Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for the Public Service, Assistant Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
ASHLEIGH GILLON, HOST: We'll delve into that in detail a bit later this half hour, but first joining me in the studio, the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman. Thank you for coming in. [inaudible].
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Good to be here.
GILLON: On that Trump speech, some analysts saying it was a bit of a let down in terms of not announcing the imminent end to the Iran war that many had been hoping for. It seems like there's still at least two or three weeks of hostilities to run?
GORMAN: Well, that is what the President himself has said. We have to work in that world. We are not a party to that conflict. We are not an active participant, and as we have been very open, we were not consulted in the early stages of the decisions the United States and Israel made. So, Australia watches on as we see the United States outline their objectives, and we hope that they can outline those objectives, achieve what it is that they've sought to do, and then we can get back to some form of a return to diplomacy as this conflict comes to an end.
GILLON: Is there any appetite within the government to do more to secure the Strait of Hormuz, though? President Trump made it very clear in his address today, this is not up to the US. He's not going to intervene on that front. He wants allies to step in.
GORMAN: We are not a party to the conflict, and we are not proposing to change that. Of course.
GILLON: But we're suffering.
GORMAN: We are. And you see that here in Western Australia. You see that across Australia, people are feeling the economic impacts of this conflict. But what we will do is what we've always done, which is work with international partners. The Foreign Minister will engage in the conversations that have been convened by the United Kingdom to talk about what the international community response can be. And that's not necessarily talking about military options. That is about talking about, how do we do what Australia always seeks to do, which is to look for ways to cooperate with like-minded partners to get outcomes, not just for Australians, but often what's in Australia's interest is in the world's interest, and that's how we'll engage in those discussions.
GILLON: The Prime Minister's copped some flack around his address to the nation last night. The allegation is that he was essentially scaring people, that there were several hours yesterday when people were expecting fuel rationing to be announced, announcements around work from home. School parents have been worried that their children are going to have to go back to online learning, a la COVID. That's obviously something no one wants to return to. Do you think that the handling of the communication around that could have been better?
GORMAN: The government has been really clear in a range of communications over a long period of time. This is very different to COVID. We've learned the lessons of what did work with governments being well prepared for the future. We have learned the lessons of what didn't work with some of the harsher restrictions or excessive spending that we saw at that time. What the Prime Minister was able to do last night was to be really upfront and open with the Australian people that this is a really difficult time. And it's not just a difficult time for a few days or weeks, this will be a challenging few months for the nation. We want to be upfront about that. We want to give people guidance on what they can do themselves, including catching the bus if you do have that option available to you, and again, also outline some of the measures we're taking to take some of that pressure off. Like taking the pressure off the cost of fuel, which has increased significantly. And I have been monitoring the fuel stations in my electorate every day to see where it is. I know that that is hurting people, so I'm really proud we have done something about it.
GILLON: We've heard some criticism from the Opposition around the states' reaction. We've heard Angus Taylor suggesting there might be a splintering of strategies. In your home state of Western Australia, we saw the Premier Roger Cook announcing this State of Emergency. Is that something that is backed at a federal level? Are you happy with the way that the states have been cooperating with the federal government?
GORMAN: The states have different legislative powers, depending on legislation. I think you had Shane Love here not that long ago telling you and your viewers that the legislation that is being used has been around for about 50 years. What Premier Cook is trying to do, and I completely support the way he has handled the challenges that Western Australia faces, is just trying to make sure we've got information so we can get fuel where it is needed. This is a big state. It is one-third of Australia's land mass here in Western Australia. So of course, we want to make sure that fuel is getting to all of the places that need it. Particularly for our farmers and those in primary industry. Now, when it comes to other things we've seen from the states, we saw a big piece of cooperation. We convened the states at National Cabinet at the start of this week, and today, we now have the states all agreeing together in a coordinated fashion to bring the price of fuel down even further by not taking all those windfall gains of GST. You know, I think motorists would have been pleased to see that the states aren't going to take that money and put it into other projects. They are going to give it back to people, and that means for someone filling up with a tank of 65 litres, it's about $20.80 less when you combine the significant tax relief the Commonwealth's put in place with the states handing back that GST.
GILLON: The Prime Minister also announced gambling reforms today. I just want to show our viewers some of the reaction we've seen to this. We'll begin with firstly, the Communications Minister Anika Wells commenting, followed by the Independent MP Kate Chaney and the Greens' Sarah Hanson-Young.
ANIKA WELLS, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: You would have seen that not just wagering companies, but Free TV, broadcast have noted today that the reforms that we have handed down will have a significant financial impact to their bottom line. That's why this is about striking a balance, and we really have tried to see this through the lens of, what do Australians want? They want to be able to enjoy their sport. They want to be able to enjoy their TV. They want to be able to break the nexus between wagering and sport so that kids don't watch their preferred code, whatever that is, and assume that the only way to enjoy it is with wagering alongside that.
SARAH HANSON-YOUNG, GREENS SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Trying to pretend that you can keep young people away from the harms of gambling advertising online is just laughable. And of course, we know that it is adults that are losing billions of dollars because of their gambling addiction. Squibbing it on gambling reform because you don't have the guts to stand up to the gambling lobby, just says everything about this Prime Minister.
KATE CHANEY, INDEPENDENT MEMBER FOR CURTIN: So, I think it sounds strong. The reality is, kids will still be exposed to ads, and people who are experiencing harm from gambling will also still see those ads.
GILLON: Some pretty harsh criticism there, Patrick Gorman, about these reforms, suggesting they don't go nearly far enough. The research pointing to partial bans not working.
GORMAN: Well, I think there is a really clear message in what we are trying to do, which is to remove some of that messaging that has been going to children. That's been a big part of the discussion, in the national discussion, and indeed, the parliamentary debates. Also, further support for those who are being targeted by these companies, who are putting far too much advertising into our stadiums, onto sports jerseys and all the rest. And it builds on what we've already done. If you look at BetStop. Now, Betstop, hopefully very few of your viewers have had to rely on it, but that's helped 54,000 Australians get off all of these online gambling platforms so that they're not losing money. And I would encourage anyone who knows someone who might be at risk of gambling harm to help them connect to the very extensive services and financial counselling services as well, which we've also expanded in this package, because this isn't something that hurts people, individual by individual. That's how we sought to focus in our first wave of measures. This next wave is about breaking that nexus between sport, gambling and, particularly, keeping it away from kids.
GILLON: What is the justification, though, for weakening what the government originally had on the table? We heard from the Greens earlier today that when the former Minister Michelle Rowland was in charge, she briefed out to other politicians in the parliament about the plan that was going to be enacted, and that this really is weakened, according to Sarah Hanson-Young, from the original plan. It's not just politicians criticising this, it's the AMA. They're saying that this falls short. Partial bans don't work. They say they don't include the national independent gambling regulator, which is a key part of the Murphy Review.
GORMAN: Well, people will always want governments to do more, but no one's saying we shouldn't do the measures we've outlined today. No one is saying that. And these measures will make a difference. They will break that connection. They'll stop kids being exposed to gambling ads when they're being dropped off at school or picked up. They will stop kids who might want to go and buy a Dockers jersey from having a gambling company on that jersey. It'll break all those connections, along with additional support for those who are suffering the harms from gambling addiction. And when it comes to parliamentary inquiry reports, of course, they are an input into the policymaking process. They are not the end of the process, because it's governments that make those decisions. And the only package we've put forward in this term is the one the Prime Minister announced at the Press Club today. It was a significant moment, and while I recognise that there's lots of people who always want to find an excuse to criticise the government, these are measures that will make a difference, and they should back them.
GILLON: Patrick Gorman, appreciate you coming in.
GORMAN: Thank you.
GILLON: Thanks so much for your time.
