Channel 9 News

SUBJECTS: Election of the new Speaker; Jason Clare’s attack on McDonalds

E&OE…

Wendy Kingston: Mr Pyne thank you very much for your time

Pyne: Pleasure

Kingston: So this all means two votes down and it does make your job a lot harder now doesn’t it?

Pyne: Well today was about the Government and the Prime Minister in particular putting her own political survival ahead of any principle. That will be the take out from the Australian people, they will be scratching their heads today, wondering why an honourable man, Harry Jenkins, was put to the sword by his own side, we know what he said about how he wanted to resign and go back and spend more time with his Labor friends in the caucus, I think most people realise that probably isn’t true. The truth is, the Prime Minister put her political survival ahead of any principle, any support for the Westminster system, any support for democracy, in order to make sure that her tenuous grip on power might be slightly tighter. So Labor will be saying this is a great tactical victory, I think most people will say we are sick of the secret deals, we are sick of the special arrangements and the today’s political fix has been the end of a year of such political fixes and secret deals.

Kingston: If we’re to believe the Prime Minister though, she’s come out and said that Mr Jenkins only told her of this decision this morning. Are you saying you don’t believe that at all?

Pyne: Look it’s simply beggars’ belief that the Prime Minister and her team were utterly unaware that Harry Jenkins might be considering such a move. What’s really happened here is the Government wanted to shore up a tenuous grip on power and that’s why people are sick of politics in Australia, people are thoroughly sick of the Prime Minister and her team putting themselves ahead of political principle. I mean, we saw a deal with the Greens earlier this week, a secret deal in the middle of the night which nobody could be told about, we’ve seen a political fix today, we’ve seen special arrangements for independent members, for the Greens Party in general, the Carbon Tax introduced just for that reason. People are thoroughly sick of it, they want an election so we can get an unambiguous government in Canberra that makes decisions for the people rather than political fixes, like we’ve see in Sussex Street for many many years.

Kingston: Are you just bitter though? I mean this is probably not the way you wanted the political year to end.

Pyne: I’d much rather be in the position we’re in at the end of this year than be in the position the Government  is in. We’ve had a good political year, its been a bad year for the Parliament and today was the crescendo of the contempt that the Government has for the Parliament and the contempt for the people. Not only did we see the Parliament treated with contempt today, but Jason Clare the member for a Western Sydney’s seat described McDonalds food as cheap and nasty, exactly the kind of food that his constituents would be eating on a weekly basis. This is the kind of contempt Labor has, for the parliament and the people. Its always Labor first, political survival first, and principle last.

Kingston: Christopher Pyne we’ll have to leave it there. Thank you very much for your time.

Pyne: It’s a pleasure, thank you.

ENDS