WEBVTT - The quiet force behind Labor’s landslide

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<v Speaker 1>Jason. As you dug deeper into Labour's crushing election victory,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me about the figure Labor inside has kept pointing

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<v Speaker 1>you towards.

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<v Speaker 2>The one name on everyone's lips, Daniel, is Paul Erickson.

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<v Speaker 1>When Jason Kotsukus and I were in the ballroom at

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<v Speaker 1>Anthony Alberize's election like party, watching the Prime Minister claim victory,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a man sitning quietly among the crowd. His

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<v Speaker 1>name is Paul Erickson. And even though he likes to

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<v Speaker 1>keep a low profile, Albaneze he made a point of

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<v Speaker 1>thanking him in his speech.

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<v Speaker 3>So our magnificent campaign director, National Secretary Paul Erickson.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, in a speech like that, the Prime

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<v Speaker 2>Minister can't name too many people, but one of the

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<v Speaker 2>first people he did name was Paul Erickson. I think

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<v Speaker 2>that shows you the measure of respect that Paul Erickson

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<v Speaker 2>has held.

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<v Speaker 3>In Paul has run an outstanding campaign. Paul, and I

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<v Speaker 3>did tell people May was the right time, and he

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<v Speaker 3>manages to become a dad during the campaign.

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<v Speaker 2>Paul Erickson is someone who does value his privacy and

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<v Speaker 2>prefers to stay in the background.

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<v Speaker 1>From Schwartz Media, I'm Daniel James. This is seven am.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's special correspondent for the Saturday paper, Jason kottsukis on

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<v Speaker 1>the quiet force behind Labour's landslide and the secret to

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<v Speaker 1>his success. It's Friday May sixteenth. Jason, thanks for speaking

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<v Speaker 1>with me. Paul Ericson isn't exactly a household name. Can

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<v Speaker 1>you just lay out for me what he does and

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<v Speaker 1>what his role in the campaign was.

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<v Speaker 2>He's the National secretary of the Australian Labor Party. He's

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<v Speaker 2>not a public figure, hasn't been elected to any public office.

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<v Speaker 2>But he's the campaign director and he's the one that

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<v Speaker 2>everybody is kind of bowing to at the moment. Is

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<v Speaker 2>the architect of this incredible victory. You know, to be

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<v Speaker 2>ready for that campaign, there's a lot of things you've

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<v Speaker 2>got to do beforehand. You've got to think about the

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred and fifty candidates that you're going to pre

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<v Speaker 2>select for the House of Representatives, all the candidates are

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<v Speaker 2>going to be running in the Senate. Logistics of traveling

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<v Speaker 2>across such a huge country, and the advertising in so

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<v Speaker 2>many different markets. I mean, Labor had three different advertising

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<v Speaker 2>firms working on this campaign. They had three different research firms,

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<v Speaker 2>and the ALP had I think thousands more ads online

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<v Speaker 2>than the Coalition did, so they'd clearly put a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of thought into that. So it's something that Paul Erickson

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<v Speaker 2>has clearly mastered and he's pulled off an incredible victory.

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<v Speaker 1>So inside the party head and seeing you figures characterize

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<v Speaker 1>what he's achieved well.

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<v Speaker 2>I spoke to Labour's national president Wayne Swann and he

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<v Speaker 2>said to me that this was the best campaign he's

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<v Speaker 2>ever seen, top to bottom. And I thought coming from

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<v Speaker 2>Wayne Swan, someone who's got so much experience, he's run

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of election campaigns, he's been in and out

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<v Speaker 2>of Labor Party politics since the late nineteen seventies, for

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<v Speaker 2>him to say that, I think tells you something of

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<v Speaker 2>the scale of the achievement that Paul Erickson has completed.

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<v Speaker 1>Here, before we talk more about the campaign itself, let's

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<v Speaker 1>find out a little bit more about Paul Erickson. Where

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<v Speaker 1>did he come from? What's his background?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Paul Eckson's from Melbourne. His father Tim was a

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<v Speaker 2>champion race walker, one of Australia's best ever, selected to

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<v Speaker 2>represent Australia at the Moscow Olympics in nineteen eighty. Paul

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<v Speaker 2>Erickson's older brother Chris, and he didn't just go to

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<v Speaker 2>one Olympics, he went to three, representing Australia of course

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<v Speaker 2>in the same event.

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<v Speaker 1>High achieving family, yeah, high.

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<v Speaker 2>Achieving family also, I would imagine quite a competitive family.

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<v Speaker 2>Paul studied arts and economics at the Universe of Melbourne.

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<v Speaker 2>He got involved in labor politics on campus. There he

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<v Speaker 2>joined the ALP Club, which is a kind of a

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<v Speaker 2>left wing faction. There's a separate club which is called

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<v Speaker 2>the Labor Club, but apparently that's a stronghold of the

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<v Speaker 2>right faction. And by two thousand and three Paul was

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<v Speaker 2>president of the ALP Club. So clearly he learned how

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<v Speaker 2>to organize numbers at a pretty early age.

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<v Speaker 1>And who spotted his talent for campaigning? Here did he

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<v Speaker 1>start working in campaigning and cutting his political teeth in

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<v Speaker 1>the machinery that he's the a LP.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think even when you're a campus politician, the

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<v Speaker 2>people in the actual organizational side of the party are

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<v Speaker 2>still looking pretty closely at who's emerging in these sorts

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<v Speaker 2>of clubs, because that's where they recruit a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>their talent. And so I think Paul Ericson did come

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<v Speaker 2>to the attention of people like Andrew Giles, who's now

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<v Speaker 2>the Minister for Skills and Training. He's one of the

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<v Speaker 2>left factional heavyweights in the Albaneze government. After he graduated,

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<v Speaker 2>Paul was employed by Victorian Labor MB Richard Win and

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<v Speaker 2>that was the beginning of a very long friendship between

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<v Speaker 2>Richard Win and Paul Erickson. Richard was probably one of

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<v Speaker 2>his first real kind of mentors in the party and

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<v Speaker 2>Paul worked for him on and off for about ten years.

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<v Speaker 2>I think another really interesting thing that Richard told me

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<v Speaker 2>was that working together with Paul inner City Melbourne, they

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<v Speaker 2>spent a lot of their time thinking about how can

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<v Speaker 2>the Labor Party fend off this kind of very long

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<v Speaker 2>term challenge that's coming from the Australian Greens. And they

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<v Speaker 2>fought a number of these important but relatively small contests

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<v Speaker 2>inner City Melbourne against the Greens. And that's another thing

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<v Speaker 2>you can see in the election results, especially the seat

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<v Speaker 2>of Melbourne, which I think holds a special place for

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<v Speaker 2>Paul Erickson.

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<v Speaker 1>And was there a moment that alivat onto the national stage.

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<v Speaker 2>Paul Erickson joined the national organizational wing of the Australian

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<v Speaker 2>Labor Party in twenty fourteen as an assistant national secretary

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<v Speaker 2>and he would have been closely involved in the twenty

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<v Speaker 2>sixteen federal election campaign. But then in twenty eighteen, when

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<v Speaker 2>David Feeney stepped down from as the member for Batman

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<v Speaker 2>and Jed Carney was pre selected as the Labor candidate

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<v Speaker 2>in Batman. This is one of these inner city Melbourne electorates.

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<v Speaker 2>Jed asked Paul Erickson to come in and manage that

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<v Speaker 2>campaign and it was a crucial by election for Labor

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<v Speaker 2>to win because they were under such a challenge from

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<v Speaker 2>the Greens. But they did end up prevailing, was quite

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable in the end, and that was a real breakthrough

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<v Speaker 2>moment for Paul Erickson in kind of national politics. And

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<v Speaker 2>he was then picked to kind of really oversee a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of the five by elections that resulted from this

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<v Speaker 2>Section forty four fiasco.

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<v Speaker 4>Since attention focused on the clause, seven MPs have been

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<v Speaker 4>found to be dual citizens. Not all have resigned. Some

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<v Speaker 4>think not knowing another country considered them citizens, that the

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<v Speaker 4>clause shouldn't apply.

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<v Speaker 2>Where so many MPs were found to have dual's citizenship

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<v Speaker 2>and had to step down, so there was five by

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<v Speaker 2>elections on the one day. It's kind of now known

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<v Speaker 2>as Super Saturday, and I think Paul Erickson was sent

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<v Speaker 2>down to Brandon in Tasmania to manage that seed in particular,

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<v Speaker 2>and again Labor it was able to prevail there and

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<v Speaker 2>so that was I guess another moment that confirmed that

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<v Speaker 2>Paul Erickson was playing at the national level and winning.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up after the break, what will Paul Erickson do next? So, Jason,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about Paul Erickson's involvement in the most recent election.

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<v Speaker 1>What first struck you about the y ericson ran the campaign?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, it was a very disciplined campaign from the moment

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<v Speaker 2>after the twenty twenty four budget was handed down in

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<v Speaker 2>May last year. That's when the Labor campaign proper really began.

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<v Speaker 2>And I guess another sign of just how committed Paul

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<v Speaker 2>Erickson is to this role is that his campaign routine

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<v Speaker 2>saw him getting up at about four am every day.

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<v Speaker 2>He'd spend the first two hours of the morning going

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<v Speaker 2>through the media, the national media, local media, trying to

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<v Speaker 2>work out what messages are running hot that day. By

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<v Speaker 2>six point fifteen he be on the phone to the

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<v Speaker 2>Prime Minister to brief him and then by eight am

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<v Speaker 2>he's on a zoom call or on the having a

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<v Speaker 2>meeting with the other kind of senior campaign officials at

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<v Speaker 2>campaign headquarters in Sydney, and by eight am pretty much

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<v Speaker 2>the entire message for that day was lockdown and ready

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<v Speaker 2>to go.

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<v Speaker 1>So beyond his discipline and his energy, what strategy did

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<v Speaker 1>Erickson bring to the campaign.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think if you look back to the aston

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<v Speaker 2>by election or the Dunkley by election, you could see

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<v Speaker 2>that the Labor Party tried a campaign that in both

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<v Speaker 2>seats that was very much focused on Peter Dutton and

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<v Speaker 2>Peter Dutton's record as Health Minister, and I think they

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<v Speaker 2>were trial runs for the election campaign because the Aston

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<v Speaker 2>by election, the Labour Party was not expected to win

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<v Speaker 2>that it had been a Liberal seat for about thirty

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<v Speaker 2>years and no one really gave them much of a chance,

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<v Speaker 2>but they triumphed there. And then in Dunkley, which is

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<v Speaker 2>an out of suburban Melbourne seat, again commentators expected that

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<v Speaker 2>Peter Dutton's pitch to out of suburban voters would be effective,

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<v Speaker 2>but again they failed and the Labor campaign, which focused

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<v Speaker 2>on Dutton and Dutton's record, showed that voters didn't really

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<v Speaker 2>trust Dutton, that don't like Peter Dutt, and that's the

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<v Speaker 2>angle that they pursued in this election campaign. They hammered

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<v Speaker 2>Peter Dutton's record, and I think it was decisive.

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<v Speaker 1>So if he's a telling a guy like with a

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<v Speaker 1>high RQ and a high EQ, why hasn't he ever

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<v Speaker 1>run for office himself?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Wayne Swann said that he'd be more than welcome

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<v Speaker 2>to enter federal Parliament if that's what he wanted to do,

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<v Speaker 2>or if he wanted to go into some other area

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<v Speaker 2>of government service. But Richard Wynn said to me that

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<v Speaker 2>in all the years that he's known Paul, he's never

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<v Speaker 2>seen in Paull the desire to get into federal parliament

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<v Speaker 2>or state parliament. And another person said to me that

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<v Speaker 2>one thing that characterized Paul's career so far is a

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<v Speaker 2>complete lack of interest in going into the private sector

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<v Speaker 2>to really sort of make a lot of money. But

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<v Speaker 2>I think a lot of labor MPs are hoping that

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<v Speaker 2>he'll stay exactly where he is and go for a

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<v Speaker 2>run a third election campaign. But given how exhausting this

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<v Speaker 2>role is, I wonder whether he'll have the fire in

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<v Speaker 2>the belly.

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<v Speaker 1>To do that. The world is his oyster. Thank you

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<v Speaker 1>so much for speaking with us again. Jason Daniel, It's

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<v Speaker 1>an absolute pleasure. Also in the news today, Larissa Waters

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<v Speaker 1>is the new leader of the Australian Greens. Marien Ferruki

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<v Speaker 1>will be her deputy. Sarah Hansy Young, who had been

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<v Speaker 1>touted as a possible leader, will remain as the Green's

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<v Speaker 1>Manager of Business. Senator Waters has been a deputy under

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<v Speaker 1>two leaders and has held several portfolios, including the environment,

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<v Speaker 1>mining and women. In a first press conference after taking

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<v Speaker 1>the leadership uncontested, the Queensland has says she plans to

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<v Speaker 1>get shit done and Anthony Alberanezi says there is no

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<v Speaker 1>relationship more important to Australia than our relationship with Indonesia.

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<v Speaker 1>The Prime Minister's visit to Jakarta is his first international

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<v Speaker 1>trip since winning re election. He described Indonesia as an

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<v Speaker 1>indispensable partner and used a visit to discuss defense cooperation

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<v Speaker 1>and global trade with his counterpart, President Baboo. Subianto seven

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<v Speaker 1>Am is a daily show from Schwartz Media and The

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday Paper. It's made by Atticus Batstow, Shane Anderson, Chris Danegate,

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<v Speaker 1>Eric Jensen, Ruby Jones, Sarah mcveee, Travis Evans, Zoltenfecho and

0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:31.440
<v Speaker 1>me Daniel James. Our theme music is by Ned Beckley

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<v Speaker 1>and Josh Hogan of Envelope Budio. Seven am will be

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<v Speaker 1>back on Monday. Have a great weekend.