RADIO 3AW DRIVE WITH JACQUI FELGATE

E&OE TRANSCRIPT | SUBJECTS: Steel and Aluminium Tariffs; US relationship; American picks up baby wombat, taking it from its mother; Cost of living; Teals; Election timing; Grant Prix

HOST, JACQUI FELGATE: It is a political kind of day here on Drive. It is the pre-election section. Joining me in the studio, the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles. Good afternoon.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, RICHARD MARLES: Good afternoon Jacqui. How are you?

FELGATE: I’m well and on the line. Shadow Finance Minister, Liberal Senator Jane Hume. Good afternoon, Jane.

SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCE, JANE HUME: Good afternoon, Jacqui. Good afternoon, Richard. I’m feeling very outnumbered today between the Prime Minister, the Premier and now the Deputy Prime Minister. I’m a lonely little petunia in an onion patch.

MARLES: Well..

FELGATE: An onion patch-

MARLES: Two cats versus one saint.

FELGATE: There are many ways to- many ways to break that down. Thank you both. Now can I begin with you, Deputy PM? Obviously I had the Prime Minister on less than half an hour ago. The US confirming there will be no exemptions on the 25 per cent levy for steel and aluminium. Now the Prime Minister has called it unprovoked to and unjustified. You’d agree with that?

MARLES: Well, I do agree with that and it’s obviously a really disappointing decision. I mean we’ve been obviously respectfully making the argument that it doesn’t make sense for America that engaging in tariffs is an act of self harm. I mean the point we’ve made all along is that obviously America has a trade surplus in respect of our two way trade. But to the extent that we export things like steel and aluminium to America, it supports American jobs. And so it would make sense for that trade to not have tariffs. But look, you know, we are very disappointed in this, but we will continue to make the argument, we will continue to diversify our trade here, which we’re doing. We’ll find new markets but you know, we shouldn’t have to, but we will find new markets and we’ll continue to make the argument with America.

FELGATE: You said that we will continue to make the argument respectfully. Are we showing them too much respect? Because Donald Trump doesn’t appear to have much respect for Australia right now.

MARLES: Well, I think what matters is- well I think respect matters obviously, but I think what matters is that you make the argument coherently and cogently and that’s what we’re doing. I mean tariffs don’t make sense, they don’t make sense for the Australian economy. So, we’re not about to go down the path of retaliatory tariffs. What we want is a trading regime that supports Australian jobs and Australian workers. So, we’re not about to engage in our own act of self harm. But we will continue to make this argument to America. But look, I mean, the other point here is this is not unexpected. It is what they said they would do. They have implemented it across the board in respect of every country. We’ve obviously been ready for this day, if indeed it came. As I say, we’ve been looking at how we can diversify the trade and find other markets, and I’m sure that we will. But it is a very disappointing decision and a disappointing decision in the context of our relationship with the United States.

FELGATE: Jane, Peter Dutton has been saying that the Prime Minister should have flown to the US at least to have a crack at those negotiations. Did we miss an opportunity there or do you think it wouldn’t have really made any difference?

HUME: We absolutely missed an opportunity. I cannot understand why he didn’t at least pick up the phone. But yes, I mean, he’s the only member of the Quad who hasn’t met in person with President Trump. You know, Richard, you’ve met with your counterpart, the Trade Minister Don Farrell said that he would go, he would do anything, he would be on the first plane out of to try and talk to his counterpart and nothing happened. In fact, I feel that the Prime Minister was probably too busy campaigning to get on the phone to President Trump and make that coherent and cogent case that you say has been made, Richard, because you know, there are families now and businesses that are going to be hit very hard by this decision. It’s going to cause Australia economic pain because the Prime Minister was too weak to lead and to make sure that he did his duty, pick up the phone and speak to the President.

MARLES: And yet, Jane, you know that he did pick up the phone and he did speak to the President. Indeed, the President in a press conference spoke about his call with Anthony Albanese and the fact that he would give active consideration to trade exemptions in relation to Australia, which is why we’ll keep making the argument-

HUME: Did he do it this week, though? I mean, coming down to the wire, why not?

MARLES: Let me also point out when this last happened, it was nine months before a trade exemption was negotiated with the first Trump administration, when Malcolm Turnbull was the Prime Minister. So, we’re going to keep doing this. We’re going to keep making sure that we push the case. We absolutely have picked up the phone and we have been speaking to the United States in relation to this and we’ll continue to do it. But I think you know, we do need to acknowledge they have implemented this across the board in respect of every country in the world. What also matters is that we be prepared for this, whatever comes and we are, and we will make sure, as we have been, that we do see a diversification of trade and that we see these jobs continue.

FELGATE: Jane, should Kevin Rudd have been removed from Washington once Donald Trump obtained the presidency?

HUME: Well, let’s be honest. Kevin Rudd was, you know, the hand pick- the captain’s pick of Anthony Albanese. So, he should take any responsibility for a failure in his pick for Australian Ambassador. If that was the case now, I would hope that the Australian Ambassador was out there every single day doing what he could do to repair that relationship. And if he wasn’t, well, that’s on Anthony Albanese. He was his choice.

FELGATE: Ok, Jane, can I also ask you, just Malcolm Turnbull making the comments that he’s made over the last few days in relation to Donald Trump; is there a time when former Prime Ministers should just kind of, I don’t know, fade off into the sunset, maybe?

HUME: Well, look, I don’t really care what it is that Kevin Rudd said, what Roger Cook has said, what Malcolm Turnbull said, what Penny Wong has said, what Anthony Albanese himself has said. The most important thing we can do is maintain a positive relationship with our most important strategic partner, which is the US. Now, that doesn’t mean that we need to suck up or any of those silly things. It is all about maintaining those very important connections. Now, Richard, you do that. We were talking about that last week that you met with your counterpart and built that relationship. I honestly think if you had have been there and in charge of these negotiations, maybe we would have got an exemption.

FELGATE: You two are really close, aren’t you?

MARLES: There’s a heroic assumption there.

FELGATE: That is a big call.

MARLES: That is a big call.

FELGATE: It’s a really financial call.

MARLES: Look that is a big call. We’ve been building the relationship with a new administration, which is what you would expect any Australian government to do.

FELGATE: But do little barbs from people like Malcolm Turnbull help?

MARLES: Look, at the end of the day the Australian government speaks with the voice of the Australian government. That’s not Malcolm Turnbull, that’s the Albanese Labor government. And you know, when Malcolm Turnbull was the Prime Minister, it wasn’t former Prime Ministers who spoke for Australia at that point, it was him. So, yeah, like, I think former Australian Prime Ministers are going to do what they’re going to do. We kind of see that in a number of different Prime Ministers. I think that’s just- that’s life. But at the end of the day, I think governments around the world understand that who speaks for the Australian government is the government of the day, and that’s the case.

FELGATE: And as Defence Minister, does it come a point where you look at Pine Gap and also the US involvement in Darwin and in WA, and do you say, we’re going to- does that come in as a card for us to play if these tariffs continue to have an economic impact or our relationship worsens?

MARLES: Look, I think we need to see all of these things in their own terms and how we advance Australia’s national interest. I mean, the Trump government were elected- we knew they had a position on tariffs. That was not a surprise. And as I say, they’ve implemented a circumstance in respect of every country in the world. Our alliance with the United States matters. It profoundly matters. It’s at the cornerstone of our foreign policy and at the cornerstone of our national security and our national defence. And we’ll continue to manage that relationship in respect of that. We’ve got a lot of defence equities in play with the United States, and actually, the meeting that I had with Pete Hegseth was really good in relation to those equities and we’ll continue to pursue them because that’s what’s in Australia’s national interest.

FELGATE: Can I ask you on a topic that involves an American, but a very- a question I never thought I’d have to ask you, like, I find this utterly ridiculous- but an American influencer has posted footage of herself. She grabs a baby wombat from the side of the road, she removes it from the mother, who’s clearly distressed, and then she films herself. She is from America. She is here. Should she be deported? Have you seen the vision?

MARLES: I’ve seen the vision and what she is is a dill. And people who come to Australia on visas shouldn’t be idiots. And clearly that’s what she has been. I mean, you don’t need any degrees in wildlife management to understand that this put the wildlife in a position of stress. And this is clearly a person being a complete idiot. I mean, look, questions about being deported; I mean, there’s whole legal processes to go through- being charged, convicted, all of that sort of stuff, all of that will play out, or it won’t. I mean, but that’s a subject for a matter for other authorities. But I think the simple thing here, for anyone who’s seen the video, this is a person being an absolute idiot and they shouldn’t be.

FELGATE: Jane, have you seen it?

HUME: I have seen it. Do you know, I think, you know, the mother in me kicked in- that poor mother wombat. Oh my goodness. It was like, you know when you watch Dumbo and they take away Dumbo’s mother because she goes in and defends the baby elephant against the bullies. Honestly, that was how I felt. It’s quite heartbreaking. I can’t believe this silly, silly woman would do something so stupid, so irresponsible. Richard’s right. She’s a dill. She’s a dill. She doesn’t deserve to be able to be here, but whether we could deport her, that’s another question. He’s right. There’s, you know, the court processes alone would take longer than her visa would last.

FELGATE: Hopefully she leaves soon. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Liberal Senator Jane Hume join me more after this.

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FELGATE: This is the pre-election section with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Liberal Senator Jane Hume. We’ve got a couple of emails. Chris has asked Mr. Marles please, what is Labor’s biggest focus is for the upcoming election. Surely it is the cost of living.

MARLES: It is the cost of living 100 per cent. I mean look, we’ve gone through a period where we’ve seen real cost of living challenges and I mean when we came to government, inflation was running at 6.1 per cent and going north and it was clear to us then that it would be the issue through this term. And so, you know, our whole focus, be it, you know, tax cuts for all income earners, be it more affordable childcare, cheaper medicines, energy rebates for everyone- that has been the focus and will continue to be the focus going into this election.

FELGATE: Do you reckon it’s harder to be a Victorian than it is to be in any other state right now? Like today, there’s some data out that shows that Victorian home buyers are slugged an extra $373,000 on the average home bill just because of red tape.

MARLES: Well, I think- I think that people are facing challenges around the country, but certainly, you know, it’s really important and as a federal government, we are very focused on doing what we can to ease the cost of living pressures for Victorians.

FELGATE: But you didn’t answer my question. Is it harder to be a Victorian?

HUME: Yes, it is.

FELGATE: I know what you think.

MARLES: Look, as I say, I think there are challenges around the country. What I know as a Federal Government is that we need to be very focused on Victoria, and we are. You know, what we’re doing with Urgent Care Clinics, what we’re doing with Medicare, providing much greater access to affordable GP visits. I mean, all of those things really ease the cost of living pressures for people in Victoria. So, it’s a big focus of our government.

FELGATE: But Jane, he didn’t answer my question. What do you think?

HUME: Yeah, we’ve had the most unprecedented fall in Australia’s living standards. We actually continue to be the worst in the world, the fastest fall in living standards in the world over the last three years. And Victoria is the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country because we’ve had a decade of Labor mismanagement of the economy and the resulting fallen living standards there. One of my roles in the last Parliament has been Chair of the Cost of Living Committee. I’ve travelled right around the country to see how the cost of living crisis has affected different demographics, different industries, different businesses, community groups, and Victoria is by far the worst. That fall of 8 per cent over the last two and a half years has essentially meant we are poorer than we were three years ago. And that’s happened on Labor’s watch.

FELGATE: And I want to ask you as well, Jane, just another topic; you’ve made this formal complaint to the AEC about this alleged fake newspaper. So, what is that all about?

HUME: Well, this is very interesting. So, there’s a website called Gazette News and that has set up five local digital newspapers around the country, but ironically, they seem to be in teal seats. And this seems to be, it appears to be quite a highly sophisticated fake news corporation that is attempting to potentially influence the 2025 federal election. They promote themselves as independent, genuine local news outlets, but actually what they’re doing is putting out stories that then teal independent candidates put on their social media, make it look like it’s independent, but they’re very highly political, highly political stories. So, we’ve asked the AEC to investigate this because, you know, if this scheme appears as it is to be a deliberate attempt to deceive and influence public opinion, they’re evading potentially donation laws. They could potentially be avoiding authorisation requirements for electoral matter. That’s all a breach of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. So, that’s why we’ve asked the AEC to investigate it, because it does appear to be a very highly sophisticated domestic disinformation campaign, bankrolled potentially by the same people that are bankrolling the Teals.

FELGATE: Well, that means that we are coming up to an election. When is it happening? I’m tired of asking you this question every week. He knows he’s going to get it.

MARLES: You’re expecting an answer.

FELGATE: I’m not really, but I have to ask you. But it is dragging out a little, isn’t it?

MARLES:  Oh, well, I mean, look, the election’s going to be when it’s going to be. I mean, we will be handing down a budget as we had planned to do. The Budget day is the 25th of March. It’s been in the sitting schedule now for a long time. You know, we need to hold an election by the end of May, so, you know, you can do the sums. There’s, I mean, we know roughly when the election’s going to be in that sense, and every time we do have a federal election, it’s a big moment for the nation and so people are making their arguments. And, you know, I listen to what Jane said then; I wasn’t aware of those newspapers, but obviously the electoral laws are there to provide transparency. Authorisation is a very important part of that, as Jane alluded to, and so it’s really important that people are complying with that.

FELGATE: Are you going to the Grand Prix this weekend?

MARLES: I’m not going to the Grand Prix. I’ve- look, I’ve been to the Grand Prix once in my life.

FELGATE: You didn’t like it?

MARLES: its not- I like Drive to Survive.

FELGATE: Yeah, it’s good, isn’t it? But you don’t like the event.

MARLES: It’s not my favourite sport although I do like Drive to Survive but I’m not like- it’s one of Melbourne’s great events so I’ve seen it.

FELGATE: You’ve got to go back. You’re missing out!

MARLES: You think I am?

FELGATE: Yeah, it’s good. Jane, are you going?

HUME: I’m interstate unfortunately this week and next week so I won’t be making it back for the Grand Prix but yeah, it is a very noisy event. I get enough noise in my life.

FELGATE: I think you both sound traumatized by it. Good to see you. Look forward to talking to you next week.

HUME: Thanks Jackie. Thanks Richard.

 

ENDS