And it wasn't random. It was the targeting of Jewish Australians. So, the legislative response to that, of course, needed to consider what we were dealing with, which was an antisemitic terrorist attack. And that is why we have particularly focused and met and consulted with members of the Jewish community. We sat down for two days before the draft legislation was released, and worked through those issues, just as we worked through the terms of reference for the Royal Commission. But of course, there as well, we spoke about, in the terms of reference, social cohesion as well. So that the overall functioning of our society needs to be examined. But of course, there needs to be a focus on antisemitism as well.
EPSTEIN: I understand why you make these decisions in the wake of the massacre, but you could get what you want, which is protections on hate speech, if you tried to broaden, couldn't you? Isn't it worth trying if you think hate speech is a good thing to try to stop, doesn't that mean it's worth trying to broaden it beyond religion?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Raf, we have a range of issues to deal with. Cost of living, the economy, housing, childcare, health, all of those issues, what our priority is. It's clear that there's considerable opposition to this and indeed both the Greens party and the Coalition expressed their opposition to the racial vilification elements.
EPSTEIN: PM, one poll has got One Nation getting more primary votes than the Coalition this morning. Does that mean you need to, I don't know, take One Nation more seriously?
PRIME MINISTER: It means, I think that the Coalition certainly have an issue with, I think, their failure to present as a coherent alternative government that's putting forward coherent policies. I think that was an issue at the last election. It remains an issue. Sussan Ley said when she became Opposition Leader that she would take the Liberal Party back more towards the centre right, away from where it had positioned itself on the hard right of the political spectrum. And what we're seeing now often is a contest on the right of politics for who can be more right wing.
EPSTEIN: But does it mean you need to change your approach to One Nation if their numbers are going up?
PRIME MINISTER: Our approach to One Nation is clear. We engage with everyone in the Parliament respectfully. But One Nation have been a divisive force ever since they were formed, they are not a political movement that promote social cohesion, they promote division. And I don't want to see One Nation with a higher vote than the Coalition. I think that the parties of government and alternative government, which change of course in Australia over time, have served our nation pretty well, our political system, compared with what we see overseas. But we do see a rise in populism of a right wing variety that can often cause considerable division.
EPSTEIN: And you said you don't want to see that.
PRIME MINISTER: I don't want to see that here.
EPSTEIN: But when you say you don't want to see this high vote for One Nation, how do you think the people who want to vote One Nation hear that from you?
PRIME MINISTER: It's up to people in a democracy to determine their own views. But One Nation will never put forward real solutions. They appeal to grievance and they appeal to division. They're a divisive force. They have been for a long period of time. And what has tended to happen with One Nation as well, of course, as we have seen, is they get this bump and then people leave them. We saw that in Queensland when they got elected -
EPSTEIN. So, you don't think it'll translate to, youdon't think it'll translate to long term enduring role in Parliament?
PRIME MINISTER: We'll wait and see. That's a matter for our democracy and for how it functions, whether they can evolve into a mature political force remains to be seen. But I'm from New South Wales, of course, where Mark Latham was heralded as a new leader of One Nation in New South Wales, they've now lost all of their members in the New South Wales Parliament. And that is something that has heard has occurred pretty consistently as people have been elected under the One Nation banner and have walked away from that political party. I wait and see what the relationship is between Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson in a year's time.
EPSTEIN: PM, thank you for joining us this morning. Have a good day.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Raf.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
