6PR
30 May 2012
Transcipt SUBJECTS: Craig Thomson saga
E&OE…………
Harvey Deegan: I’ve never heard anything like it in my life.
Pyne: An extraordinarily juvenile performance from the Government on Craig Thomson behalf where they tried to be tricky and get Craig Thomson to vote with the Opposition. Now, why this is interesting to listeners of course is the Opposition has said we will not accept Craig Thomson’s vote because it’s a tainted vote holding up a tainted Government and the Government of course said the opposite. They continued to enjoy Craig Thomson’s support. So Labor thought they’d be clever and get Craig Thomson to vote with us.
When I realised Craig Thomson was voting with us I did what Ian Campbell, who was a famous Western Australian senator, used to do when Mal Colston voted with us, which is get out of the chamber. I only had moments to do so, so I shot like a bolt out the door.
Sattler: And you got there just in time.
Pyne: I was Usain Bolt.
Sattler: So, what happened to Tony? May I call him Tony? He was a little bit – caught on the blocks?
Pyne: He wanted to be doubly sure Craig Thomson wasn’t voting with the Opposition in a way that counted, but he was about one or two steps behind me and he was also from a sitting start. I was from a standing start so he didn’t quite get there. His vote was counted, but the really embarrassing part about this of course is that the Government faced with so many important issues that Australians care about like cost of living and the carbon tax and job insecurity would think that this is the kind of thing they should be engaging in on the parliamentary sitting day.
Sattler: Well, it does seem a little juvenile. A lot of people might think you bolting for the door and Tony Abbott doing the same also was a bit juvenile. Could you explain this to me though Christopher and I’m sure many of our listeners? We’ve got a situation here where a now independent MP is voting with the Opposition. Doesn’t that help your vote, help the collective vote? Why would you want to bolt out of the chamber at that point?
Pyne: Because our position is Craig Thomson while has a very black cloud hanging over his reputation and future should not be voting in the chamber to prop up this very bad Government. If we then accepted his vote on our side we would be as bad as Julia Gillard and the Labor Party and we are not going to do that. We’re not going to come to power on the back of a tainted vote whereas Julia Gillard and the Labor Party wish to cling to power Craig Thomson’s support.
Sattler: But he did vote didn’t he?
Pyne: He voted, but because I wasn’t in the chamber his vote didn’t count to change the numbers.
Sattler: You sort of paired him or something did you?
Pyne: No, we didn’t pair him. Pairing would have also made his vote count. By me not being in the chamber the Opposition was down one vote so therefore his vote with us didn’t make any difference to the numbers.
Sattler: Oh ok, so it was all about numbers?
Pyne: Yes. It was about getting out of the chamber so my vote cancelled out his vote.
Sattler: But if Tony Abbott had made it through the door I suppose it would have been a negative one result to put it one way.
Pyne: That’s right. There would have been two of us counted out, but that because Tony wanted to be absolutely sure while the Government accepts his vote, we will not.
Sattler: Yeah, but does it really matter?
Pyne: It does matter. It matters very much because it goes very much to the character of this Government that they wish to pretend that by pushing Craig Thomson onto the cross benches they have somehow made an important decision, but in fact they pushed him onto the cross benches while they still get his vote. So there’s with the position they were in before.
Sattler: Yes, but it wouldn’t have made any difference to the result of the vote anyway probably and I think most people probably rather regard Mr Thomson with a rather jaunt style you would have thought so who really cares? Or if it’s good enough for you to get out and bolt out of the chamber and for Tony Abbott to try to do so, what happened to the rest of your lot? Why didn’t they get up bolt for the door?
Pyne: Well, we only needed one vote to cancel out one vote, so…
Sattler: Is this a tactical strategy that you work up in the party room; that if something like this happens, you’re the man?
Pyne: I’m the Manager of Opposition Business so it’s my job Harvey to keep an eye on everything that’s happening and fortunately Andrew Southcott, the Member for Boothby warned me that Craig Thomson was sitting in the chamber. Mind you the media had already been tipped off by the Labor Party that he was going to do that because it was a juvenile pathetic stunt.
Sattler: Yeah, I’ve got to say a lot of people think what you did was the same Christopher.
Pyne: An important matter of principal that we will not accept Craig Thomson’s vote and the Government will.
Sattler: But the vote was registered anyway so what difference does it really make?
Pyne: Because I wasn’t in the chamber and therefore it made no difference to the outcome.
Sattler: Would it have made a difference to the outcome if you had remained in the Chamber? Can’t you stay in the chamber and abstain from voting?
Pyne: No. You can either be in the chamber or out of the chamber, but you can’t be in the chamber and be abstaining.
Sattler: Ok, well I see that. Look, it’s an interest diversion if nothing else. What were some of the other highlights from the house today?
Pyne: Well, the other unfortunate aspect of today is the Prime Minister still refuses to answer the question about why she told union leaders on Friday she was furious about the enterprise migration agreement for the Roy Hill project and yet she’d been told about it for weeks and weeks by the Minister for Resources, the Minister for Immigration and many others and yet she tried to pretend it was all news to her. We asked her six or seven questions, all of which she dodged because unfortunately the Prime Minister wants people to think she’s accountable and transparent, but the opposite is true.
ENDS.