WEBVTT - Peter Dutton, Opposition Leader: The Interview 0:00:10.365 --> 0:00:13.085 You're listening to a Mother and Mia podcast. 0:00:13.885 --> 0:00:16.845 Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters 0:00:16.885 --> 0:00:18.485 that this podcast is recorded on. 0:00:18.765 --> 0:00:22.085 People can judge Anthony Alberanezi or they can judge me. 0:00:23.085 --> 0:00:25.645 I can only talk from my perspective. I believe that 0:00:25.645 --> 0:00:27.725 I'm the same person I was when I came into politics. 0:00:27.765 --> 0:00:30.365 I mean, hopefully I'll mature in a number of ways 0:00:30.365 --> 0:00:35.045 and different perspectives, etc. But my base being got the 0:00:35.085 --> 0:00:39.645 same friends from school. I've always been conscious of keeping 0:00:39.645 --> 0:00:40.965 your feet on the ground. 0:00:48.445 --> 0:00:49.445 For Mama Mia. 0:00:49.565 --> 0:00:52.845 You're listening to a special episode of No Filter. I'm 0:00:52.885 --> 0:00:56.765 your host, kateline Brook. Australian women have a very big 0:00:56.885 --> 0:01:00.445 choice to make in the coming weeks. The women of 0:01:00.485 --> 0:01:04.645 Australia will be voting for the next Prime Minister at 0:01:04.685 --> 0:01:10.325 a time when the world feels unpredictable, where so many 0:01:10.325 --> 0:01:13.125 people are worried about their futures and the futures of 0:01:13.165 --> 0:01:16.725 their children. Because our mission here at Mamma Maya is 0:01:16.765 --> 0:01:19.205 to make the world a better place for women and girls, 0:01:20.325 --> 0:01:25.205 We've invited both Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi and the Opposition 0:01:25.285 --> 0:01:27.845 leader Peter Dutton onto No Filter to. 0:01:27.885 --> 0:01:29.645 Speak directly to you. 0:01:30.725 --> 0:01:33.965 And because this is No Filter, the conversation you're about 0:01:34.005 --> 0:01:38.965 to hear isn't only about politics and policy positions, but 0:01:39.085 --> 0:01:42.605 it's also about the man behind the politics, the person 0:01:42.685 --> 0:01:47.965 who's asking for us to put our trust in them. 0:01:48.285 --> 0:01:52.445 Here's my conversation with the leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton. 0:01:54.045 --> 0:01:58.125 Peter Dutton, Peter Craig Dutton, welcome. 0:01:57.805 --> 0:01:59.725 To No Filter. It's great to be here. Thank you. 0:02:00.165 --> 0:02:01.245 I am so. 0:02:03.285 --> 0:02:07.445 Intrigued by you because you are a contender for the 0:02:07.525 --> 0:02:08.725 highest job in the land. 0:02:10.365 --> 0:02:11.805 Is it aside from governor general? 0:02:11.845 --> 0:02:13.085 Is that side from governor general? 0:02:13.285 --> 0:02:17.165 Aside from governor general? And yet you travel amongst us 0:02:18.125 --> 0:02:24.005 as almost like a mythical beast because you are a 0:02:24.005 --> 0:02:26.045 man with no nickname. 0:02:26.645 --> 0:02:30.805 I get to DUTs. That's that's sort of the main 0:02:30.845 --> 0:02:34.405 thing PC. From my schoolmates from high school. 0:02:35.245 --> 0:02:39.285 Uh, what do you get Peter Craig? 0:02:39.445 --> 0:02:43.245 All right, okay, because then you were a police constable, 0:02:43.405 --> 0:02:48.405 you were yeah, right, Because you're very intriguing in the 0:02:48.405 --> 0:02:52.165 sense that if you look at the political landscape, which 0:02:52.205 --> 0:02:54.565 most of us don't get to do with kind of 0:02:55.125 --> 0:03:00.885 any you know, microscopic detail. I know the shape of 0:03:01.765 --> 0:03:05.685 Albanesi who's the Prime Minister. But I do not know 0:03:05.885 --> 0:03:09.765 the shape of you. And when I speak to are 0:03:09.765 --> 0:03:16.045 the friends. It's a very common kind of relationship that 0:03:16.085 --> 0:03:19.485 people have with you. Why do you think that is? 0:03:20.845 --> 0:03:24.805 I think it's true of most contenders for this office 0:03:24.885 --> 0:03:29.405 because the public just don't have a day to day 0:03:29.965 --> 0:03:33.565 interest in politics. It's just it's part of our culture. 0:03:33.565 --> 0:03:35.765 And when people see it on TV, they flip the channel, 0:03:35.845 --> 0:03:38.925 or they're annoyed by the discussion, or ones as bad 0:03:38.965 --> 0:03:42.125 as the other, or it's a boring conversation, not relevant 0:03:42.165 --> 0:03:45.365 to me. And it's not until people start to sharpen 0:03:45.365 --> 0:03:48.165 their focus and think about in some cases not until 0:03:48.205 --> 0:03:51.045 the dying hours of a campaign about who they're going. 0:03:50.965 --> 0:03:51.485 To vote for. 0:03:51.605 --> 0:03:58.365 So and if you're a reality TV star, as is 0:03:58.405 --> 0:04:00.325 the case in the US, then I guess you're a 0:04:00.365 --> 0:04:01.125 household name. 0:04:01.165 --> 0:04:04.645 But here I don't think that's generally the case. 0:04:05.005 --> 0:04:09.125 I ask because you know, there's the perception of you 0:04:09.405 --> 0:04:14.765 as being like a formidable kind of like a darkish 0:04:14.805 --> 0:04:16.325 sort of figure. 0:04:15.685 --> 0:04:15.845 Yes. 0:04:17.645 --> 0:04:20.965 And this amazing thing happened to me last week when 0:04:20.965 --> 0:04:24.605 I was at the Kylie concert right in Melbourne, and 0:04:24.645 --> 0:04:27.685 this guy came up to me and he said, I 0:04:27.725 --> 0:04:30.045 won't say his name, but you'll be able to work 0:04:30.085 --> 0:04:32.365 out who it is or anyway. And he ended up 0:04:32.405 --> 0:04:34.525 saying to me he was there with his partner and 0:04:34.565 --> 0:04:37.765 he said, I'm a politician and I said, oh, that's interesting. 0:04:37.765 --> 0:04:40.245 My brother's a politician. He goes, I know your brother. 0:04:40.405 --> 0:04:47.605 My brother's in the Liberal Party in Queensland. And I 0:04:47.725 --> 0:04:51.925 told him that I was interviewing you, and he said, well, 0:04:52.005 --> 0:04:56.525 I don't sit on that side of the aisle, but 0:04:56.645 --> 0:04:58.165 you're going to love Peter Darton. 0:04:59.125 --> 0:05:01.485 And I was like, that was going very bad. 0:05:01.885 --> 0:05:04.685 Second, how bizarre, because I'm like, mate, you are high 0:05:04.685 --> 0:05:05.405 on Kylie. 0:05:06.205 --> 0:05:07.085 What's going to happen? 0:05:07.445 --> 0:05:10.005 And then his partner said to me, you said, I'm 0:05:10.045 --> 0:05:12.485 so left, I'm nearly not even on the same page. 0:05:13.445 --> 0:05:16.805 But if I was lost, Peter Dutton is the man 0:05:16.845 --> 0:05:18.205 that I would want looking for me. 0:05:18.965 --> 0:05:19.685 That's very kind. 0:05:20.205 --> 0:05:25.205 Now. That was extraordinary to me only because it was 0:05:25.325 --> 0:05:30.365 so at odds with what the. 0:05:28.925 --> 0:05:30.925 I'm going to say, the public perception of no I. 0:05:30.925 --> 0:05:32.445 Think it's a fair point, and I think you get 0:05:32.485 --> 0:05:36.605 painted in a particular way, and sometimes you can be 0:05:36.645 --> 0:05:37.605 your own worst enemy. 0:05:37.645 --> 0:05:41.645 And I've had roles which are pretty tough roles. 0:05:41.365 --> 0:05:47.765 And that shapes how people perceive you. And in a 0:05:47.845 --> 0:05:50.045 six second grab on the TV of a nighttime where 0:05:50.085 --> 0:05:53.965 you're trying to deliver a blow to your political opponent, 0:05:55.085 --> 0:05:57.365 that's different than if you're doing a long form interview 0:05:57.445 --> 0:06:01.205 or you're doing a breakfast TV segment and you're able 0:06:01.205 --> 0:06:05.045 to joke and show the true side. And I've also 0:06:05.125 --> 0:06:08.085 been a very private person. I sort of sound strange, 0:06:08.125 --> 0:06:12.445 but I don't enjoy talking about my childhood and my 0:06:12.605 --> 0:06:15.205 family and the rest of it. It's a given, it's 0:06:15.205 --> 0:06:18.445 a must because of this job. You're in the public eye, 0:06:18.445 --> 0:06:20.805 so you have no choice. But maybe because of that, 0:06:21.005 --> 0:06:24.365 I haven't sort of opened up enough over the years 0:06:24.405 --> 0:06:28.885 about you know, my background, who I am, what has 0:06:28.965 --> 0:06:31.805 influenced me. And more of that story has come out 0:06:31.845 --> 0:06:34.845 over the last couple of years, and it's amazing how 0:06:34.845 --> 0:06:37.765 many people have that exact conversation. They stop you at 0:06:37.765 --> 0:06:40.205 an airport or a shopping center and say, you know, 0:06:40.245 --> 0:06:41.845 I saw you on this or heard you on that, 0:06:42.125 --> 0:06:44.245 and just completely different than I. 0:06:44.205 --> 0:06:44.965 Thought you were. 0:06:45.165 --> 0:06:48.685 And so's it's funny how people can tell it. So 0:06:48.805 --> 0:06:51.605 I remember in twenty eighteen when we had a leadership 0:06:51.685 --> 0:06:55.045 change and Malcolm left the Prime ministership. I remember thinking 0:06:55.085 --> 0:06:57.765 at that stage, if I leave politics now, I'm sort 0:06:57.805 --> 0:07:02.525 of disappointed because people won't ever truly know who I am. 0:07:02.645 --> 0:07:04.205 And that's sort. 0:07:04.005 --> 0:07:07.165 Of ad You had the sense of that then. 0:07:07.125 --> 0:07:11.725 Yes, yeah, yeah, and I thought, you know, people, I'll 0:07:11.765 --> 0:07:13.765 be recorded in history sort of this dark figure, as 0:07:13.765 --> 0:07:16.645 you say, and that's actually not who I am. And 0:07:16.805 --> 0:07:19.125 fortunately since that time, people have been able to see, 0:07:19.685 --> 0:07:23.005 you know, more of me, more of my views, my 0:07:23.085 --> 0:07:26.365 background and all of that. So yeah, it's been an 0:07:26.405 --> 0:07:27.285 interesting transition. 0:07:27.525 --> 0:07:31.285 Well, the background that you don't like talking about eldest 0:07:31.285 --> 0:07:33.085 of five kids, eldest. 0:07:32.725 --> 0:07:36.005 Of five, least favorite, the youngest. 0:07:36.085 --> 0:07:39.245 Right, I have four children, and in our family, the 0:07:39.325 --> 0:07:42.725 kids will believe the youngest is my favorite, but the 0:07:42.765 --> 0:07:47.925 eldest often has responsibility heaped upon them. What was your family? 0:07:48.285 --> 0:07:51.845 Curely has this great theory about your wi my wife 0:07:51.965 --> 0:07:55.885 about birth order and where you are sort of you know, 0:07:56.485 --> 0:07:57.805 determines who you are. 0:07:57.805 --> 0:08:01.165 Et cetera. So but anyway, that aside, so what does 0:08:01.245 --> 0:08:01.525 hang on? 0:08:01.645 --> 0:08:04.685 What does she say in part. 0:08:04.645 --> 0:08:09.005 That the firstborn. 0:08:10.565 --> 0:08:12.485 Believe that they can rule the world or something like. 0:08:12.445 --> 0:08:15.845 That, and the real and this and this. I should 0:08:15.845 --> 0:08:20.045 listen more intently actually to what she's telling me. But 0:08:20.045 --> 0:08:22.925 but it's it's it basically talks about the you know, 0:08:22.965 --> 0:08:26.485 the role of the youngest and uh and and and 0:08:26.485 --> 0:08:28.685 that was I suppose in terms of my experience that 0:08:29.085 --> 0:08:32.085 it was ten years between me and my youngest sister. 0:08:32.445 --> 0:08:36.845 So and I, you know, I grew up in a 0:08:36.885 --> 0:08:40.125 family of five and with dad working with mum. 0:08:40.565 --> 0:08:43.005 But what did your dad? Was your dad a building. 0:08:43.205 --> 0:08:46.525 Bricklayer and then was a bright and yeah, work worked 0:08:46.565 --> 0:08:50.165 really hard, set a good example. And mum was originally 0:08:50.205 --> 0:08:54.165 a secretary and then took in kids, so did daycare, 0:08:54.245 --> 0:08:57.645 family daycare morning and afternoon, before and after school before 0:08:57.965 --> 0:09:00.405 you know, that was a thing. And then she went 0:09:00.445 --> 0:09:03.885 into child care. And so that that meant, you know, 0:09:04.005 --> 0:09:07.165 that home, we were all expected to, you know, by 0:09:07.165 --> 0:09:09.805 the clean up the dishes, clear the plates or so 0:09:09.845 --> 0:09:12.765 it was a discipline to do the folding or whatever 0:09:12.765 --> 0:09:15.645 it was or in my case, you know, and I 0:09:15.685 --> 0:09:18.085 finally remember it. I probably griped about it at the time, 0:09:18.085 --> 0:09:20.845 but you're changing nappies and feeding you know, the baby 0:09:20.845 --> 0:09:23.765 who's ten years younger, they're you, et cetera. And you know, 0:09:24.285 --> 0:09:29.245 lugging her around on your hip. So that was that 0:09:29.365 --> 0:09:32.485 was my experience. And I've got an amazing siblings, so very 0:09:32.485 --> 0:09:32.805 proud of. 0:09:32.845 --> 0:09:37.045 Them, you know. It's and then you became a copper, yes, 0:09:37.285 --> 0:09:39.445 and you became a copper when you were quite young. 0:09:39.325 --> 0:09:40.165 When I was about nineteen. 0:09:40.245 --> 0:09:43.125 Yeah, And how did that idea occur to you? 0:09:43.205 --> 0:09:45.525 Well, there's a great photo I think when I was 0:09:45.525 --> 0:09:51.365 at kindy and fully dressed in the police uniform with a. 0:09:50.245 --> 0:09:51.045 Gun on the side. 0:09:51.085 --> 0:09:53.405 And so I think I'd always had an interest or 0:09:53.405 --> 0:09:58.245 a fascination at a young age. But Mum convinced me 0:09:58.325 --> 0:10:01.325 rightly that I should go to UNI. No one had 0:10:01.325 --> 0:10:04.285 been to UNI in the family. And I did that 0:10:04.325 --> 0:10:07.925 for about for two years, and then I deferred and 0:10:08.125 --> 0:10:10.125 I came back and finished at part time as a 0:10:10.245 --> 0:10:11.405 Bachelor of Business degree. 0:10:11.445 --> 0:10:13.765 But I'd always wanted to go into the police. 0:10:13.925 --> 0:10:17.165 I never sort of thought of myself as sitting in 0:10:17.245 --> 0:10:20.605 an office nine to five, and I liked the idea 0:10:21.765 --> 0:10:24.085 of policing and that it was fast moving. You didn't 0:10:24.125 --> 0:10:27.045 know what the next radio corp would be, didn't know 0:10:27.085 --> 0:10:28.845 what was on the other side of that door, and 0:10:28.965 --> 0:10:34.525 so I felt that that was for me. 0:10:38.445 --> 0:10:41.285 There's more to my conversation with Peter Dutton coming up. 0:10:41.565 --> 0:10:44.205 He tells me about what he saw as a police 0:10:44.205 --> 0:10:48.085 officer that has shaped his politics and what he can 0:10:48.125 --> 0:10:48.725 do about. 0:10:48.485 --> 0:10:50.765 The housing market. Do I go anywhere? 0:10:54.365 --> 0:10:56.765 I read this thing once that if you look at 0:10:56.805 --> 0:11:02.085 the sort of socioeconomic background of cops, it often resembles criminals. 0:11:02.805 --> 0:11:06.805 So it's really that they come from very similar backgrounds 0:11:06.805 --> 0:11:10.805 on the segment, they've just chosen diametric opposed paths. 0:11:11.365 --> 0:11:16.605 When you're a cop, what did you learn from it 0:11:16.925 --> 0:11:18.725 that you've brought with you? Now? 0:11:19.725 --> 0:11:26.605 I led a very happy childhood growing up, so I'd 0:11:26.645 --> 0:11:30.805 never experienced drug use or I'd never seen domestic violence. 0:11:31.605 --> 0:11:36.245 That that wasn't you know, our environment. So I grew 0:11:36.325 --> 0:11:40.285 up I think naively, and you know, my eyes were 0:11:40.965 --> 0:11:48.045 like sources and first shift and seeing you know, some 0:11:48.085 --> 0:11:50.965 of the horrific things that you see, delivering death messages, 0:11:51.005 --> 0:11:53.925 the domestic violence, the motor. 0:11:53.725 --> 0:11:56.565 Vehicle accents, the kids, all of that. 0:11:56.805 --> 0:12:00.005 I think, I think you just grow up overnight and 0:12:00.805 --> 0:12:03.725 as a nineteen twenty year old being exposed to all 0:12:03.765 --> 0:12:08.525 of that, and I'd also, yeah, I'd wanted to stay 0:12:08.525 --> 0:12:11.005 in Brisbane, had a friend in Brisbane, but when I 0:12:11.045 --> 0:12:13.525 graduated from the academy, I got posted to towns Or, 0:12:13.565 --> 0:12:16.525 which is sort of traumatic at the time but fantastic 0:12:16.565 --> 0:12:17.885 because it made me. 0:12:17.845 --> 0:12:23.125 Grow up being away from home and yeah, it's confronting. 0:12:23.165 --> 0:12:27.085 So I think you still you carry that experience, those 0:12:27.125 --> 0:12:31.005 images with you and it's part of the reason that 0:12:31.125 --> 0:12:35.405 I really concentrated, particularly in the Immigration and Home Affairs portfolios, 0:12:35.445 --> 0:12:39.845 on protecting women and children, and that was important to me. 0:12:39.885 --> 0:12:42.525 When I first came into Parliament, I was really passionate 0:12:42.525 --> 0:12:45.885 about a case where a young baby had been abducted 0:12:46.085 --> 0:12:48.925 in Queensland and it's sort of quite a famous case, 0:12:49.605 --> 0:12:52.925 Didrew Kennedy abduction, And I'd worked with Fay, her mother, 0:12:53.405 --> 0:12:55.605 and there was a great, great injustice in that family, 0:12:55.645 --> 0:12:58.725 and I'd worked on that job just very briefly as 0:12:58.765 --> 0:13:04.165 a surveillance officer, and I was very passionate about that 0:13:04.605 --> 0:13:07.085 and changing that law and ended up getting the law 0:13:07.165 --> 0:13:10.845 modernized in relation to DNA technology. And I think it's 0:13:10.845 --> 0:13:14.085 probably in part what caught John Howard's eye early on, 0:13:14.125 --> 0:13:16.765 because I was fortunate enough to be promoted into the 0:13:16.765 --> 0:13:21.325 ministry after just one term and still quite young and 0:13:21.365 --> 0:13:25.485 still yeah, I was thirty three, I guess something like that. 0:13:25.605 --> 0:13:29.525 And so yeah, I mean I've always felt passionate about that. 0:13:29.605 --> 0:13:33.125 I just I believe with kids, and young girls in particular, 0:13:33.165 --> 0:13:38.205 that robbing that innocence of their childhood and not allowing 0:13:38.205 --> 0:13:44.645 them to, you know, to enjoy their childhood their development. 0:13:45.605 --> 0:13:48.565 I just I always found that very horrific really, and 0:13:49.005 --> 0:13:52.525 similarly for women going into it. I remember going into 0:13:52.565 --> 0:13:57.965 countless domestic violence scenes and you know, blood everywhere, kids 0:13:58.165 --> 0:14:04.005 clinging onto mom's legs or even dad's legs. All of 0:14:04.045 --> 0:14:05.725 that is you know, I mean, you can't help but 0:14:05.725 --> 0:14:08.005 be affected by that. And that's not something that I 0:14:08.045 --> 0:14:08.885 grew up with. 0:14:08.965 --> 0:14:11.845 And I just thought for. 0:14:13.485 --> 0:14:16.885 A woman in particular, not feeling safe in that home 0:14:17.005 --> 0:14:20.725 environment that had been the refuge for me and my 0:14:20.885 --> 0:14:25.005 safe space growing up. If you don't feel safe there 0:14:24.765 --> 0:14:27.805 where could you feel safe? And And so yeah, I 0:14:27.805 --> 0:14:31.165 mean that's that's been a lifetime passion of mine and 0:14:31.765 --> 0:14:36.485 it's one of the areas if I am fortunate enough 0:14:36.485 --> 0:14:38.525 to become Prime Minister that I really want to concentrate 0:14:38.565 --> 0:14:38.725 on it. 0:14:38.765 --> 0:14:42.325 I just don't think we do well enough in our country. 0:14:42.165 --> 0:14:45.885 Do you. So a lot of these issues that lead 0:14:45.925 --> 0:14:51.965 to domestic violence, for instance, become systemic, so you know, poverty, 0:14:52.165 --> 0:14:56.365 or a whole lot of you know, drug abuse, et cetera. 0:14:57.685 --> 0:15:03.405 How there's a there's a reliance on the government to 0:15:04.405 --> 0:15:09.845 correct faults that lie at a at a for merely level, 0:15:09.965 --> 0:15:14.165 or at a relationship level. And yet the Liberal Party 0:15:14.285 --> 0:15:17.925 is not generally the party that people think of that 0:15:18.005 --> 0:15:19.605 are compassionate in that area. 0:15:19.845 --> 0:15:23.125 Well, it's funny. I think that's probably a fair conclusion. 0:15:23.205 --> 0:15:26.445 But when you look at what we did when we 0:15:26.445 --> 0:15:30.805 were in government, the programs that we funded, particularly over COVID, 0:15:30.845 --> 0:15:34.045 where we were really concerned about people being stuck at 0:15:34.045 --> 0:15:39.285 home together in relationships that probably work because both parties 0:15:39.285 --> 0:15:43.965 are working for long hours and not spending every working 0:15:44.005 --> 0:15:47.005 hour together. And so we put a lot into that, 0:15:47.925 --> 0:15:52.405 into programs that into NGOs and provided support around housing, 0:15:52.845 --> 0:15:59.005 around support for women in those situations. So, yeah, I 0:15:59.085 --> 0:16:05.845 made a particular focus on canceling visas when I had 0:16:05.845 --> 0:16:12.165 that responsibility of people who are perpetrated domestic violence, pedophiles, 0:16:12.325 --> 0:16:15.685 people who had sexually assaulted women and children, you know, 0:16:15.765 --> 0:16:20.845 drug dealers and others, and I remember each of those 0:16:20.885 --> 0:16:23.365 cases as you're looking at it, there are six or 0:16:23.405 --> 0:16:28.165 eight victims before you're dealing with the case, and you think, 0:16:28.565 --> 0:16:32.405 if this decision had been made earlier, you know, those 0:16:32.485 --> 0:16:36.125 Australian citizens wouldn't have fallen prey to that pedophile or 0:16:36.125 --> 0:16:40.405 that individual. And there's a sense of satisfaction in doing that, 0:16:40.405 --> 0:16:42.845 even though it's a tough decision to make to deport 0:16:42.925 --> 0:16:46.205 someone from the country, but particularly when they've got their 0:16:46.205 --> 0:16:48.565 own family. But you also do it with the knowledge 0:16:48.565 --> 0:16:50.565 that they're not going on to offend against the next 0:16:51.005 --> 0:16:54.165 girl and against the next woman, et cetera, et cetera. 0:16:54.325 --> 0:16:56.485 So when you look at that, and. 0:16:58.045 --> 0:16:59.845 I think it's hard then to reconcile that we're not 0:17:00.445 --> 0:17:04.005 compassionate or that we don't have a focus as members 0:17:04.005 --> 0:17:07.085 of the Liberal Party on protecting women or putting in 0:17:07.085 --> 0:17:09.085 place better arrangements. 0:17:09.845 --> 0:17:15.965 Because you have a very beautiful family. You have a 0:17:16.005 --> 0:17:20.485 modern family in the sense that it's well documented that 0:17:20.605 --> 0:17:24.285 your daughter has it yet that Rebecca has a different mum, 0:17:24.685 --> 0:17:26.685 but Kiralyi has been a mum to her. You've got 0:17:26.685 --> 0:17:34.645 two sons. Also, you've done extremely well in business. Your 0:17:34.645 --> 0:17:38.765 wife has also done well in business. When you come 0:17:38.965 --> 0:17:45.805 from a position of being extremely comfortable how do you 0:17:46.285 --> 0:17:51.285 still read the rest of the country. Because politicians love 0:17:51.365 --> 0:17:55.485 to say Australians are doing it tough without an acknowledgment 0:17:55.525 --> 0:17:58.045 that the reason that we may be doing it tough 0:17:58.125 --> 0:18:00.005 is because of things that you have done. 0:18:00.765 --> 0:18:01.485 That's a fair point. 0:18:02.325 --> 0:18:06.885 Look, people can judge, you know, Anthony Alberanezi, or they 0:18:06.885 --> 0:18:10.045 can judge me. I can only talk from my perspective. 0:18:11.605 --> 0:18:13.445 I believe that I'm the same person I was when 0:18:13.445 --> 0:18:15.365 I came into politics. I mean, hopefully I'll mature it 0:18:15.365 --> 0:18:18.605 in a number of ways and different perspectives, et cetera. 0:18:18.725 --> 0:18:25.765 But my base, you know, being my I've got the 0:18:25.805 --> 0:18:30.365 same friends from school. I've always been conscious of keeping 0:18:30.365 --> 0:18:32.725 your feet on the ground and and you know, I've 0:18:32.725 --> 0:18:37.765 never forgotten growing up in a bigger family or in 0:18:37.805 --> 0:18:40.725 an environment where you know, there were arguments about money 0:18:41.165 --> 0:18:43.645 and there wasn't enough money to pay the bills. And 0:18:43.885 --> 0:18:46.445 Dad was a builder, as I say, worked his guts out, 0:18:46.485 --> 0:18:48.725 but he could price ten jobs. 0:18:48.405 --> 0:18:49.005 And get none. 0:18:49.325 --> 0:18:52.405 And you know, when the economy turned, he could price 0:18:52.485 --> 0:18:57.005 ten and get ten. And you know, I mean I 0:18:57.045 --> 0:19:01.085 went to work part time after school every day because 0:19:01.605 --> 0:19:06.525 I had always, from a young age, wanted to you know, 0:19:06.605 --> 0:19:12.485 be financially successful and and so I've never forgotten those 0:19:12.645 --> 0:19:16.445 routes that I never will and I think that's demonstrated 0:19:16.445 --> 0:19:18.965 in a number of the decisions that I've made and 0:19:18.965 --> 0:19:22.565 different portfolios. And I would want to bring that to 0:19:22.845 --> 0:19:24.245 the office of Prime Minister as well. 0:19:24.445 --> 0:19:30.765 Okay, my slight issue with that is that the times 0:19:30.805 --> 0:19:34.525 are so different now, and the times are different now 0:19:34.565 --> 0:19:39.125 because of policies that governments have implemented over the years. 0:19:39.805 --> 0:19:43.565 For instance, you could buy a house when you were nineteen, correct, 0:19:43.765 --> 0:19:47.965 whereas many Australians now will never be able to buy 0:19:48.005 --> 0:19:54.125 a house. So the times are different. You can't work 0:19:54.205 --> 0:19:57.885 your way, you know. And I have much respect for 0:19:57.965 --> 0:20:00.205 your work ethic, by the way, and I don't think 0:20:00.285 --> 0:20:04.045 work probably gets the respect that it deserves and the 0:20:04.125 --> 0:20:06.645 role that it plays in people's lives. 0:20:06.885 --> 0:20:08.365 But what so. 0:20:09.885 --> 0:20:14.485 My question is really on a policy level. It seems 0:20:14.525 --> 0:20:17.405 to me, and you alluded to this earlier, that people 0:20:17.405 --> 0:20:19.605 don't see a difference between the parties, and in fact 0:20:19.965 --> 0:20:23.205 UNI party seems to be a prevalent sort of thing. 0:20:24.285 --> 0:20:29.965 Government loves big Australia, but most Australians don't love big Australia. 0:20:30.645 --> 0:20:33.365 But Governments love big Australia because it means, you know, 0:20:33.685 --> 0:20:38.325 more taxes and more growth, and banks love big Australia 0:20:38.365 --> 0:20:41.125 and building companies love big Australia. 0:20:41.925 --> 0:20:44.085 How do you reconcile. 0:20:44.885 --> 0:20:50.325 That inclination towards satisfying the business end of town versus 0:20:50.365 --> 0:20:51.765 what Australians want. 0:20:52.805 --> 0:20:55.845 Well, it's a huge issue because a couple of points. One. 0:20:55.965 --> 0:20:58.725 I don't think we plan well enough in this country 0:20:58.725 --> 0:21:03.005 for migration movements, and we've got a natural instinct to 0:21:03.005 --> 0:21:07.685 want to live closer to the coast, and the government's 0:21:07.725 --> 0:21:10.965 bringing in in their migration program about a population in 0:21:10.965 --> 0:21:13.245 the same size as Adelaide over the course of a 0:21:13.285 --> 0:21:15.725 five year period, which is a lot of people. When 0:21:15.765 --> 0:21:17.605 you stop and think about that, we're not building the 0:21:17.645 --> 0:21:20.485 extra hospitals and the extra capacity at. 0:21:21.885 --> 0:21:26.645 Schools and in GP clinics, et cetera. 0:21:27.645 --> 0:21:30.965 So I think we do plan really poorly in this 0:21:31.005 --> 0:21:34.045 country and it's part of the reason why this perfect 0:21:34.085 --> 0:21:39.325 storm has percolated. Because we've got Australians who are lining 0:21:39.405 --> 0:21:42.045 up to rent a property, paying tweeks or for rent. 0:21:42.045 --> 0:21:45.325 They can't get a front of their own head. Young 0:21:45.365 --> 0:21:48.245 people are lining up at auctions and expected to pay 0:21:48.245 --> 0:21:51.045 five hundred thousand dollars over the reserve price to get 0:21:51.125 --> 0:21:56.045 a basic house. And so you know, I get that. 0:21:56.125 --> 0:21:59.365 And the reason that I'm passionate about making sure that 0:21:59.405 --> 0:22:02.405 we allow people to realize that dream of home ownership 0:22:02.405 --> 0:22:04.725 again is that I just think with a house, you've 0:22:04.765 --> 0:22:08.965 got or you're a unit, but with accommodation, you've got stability. 0:22:09.605 --> 0:22:11.725 I think it's good for a relationship. I think it's 0:22:11.765 --> 0:22:16.845 good stability when you have when kids come along, you 0:22:16.965 --> 0:22:18.365 get if you can get to the point where you've 0:22:18.365 --> 0:22:21.325 paid the houself by retirement, you can enjoy the hard 0:22:21.325 --> 0:22:25.045 work that you've spoken about, enjoy your life because of 0:22:25.085 --> 0:22:26.245 the hard work you've spoken about. 0:22:26.285 --> 0:22:27.805 I think you've then. 0:22:27.725 --> 0:22:29.845 Got an asset that's grown in value to give to 0:22:29.885 --> 0:22:31.845 your kids or your grandkids and set them up right. 0:22:31.925 --> 0:22:34.325 So so housing that's why it's such a. 0:22:34.285 --> 0:22:37.845 Love lulture that you think you need to tell me 0:22:37.925 --> 0:22:38.645 how great did you do? 0:22:40.045 --> 0:22:42.005 But I think I think it's important because I think 0:22:42.045 --> 0:22:44.005 a lot of people when you look at and the 0:22:44.125 --> 0:22:45.845 sort of a long way of answering your question about 0:22:45.845 --> 0:22:49.525 there's different views. We've got an amazing migrant population in 0:22:49.565 --> 0:22:51.925 our country. When you speak to many people from different 0:22:51.925 --> 0:22:55.645 migrant communities. They say, please, could we bring our parents 0:22:55.805 --> 0:23:01.325 or you know, the remaining three sisters or brothers from 0:23:01.365 --> 0:23:04.205 our from our family. And so they want a bigger 0:23:04.205 --> 0:23:08.045 migration program, and business, as you say, wants to bring 0:23:08.085 --> 0:23:10.845 more people in because they think they can't get the 0:23:10.845 --> 0:23:15.205 workforce without that migrant workforce. So we've got to make 0:23:15.245 --> 0:23:17.965 sure there's supply of housing. We've got to take care 0:23:18.005 --> 0:23:22.005 of Australians first, including people who have just become Australian citizens, 0:23:22.685 --> 0:23:25.245 and make sure they don't lose the dream of home ownership. 0:23:25.325 --> 0:23:29.125 And we've got an aging population like what most Western democracies, 0:23:29.165 --> 0:23:33.645 so or communities and economies, and so we've got to 0:23:33.645 --> 0:23:35.565 get that balance right, and we haven't got it right. 0:23:35.965 --> 0:23:38.725 The supply side of housing have sort of dried up, 0:23:38.725 --> 0:23:41.325 and you've got this big demand with the migration program. 0:23:41.645 --> 0:23:43.605