1
00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,200
Speaker 1: We're we're waiting for the Prime minister to call through

2
00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:06,480
Speaker 1: Scott Morrison yesterday at the Press Club in Canberra. Jeez,

3
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,680
Speaker 1: there was quite a few journalists getting up and ripping

4
00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:12,000
Speaker 1: right into the Prime minister.

5
00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:13,960
Speaker 2: You know what. The look on his face when he

6
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,520
Speaker 2: was I supposed stumped or surprised by this question was

7
00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,040
Speaker 2: just disappointment. It was just like, oh my god, we'll

8
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:20,120
Speaker 2: let me really doing this.

9
00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,239
Speaker 1: Peter van Onnsalen from Channel ten got up and had

10
00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:26,680
Speaker 1: received a text message or a conversation that was going

11
00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,880
Speaker 1: on between Gladys Barojiglian and a Liberal Party member. Here

12
00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:30,200
Speaker 1: it is.

13
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:35,159
Speaker 3: In one she describes you as quote a horrible, horrible person,

14
00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,600
Speaker 3: going on to say she did not trust you and

15
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,159
Speaker 3: you're more concerned with politics than people. The ministry is

16
00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,760
Speaker 3: even more scathing, describing you as a fraud and quote

17
00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:50,879
Speaker 3: a complete psycho. Does this exchange surprise you and what

18
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:51,919
Speaker 3: do you think it tells us?

19
00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,920
Speaker 4: Well, I don't know who you're referring to or the

20
00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:58,160
Speaker 4: basis of what you've put to me.

21
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,080
Speaker 3: Obviously don't agree with it, and I don't think that's

22
00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:04,000
Speaker 3: my record.

23
00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,919
Speaker 1: I mean it's the joins us right now, mister Morrison. Welcome.

24
00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,399
Speaker 4: Yeah, boys, how are you good mate?

25
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,240
Speaker 2: Good to have you on the show. I mean, timing

26
00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:15,280
Speaker 2: is everything frustrating. Of course yesterday at the press conference,

27
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,160
Speaker 2: the conversation and the text and the question that we

28
00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,920
Speaker 2: just all heard, is it something that's been validated? I mean,

29
00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:23,840
Speaker 2: have you heard from Gladys Do we know that she

30
00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,039
Speaker 2: was involved in that text exchange that was her? Oh?

31
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,479
Speaker 4: Let us put out a statement yesterday, so he has

32
00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,000
Speaker 4: absolutely no recollection of it at all, and it's certainly

33
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,360
Speaker 4: not doing the nature of any of the discussions there

34
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,000
Speaker 4: and I have ever had We've always had very good exchange. Yeah,

35
00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,720
Speaker 4: Premiers and prime ministers on policy issues. We have disagreements

36
00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,800
Speaker 4: from time to time that you'd expect that and you

37
00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,400
Speaker 4: know we have those, you know, behind closed doors and

38
00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,160
Speaker 4: get out there and work together because that's what people

39
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,320
Speaker 4: always expect. And whether it's me and Gladys Barry Jiglin,

40
00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,240
Speaker 4: or me and Mark McGowan, or me and Anastasia Palichet,

41
00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,040
Speaker 4: that's the nature of a professional work relationship amongst leaders.

42
00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,000
Speaker 4: But look, I can't speak to that. I mean a

43
00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,640
Speaker 4: journalists train up an anonymous sort of text message in

44
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,480
Speaker 4: the middle of a press gallery thing they journalists like

45
00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,800
Speaker 4: to do. That journalist has some questions, they're are answering themselves,

46
00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,120
Speaker 4: I know at the moment, and look, that's just you know,

47
00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,680
Speaker 4: go and read my twitter feed. People probably say some

48
00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:22,520
Speaker 4: pretty nasty things on there too, but you know, I

49
00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,120
Speaker 4: brush it off and just keep focused on word.

50
00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:27,519
Speaker 2: The thing is, you know, you talk about Gladys in

51
00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,160
Speaker 2: your relationship. We know that's always been strong, but it

52
00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,000
Speaker 2: almost feels like it's out of character for Gladys because

53
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,240
Speaker 2: she's a smart operator and this would be considered fairly

54
00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,400
Speaker 2: reckless even if she had those thoughts to put it

55
00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:38,160
Speaker 2: in writing.

56
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,240
Speaker 4: Well, I think that's a fairy reasonable assessment. That's why

57
00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,800
Speaker 4: I think people will look at this, you know, for

58
00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,440
Speaker 4: what it is, and they'll make their own judgments about it.

59
00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,040
Speaker 4: But the record is we work together to save lives

60
00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:52,880
Speaker 4: in New South Wales, and I'm very proud of the

61
00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,600
Speaker 4: work that her and I did together, and as you know,

62
00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,400
Speaker 4: I was. I was very forceful in my defense of

63
00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,359
Speaker 4: her with everything that she copped, which I think was

64
00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,720
Speaker 4: very unfair the way she was treated, and that still

65
00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,760
Speaker 4: remained my very very strong view yesterday.

66
00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,600
Speaker 1: It was also you came out yesterday Prime Minister and

67
00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:14,880
Speaker 1: said that the way that you handled the pandemic and

68
00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,960
Speaker 1: the vaccine rollout as well, if you had your time again,

69
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:18,919
Speaker 1: you would have changed.

70
00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,720
Speaker 4: On the vaccination program. If I had my time over,

71
00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,960
Speaker 4: I would have put it under a military operation from

72
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,680
Speaker 4: the outset and not later in the year.

73
00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,400
Speaker 1: That's the first time that we've heard that from you,

74
00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:32,600
Speaker 1: Prime Minister. Was it a big thing for you to

75
00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:33,240
Speaker 1: do yesterday?

76
00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,560
Speaker 4: I think it was important. I'd actually said at the

77
00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,480
Speaker 4: time last year, not specifically about putting General Thrillan in charge,

78
00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:43,160
Speaker 4: that you know, I was sorry that we hadn't hit

79
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,720
Speaker 4: our marks early, but we needed to turn that around.

80
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,480
Speaker 4: And so what I did was I put General Thruan

81
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,200
Speaker 4: in and that has turned it around. We have now

82
00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,800
Speaker 4: one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. I

83
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,560
Speaker 4: said it the same press club the event last year

84
00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,000
Speaker 4: that we'd hoped to have everyone off at a vaccine

85
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,120
Speaker 4: nation by October of last year. Now we ended up

86
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,760
Speaker 4: achieving that, I think on the twenty fifth of October.

87
00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 4: So we did have some big challenges. We've had AstraZeneca

88
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,000
Speaker 4: basically taken out from people under the age of fifty.

89
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,000
Speaker 4: We had the supplies that we'd contracted out of Europe

90
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,159
Speaker 4: blocked and not sent to Australia, which were filling those

91
00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,160
Speaker 4: early parts of the vaccination program before other things came online.

92
00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,479
Speaker 4: So we had those challenges, and there were some logistical

93
00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,760
Speaker 4: challenges which General full and his team were able to

94
00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,479
Speaker 4: get on and fix. And that's not me being critical

95
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,159
Speaker 4: of the Health Department. They were dealing with many other

96
00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,560
Speaker 4: issues as well, and so bringing in General Fruen's team

97
00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,000
Speaker 4: and allowing him to focus very specifically on that I

98
00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,200
Speaker 4: think made a big difference. And that's the thing in

99
00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:46,760
Speaker 4: pandemics is the point I was trying to make. You know,

100
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,680
Speaker 4: you can't get everything right. No country has. And so

101
00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:51,799
Speaker 4: when you step back and go, well, what have we achieved.

102
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,440
Speaker 4: We've stayed forty thousand lives, We've got one of the

103
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,000
Speaker 4: highest vaccination rates in the world. We've got one of

104
00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,919
Speaker 4: the strongest economies with unemployment at four point two percent.

105
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,080
Speaker 4: It was a six point six percent a year ago.

106
00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:04,960
Speaker 4: So you know, when you go to the big ticket

107
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,279
Speaker 4: items and the big calls that had to be made,

108
00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,400
Speaker 4: then Australia's performance stands out. Now. I know we've had

109
00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,400
Speaker 4: a frustrating summer. That was one of the other things

110
00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,200
Speaker 4: I said you know, we got to the end of

111
00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,960
Speaker 4: the year which all worked hard to get the country vaccinated.

112
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,640
Speaker 4: Australia done amazingly. Our health workers hdare workers and under

113
00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,880
Speaker 4: the delta strain of the virus, we believed and the

114
00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,080
Speaker 4: results were there that showed the vaccination protected us from that.

115
00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,000
Speaker 4: And then omicron hit and the vaccines didn't do that,

116
00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:34,360
Speaker 4: and it wasn't very clear in the first couple of

117
00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,800
Speaker 4: weeks what all that meant. That when we understood it,

118
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,400
Speaker 4: we knew it was less severe, then we could start

119
00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,599
Speaker 4: changing we It was like dealing I got to say,

120
00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,359
Speaker 4: with a completely different virus, like the whole thing started again.

121
00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,200
Speaker 4: Rules that were there no longer applied in many circumstances,

122
00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,800
Speaker 4: so we had to move quickly and that created frustrations,

123
00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,280
Speaker 4: I know, And you know, if I'm guilty of being

124
00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,960
Speaker 4: too optimistic looking forward to summer, I think many peop

125
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,040
Speaker 4: people did, and I you know, it wasn't a great

126
00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,960
Speaker 4: summer for everybody, and we are very sorry about that.

127
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,040
Speaker 1: Well, here's an idea for your Prime Minister. I mean,

128
00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,600
Speaker 1: we're getting when you're trying to get people to get

129
00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,200
Speaker 1: their boosters now and probably our fourth jabs are coming

130
00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,720
Speaker 1: up as well, so why don't we combine the two

131
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,520
Speaker 1: when we're voting for the federal elections, so we can

132
00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,200
Speaker 1: go and vote and we can also get another in

133
00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:22,680
Speaker 1: there as well. A hot can you give us a

134
00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,839
Speaker 1: date when we can get that fourth booster, mister Morris.

135
00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:26,560
Speaker 4: Democracy, vaccination?

136
00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:27,360
Speaker 2: Yeah?

137
00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:28,919
Speaker 4: Democracy?

138
00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,440
Speaker 1: Are we looking? Are we looking more May towards the

139
00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,000
Speaker 1: end or you're thinking around April, Prime Minister.

140
00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,400
Speaker 4: Well, there will still be this year. I can I

141
00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,320
Speaker 4: ah aw you with that. We've got a budget coming

142
00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:41,360
Speaker 4: up at the end of March that will be very

143
00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:47,080
Speaker 4: important because the economic plan. And yesterday, I mean journalists

144
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,000
Speaker 4: down in Camber focus on all sorts of things, but

145
00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,240
Speaker 4: we made a very important announcement yesterday, not just about

146
00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,279
Speaker 4: supporting he care workers more right now because of the

147
00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,200
Speaker 4: great job they're doing and keeping them there doing that job.

148
00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,000
Speaker 4: But yesterday we announced and you'll have many young people

149
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,720
Speaker 4: out there listening to this, Others who worked in universities, researchers,

150
00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,440
Speaker 4: work in manufacturing jobs. Yesterday we announced a plan to

151
00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:13,080
Speaker 4: link up our university researchers with our businesses and our companies.

152
00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 4: When you look to the United States and you see

153
00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:17,880
Speaker 4: where their big companies come from, where are the big

154
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,000
Speaker 4: jobs that tech jobs, high paying jobs come from. It's

155
00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,600
Speaker 4: always come out of great ideas researchers, and in this country,

156
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,480
Speaker 4: our researchers at our entrepreneurs sort of keep their distance

157
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,400
Speaker 4: from each other. We're doing is trying to bring them together,

158
00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,200
Speaker 4: use them together, and that will mean more successful companies,

159
00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,800
Speaker 4: more jobs. I mean, we're going to see unemployment in

160
00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,360
Speaker 4: this country, I believe, with a three in front of it.

161
00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,440
Speaker 4: We haven't seen that since the early seventies. I mean,

162
00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,960
Speaker 4: this is a once in a generation opportunity that we're

163
00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,960
Speaker 4: about to achieve. And we've never had more apprentices in

164
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,480
Speaker 4: trade trading. I think I've told you guys before. It

165
00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,520
Speaker 4: was one of the first things that Josh and I did.

166
00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,640
Speaker 4: We were very worried about all those apprentices losing their

167
00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,720
Speaker 4: job at the start of their pandemic. First on last off.

168
00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, unemployment with three in front of it would be amazing.

169
00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:05,280
Speaker 1: It would be amazing.

170
00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:07,080
Speaker 2: That's one thing. One more thing we need.

171
00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,720
Speaker 4: To talk about. Four job deeper. We put the wage

172
00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,280
Speaker 4: subsidy in for apprentices, and I've been meeting those apprentices

173
00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,480
Speaker 4: all around the country who had lost their jobs and

174
00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,400
Speaker 4: they're still in them. And we have the highest level

175
00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:20,120
Speaker 4: of apprentices and trade training since nineteen sixty three.

176
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,320
Speaker 1: Okay, hey Prime Minister, just before we do that. I

177
00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,160
Speaker 1: know it was all serious this chat, but there is

178
00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,880
Speaker 1: an apology coming my way thanks to you, because this

179
00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,080
Speaker 1: was for everyone out there. We went to a Christmas

180
00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,559
Speaker 1: party that the Prime Minister was at as well, and

181
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,840
Speaker 1: unfortunately my wife had a few too many drinks and

182
00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,480
Speaker 1: tried to get the Prime Minister out under the dance floor.

183
00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:44,880
Speaker 1: This is a true story, Sarah. This is the thing.

184
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,400
Speaker 1: I got to the point where my wife was trying

185
00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:49,320
Speaker 1: to get him onto the dance floor, where I thought

186
00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,520
Speaker 1: a sniper was going to wing her. At some stat

187
00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,280
Speaker 1: I was hoping the security were going to come through

188
00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,079
Speaker 1: and tackle her to the ground. So apologies from the

189
00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,360
Speaker 1: Fitzgerald family, Scott, but you know what, there wasn't moment

190
00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,079
Speaker 1: there where you were thinking about getting and doing a

191
00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:03,760
Speaker 1: bit of a break dance on the dance floor.

192
00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:04,600
Speaker 2: Jenny was on.

193
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,359
Speaker 4: Jenny was on. She did it all for me and

194
00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,439
Speaker 4: and Jen had a great sight with particularly with everybody,

195
00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,080
Speaker 4: and it was it was a nice time to just

196
00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,079
Speaker 4: sort of relax a bit because there hasn't been too

197
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:16,640
Speaker 4: many of those.

198
00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,800
Speaker 1: But yes, your face. Your face when when they were

199
00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:22,240
Speaker 1: trying to get you on the dance floor, you were

200
00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,959
Speaker 1: like that I have not seen. Yeah, it was worse

201
00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,000
Speaker 1: than yesterday at the Press five. It was like, I'm

202
00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:28,440
Speaker 1: not doing anything you're telling.

203
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:28,520
Speaker 4: Me to do.

204
00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,880
Speaker 2: Well, you know what when when BJ was yelling out scope,

205
00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,920
Speaker 2: I dance floor and then I said, Prime Minister, you

206
00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,360
Speaker 2: are not dancing. There was a bit of a target tug

207
00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:38,280
Speaker 2: of war, there wasn't there.

208
00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,640
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, you know I had to drag get out

209
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,800
Speaker 4: of there. We had to get home. But it doesn't

210
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,640
Speaker 4: get very often when she has the opportunity to do that.

211
00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,800
Speaker 1: But at the moment, we appreciate your time, Prime Minister.

212
00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:52,280
Speaker 1: We know how busy you are. Thanks for coming on

213
00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:52,600
Speaker 1: the show.

214
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,000
Speaker 4: Thanks guys all the best. Daty your mom for me.

215
00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:56,600
Speaker 4: Weer well made, buddy.

216
00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:57,520
Speaker 2: It fits in