CHANNEL 9 THE TODAY SHOW

E&OE TRANSCRIPT | SUBJECT/S: Vaccine rollout; Christian Porter; Linda Reynolds, Aged Care Royal Commission

KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: A major stumbling block this morning in our vaccine rollout. As you’ve heard Italy blocking the imminent shipment of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca jab as part of a tighter EU export rule. It comes as a frontline worker in the South Australian town of Murray Bridge becomes the first in the nation to receive the AstraZeneca jab. Joining us now is Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Richard Marles. Morning, guys, nice to see you. Peter, you first up, I can’t believe this. We’re now at a vaccine war.

PETER DUTTON, MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Well, Karl I think as Dr. Moy just pointed out, there was great prudence in us sourcing a number of vaccines, but also starting domestic production as well. And as he points out, it’s only a few weeks away before a million doses a week will be rolling out. This 250,000 dose issue is not going to affect the rollout. And I think the main message is again, not that there’s a problem here, but that you need to really get in early if you’re in the age group, or you’re in the category 1a, 1b etcetera. Make sure you engage with your doctor and have this safe vaccine. We need to get to herd immunity and that way we can get our borders open again and get back to a normal life.

STEFANOVIC: Will you be asking at least for a ‘please explain’?

DUTTON: Well, that obviously the diplomats have gone through and will continue to go through all of that process. But I think it really shows the, you know, the good governance that we’ve put in place, the way in which Greg Hunt has devised this plan, which includes domestic production, really gives us an assurance around supply. And as Dr. Moy pointed out, today, in South Australia, the first AstraZeneca doses will be administered. And that’s great for our frontline health workers and those in aged care, those with disabilities etcetera. And Australia is probably, you know, leading the world, again, in terms of the effectiveness of the vaccine rollout. It’s safe and people need to, to contact their doctor and engage as quickly as possible.

STEFANOVIC: There’s a number of programs around the world, Richard, that are well advanced, more advanced than what we are in terms of the number of vaccines. It’s been a little slow, but the government’s done a good job.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, we’re far from leading the world in terms of vaccinating our population. But it’s good news to hear from Peter that this won’t stall the rollout. The government has said that four million of us will be vaccinated by the end of March- in a few weeks time- so that feels like a long way off but I certainly hope that that is what is going to eventuate. But there’s no doubt it’s also good news that the first AstraZeneca vaccine is going to happen today. And Peter is right that people need to present themselves, come forward. This is a safe vaccine and we do need to get to herd immunity.

STEFANOVIC: I can’t believe you’ve said to Pete this morning that it’s good news.

MARLES: You know there is a fraternity between Peter and me all the time.

DUTTON: It is a good start, Richard. It’s early.

STEFANOVIC: Okay, and let’s head for some division now. The criminal investigation- this has been divisive hasn’t it – in the historic rape allegations against Christian Porter may be over but the calls for an inquiry are not. This morning, the family of the woman who took her own life last year, joining Labor Leader Anthony Albanese and asking for an independent review of the circumstances which led to her death, something the Prime Minister insists should not happen. Pete, you are resolute, this inquiry will not happen.

DUTTON: Well, Karl we’re resolute that the rule of law applies here. And the police are the ones with the investigative capacity. They’ve had a look at the case over an extended period as we now learn, particularly in New South Wales, where there was a taskforce set up. They’ve looked at that, and they’ve said that there’s, you know, there’s no continuation of the matter, it’s at an end. South Australia will make a decision in relation to their own coronial inquiry. And that’s as it should be. So I think that that’s the appropriate way in which it should be dealt with-

STEFANOVIC: Sounds like you’re not ruling out an independent inquiry.

DUTTON: Well, the Prime Minister has been very clear, we’re not having an independent inquiry, the inquiry has been conducted by the police. And these matters are properly investigated by the police, not by journalists, not by online, you know, trending Twitter, you know, influencers. We adopt a rule of law in this country for a very good reason. And that is that there is innocence as a presumption. And that’s certainly the case in relation to Christian Porter. And I think he’s given a proper account of his own, you know, recollection of that period 33 years ago, and the police have looked at it, they’ve closed the matter, and they’re not proceeding with it.

STEFANOVIC: Richard, how does an independent inquiry happen if the government doesn’t commission it?

MARLES: Well it won’t.

STEFANOVIC: It doesn’t.

MARLES: But the government needs to. And I mean, Peter’s right, the rule of law applies in this country. But what Peter’s not making clear in terms of that analysis is that we’re not talking about a private citizen. It’s not about the criminal standard of proof. It’s about the fact that we’re talking about allegations which are hanging over the first law officer of the country. And in that context, I think it’s really difficult for matters to stand as they are. We saw in relation to Dyson Heydon that there was a process because of the particular position that he held. And I think inevitably-

STEFANOVIC: That was accusations with a staff member, that was slightly different.

MARLES: But what we’ve got here is pretty serious allegations in respect of the first law officer of the land. And I think the other point here is that, you know, what, what we say in relation to complainants of sexual assault is that their allegations need to be taken seriously. One of the tragedies of this particular circumstance is that there hasn’t been able to be a process whereby which that can occur. The fact that the family are seeking that as well now, I just think inevitably where this should end up is an independent inquiry. And I’m surprised that the Prime Minister hasn’t gone there.

STEFANOVIC: Okay. Something that isn’t going away to for the government is pressure on Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, criticized by her own Prime Minister for calling Brittany Higgins a, quote, ‘lying cow’, when she first raised the allegation of rape in the minister’s office. Pete, the Prime Minister was pretty strong on this. He hasn’t asked her to resign and he hasn’t sacked her. Why not?

DUTTON: Well, he was –  he was rightly strong in his rebuke of Linda for using those words, and she’s apologized for that. She wasn’t criticizing Brittany Higgins in relation to her allegations or questioning her – the veracity of her account of what had happened. I think Linda, genuinely felt hurt by the fact that she thought she had provided every assistance possible, obviously, over a period of time, the ensuing couple of years. Brittany now has made a complaint, just a couple of weeks ago to the Australian Federal Police. And that matter is under investigation. And as the AFP Commissioner pointed out, I think when these matters are under police investigation, they’re better left with the police and not being commented on in public.

STEFANOVIC: Pete, she is obviously out of her depth. Does she need to go?

DUTTON: No, she doesn’t. And we’ve discussed this before, Karl. I see Linda in action around the National Security Committee of Cabinet. She’s incredibly competent, and does a good job. She’s been – she’s been under pressure. And that’s been played out publicly. She’s, you know, on sick leave at the moment. And I hope she’s back at work shortly.

STEFANOVIC: Richard, how would you handle it?

MARLES: Well, I might have missed something. I think there was an apology that Linda made to her own staff. I’m not sure there’s been an apology yet to Brittany Higgins. And the Prime Minister himself should be making an apology to Brittany Higgins. I mean, obviously, that’s what should occur here. But can I also say that, you know, the Prime Minister needs to step up here. I mean, he ducks at every moment. And Linda Reynolds is under pressure, because basically the Prime Minister had hung her out to dry. The idea that this information wasn’t passed to his office two years ago is just not true.

STEFANOVIC: There was an Aged Care- the Commission handed down very damning findings earlier in the week. We know that. The government now has moved away from Medicare levy on funding aged care reform. Pete, how on earth are you going to pay for this because it needs to be done now?

DUTTON: Well, Karl, I mean, this is just not an area where there’s been a reluctance to put money into. We’ve got multibillion dollar packages, not just in terms of home care, but quality and safety, the viability of services, the governance, the quality of the service. So, we’ll continue to put more money in. And I think we’ve been very clear about that. And the government’s done a lot of work on how we can provide additional packages, and that will continue-

STEFANOVIC: But the levy is out, right?

DUTTON: Yeah, well, that’s exactly right. And so we’ve been clear, though. And the report points out as well though, there’s obviously a major contribution required by government, which we continue to do. And there’s a question mark over what contribution people like you, Richard and I where we’re on higher incomes and we’re in a very fortunate position, whether we should necessarily require the government support or whether we should be putting something in ourselves additional. So, all of that’s being considered at the moment. And the government’s provided an initial response, though, which puts more money in to provide support to aged care workers as well as those that are in the system.

STEFANOVIC: Quickly, Richard.

MARLES: Yeah, I mean, we need to correct this. There’s been a massive reluctance to put money in. In fact, what they’ve been doing is taking billions of dollars out over the last eight years. And what they’ve announced is small fry compared to what they’ve already ripped out of the system.

STEFANOVIC: Alright guys, good to talk to you. Thanks for your time today. Have a great weekend.

ENDS