2GB

SUBJECTS: Labor leadership;

E&OE………

Christopher Pyne: Good Afternoon Ben

Ben Fordham: Who’s going to be Prime Minister on Monday?

Pyne: Well I think that Julia Gillard is going to be re-elected, but I think it’s a bit irrelevant because the government is so hopelessly dysfunctional and divided and focussed on themselves. What I have received today is information that the right wing nationally will back Julia Gillard until they replace her sometime down the track with either Bill Shorten or Steve Smith. I think the problem with that is that there is a ridiculously vicious cycle on the Labor side of politics and the losers out of this are the Australian people who haven’t got a good government.

Fordham: Ok you mention the others but your not mentioning Kevin Rudd there, do you think that if Julia Gillard gets up on Monday that will be it for Kevin Rudd?

Pyne: Well who can predict, but what I do know for sure is that while this circus has allowed to (inaudible) … continue unabated the Australian people are getting thoroughly fed up and the only way to put and end to this is to have an early election. The public are desperate to have an unambiguous government that gets on with the job of governing rather than this sort of appalling pantomime that exists on the Labor side of politics and whoever wins on Monday if its Kevin Rudd or Julia Gillard, Bill Shorten and Steve Smith are plotting that neither of them will lead Labor to the next election and this uncertainty is killing confidence in the economy. 

Fordham: I had an interesting conversation earlier where I had Doug Cameron on one line; David Bradbury, the Labor MP on the other side.  One of them is on Rudd’s side, the other is on Gillard’s side and Doug Cameron said very, very directly to David Bradbury, listen, unless you switch sides and come with Kevin Rudd, you’re gone.  You’re going to lose your seat.  That’s the reality for a lot of these Labor MPs – not to say Rudd is going to be the saviour, but if they stick with Gillard a lot of them are guaranteed to be “bye bye.” 

Pyne: And Ben, the thing is the Australian people don’t care about David Bradbury keeping his job, or Christopher Pyne or anybody.  What they care about is having a government that will actually help them keep their job, which will reduce their cost of living pressures.  The Australian public want their government to focus on them, not on themselves and it’s just driving people crazy.  They don’t want to have David Bradbury and Doug Cameron on your show arguing about who the Labor leader is.  They’re thoroughly sick of it and we have to have an election and do something about it. 

Fordham: Final question.  You were on Annabel Crabb’s cooking show last night and you said you don’t have any friends from the other side, but I want to do this test right now and I want a straight answer.  It’s known as the beer test, or the wine test or the gin and tonic test.  Here’s how it goes.  If you have to have a beer, or if you have to have a glass of wine or a G&T or a vodka or whatever it might be with Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd; which one is it? 

Pyne: Julia. 

Fordham: Thank you Christopher Pyne. 

ENDS