Subjects: Coalition split
With Federal President of The Nationals Kay Hull
E&OE
STARTS 1.17PM
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I’m joined here today by Kay Hull, the former Member for Riverina and the Federal President of the National Party. Today I’ve been out to Tony Clough’s Wantabadgery property, which is beset by drought and for me and for Kay and all who represent the Nationals, it’s the Tony Cloughs of the world who we are thinking about the most at the moment, because it’s the farmers who are facing prolonged drought and there’s no hope in sight, and it will always be the farmers and the small business people, people who’ve fallen through the cracks, people in regional Australia who The Nationals stand up for and fight for, every day of every week. Kay Hull was the Member for Riverina for 12 years, before her Noel Hicks was the Member here for 18 years. I’ve been the Member for 14 years. We are proud Nationals. We are proud Nationals. We’ve also been very strong Coalitionists and today is a historic day. The Nationals have decided to take a split from the Liberal Party. This has not been a decision that we have taken lightly. It’s not been an easy decision, but we’ve taken it on the back of what has been a shattering election loss. We have retained every one of our seats as Nationals in the House of Representatives, and we’ve done that now for six elections in a row, under four leaders – under Warren Truss, under Barnaby Joyce, under myself, and now under David Littleproud.
We have retained each and every one of our Lower House seats, and that is a record that I’m very proud of. I know Kay as the Federal National Party President is also, very proud of the fact that we do turn up for regional Australians. We do support them in all of their endeavours. We went to the Liberal Party as part of the normal process after an election with a Coalition Agreement to sign a piece of paper, to move forward as a Coalition, albeit again in opposition. We took to the Liberal Party, to the new leader, Sussan Ley, who I’ve got every respect for. We took to Sussan, nuclear energy, which we fought hard for and many people, right across Australia, were very supportive of, Universal Service Obligations
for our mobile phone towers. For those 1,400 towers that we funded as a Coalition Government. We haven’t seen too much from Labor apart from Labor electorates and Kay Hull beside me crossed the floor on the USO, on the Telstra sale, all those years ago, because she took a principled position, which is what Nationals always do. We’re also, concerned that divestiture powers, may well be not continuing, as part of that Coalition Agreement, and the regional Australia Future Fund. Now in the last Budget, the last Federal Budget brought down by Jim Chalmers of Labor, there was no funding whatsoever for regional roads, for regional infrastructure. I know the efforts that I went to as Deputy Prime Minister to ensure that our local councils were looked after, and we took a policy to this election whereby Riverina councils, all 12 of them, would have benefited to the tune of $27 million for the Local Roads Community Infrastructure Fund. We would have put it back in place, but more than that, we would have made sure that we put in place those infrastructure funds that are so sorely needed by our regions, by the regional people whom we always stand up for and unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get a guarantee from the Liberal Party for those four areas – for the USO, for the Regional Australia Future Fund, for nuclear and the divestiture powers and so, given that, our party room has taken a decision – not taken lightly – but a decision today, to let both parties go their separate ways for a period and have some time for reflection. The Liberal Party have a lot of rebuilding to do and I wish Sussan Ley all the very best as she, leads that party into the future and as she, tries to lead that party to regroup, to do the soul searching, to have their review, and we will do the same. We will do the same because, there are many, many things that we got, right. I mentioned the fact that we retained all our seats but there are some things, too, that we need to learn from and listen to, obviously, as part of the wash-up from the recent Federal Election, but, we’ve decided to take that break and breaking up is never easy as Neil Sedaka, that famous political philosopher once said, breaking up is not easy, but it’s something that we found as a party that is necessary at the moment. We will, ensure that we continue to work closely, with the Liberal Party but, for the time being we will stay as two separate parties. We will work together, but we will be separate. We’ve always been separate parties, but we formed the Coalition. This isn’t, without precedent. The party separated, in 1972 after the election loss and didn’t come back together until the 1974 election and we separated with the Joh for Canberra in April of 1987 and came back together in August. So it’s not unprecedented and we will, as Nationals always put people like Tony Clough, people who run small businesses in the main streets of rural cities and small country towns. We will always stand up for those people and people can be assured that we will continue to do, what we’ve always done as National Party Members and that is fight hard for the regions to make sure that they have a solid and strong and consistent voice in Canberra.
Kay, would you like to say anything, and then we’ll be happy to take any questions.
KAY HULL
OK, thank you, Michael. In support of everything that Michael has just articulated to you. Well, how I feel as the Federal President and that is my role at the moment. Michael is the very well respected newly and resoundingly elected Member for Riverina and did so in such an extraordinary way.
My role is as a Party President, and it is my view that the party room that we sat in, that I have sat in, that Michael sits in and that I preside over with respect to being the Federal President, has no conflict within it. There is no conflict in the Nationals’ room. We are there – every single one of us – well these guys are there – every single one of them – plus the branches and the organisation that I represent as President. We are all there for one purpose. That purpose is to ensure the sustainability, the opportunities, the prosperity and living standards for rural, regional and remote people. There is no conflict. We don’t have city people sitting in our party room.
It’s about there is no conflict on what we stand for. This is not about us needing to have a full re-think. We understand what our policies are. The party room has met. They have agreed on those policies as Michael has indicated it, and also agreed to investigate other issues, of concern that were raised, during this last election but we actually won the election for our people that voted for us. We won those seats back. I feel that we need to ensure that we are not taken off on a different pathway of trying to reassess where we are, where our values are. Our values are very clear they’re in the party room. There’s no conflict of values of who we stand for and so we need to be accountable and go strongly forward with the views of rural, regional and remote Australians and hold the Labor Government accountable. That is our role. That is what we’ve just been elected to do. That is what every Member was returned to do and seats were transitioned to return to do.
It is our responsibility to stay firm, to stay focused and to hold this Labor Government to account and I support Michael in every which way that he intends to do that and this decision today, as he said, has not been taken lightly but it is a decision that has been taken and now we move positively forward and we’re on the march to go and do that representation and also hear and listen to those in rural, regional and remote communities as to what it is that is in addition to appoint, you know, to their issues, that they have in those in those areas. So thank you very much.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Any other questions you have for Kay before you put them, before we put the microphones, back up? Would that be reasonable?
EMILY FRANCIS (7NEWS RIVERINA)
So, Kay, you mentioned the listening to the rural and regional voices. Do you have any concerns that these might be drowned out now that it isn’t a Coalition?
KAY HULL
No, I don’t have any concerns. That’s something that we have consistently done and that is that we’ve taken those views to Canberra, of the rural, regional and remote constituency. We’ve not bought Canberra back to those communities. We’ve taken those views to Canberra. I feel that there will be no lack of strength or, you know, no lack of sound from our party room, The Nationals’ party room. On taking those views forward on behalf of all of these people.
JARRYD ROWLEY (REGION RIVERINA)
Does the election results show that the communities, at least the difference between the city communities and the Liberals and the regional cities, the regional towns, the Nationals seats, that there is just clearly a divide there in terms of values, because it’s unprecedented in terms of, you know, you guys have held every single seat, whereas the Liberals, I believe, have currently lost 13, off the top of my head?
KAY HULL
Absolutely and there are differences and I’ll leave Michael to put his point of view on that but there are absolute differences. There is that divide. There is a need for a party to have purpose for rural, regional and remote Australians. Remember that the majority of our GDP is made up out of the businesses, the industries, minerals, mining, agriculture, forestry, that all is done in rural, regional and remote Australia. We are over 60 per cent of our exports come out of rural, regional and remote Australia. We deserve that voice. Our people deserve to be recognised. Our kids deserve to have the opportunities to stay in rural, regional and remote Australia, to have their work there. They should not be forced to make the decision to leave and go to the cities to work. I’ve felt that way since the day I had to be forced to leave my community country town to go to the city and work. So there is a divide and there is no discrepancy in that divide within the Nationals’ room. Everybody is in sync. That is their primary purpose. The values, principles, party philosophies of The Nationals are instilled in every single one in there with no conflict.
Good. Thank you.
EMILY FRANCIS (7NEWS RIVERINA)
So, Michael, will this mean for future elections that it will be a three-horse race, particularly in regional areas where Liberal candidates will now be running in regional seats?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Too early to tell and look, a week is a long time in politics, three years is an eternity and, we may well, get back into a Coalition arrangement before the next election. I do hope so. As David Littleproud has said this morning, he hopes it’s only a temporary break. He’s been very reasonable. He’s gone to these negotiations in good faith, and I believe Sussan Ley has too, but, she’s leading a party that is rebuilding, and she’s also lost a mother in the last few days and certainly we mourn for her in that regard. But this is a time of, deep soul searching for the Liberal Party but they also need to know that they can’t govern without us and they also need to know that, as Kay Hull has just very clearly articulated, rural and regional Australia deserves, every bit of respect from our city cousins and I said last week on this very spot, if ever you ask a National Party person a question, they’re happy to give that answer. They’re happy to put their name to it and I would urge and encourage going forward that, some Members of some political parties would do well to learn from that, to not go and brief and background journalists anonymously. Nothing good comes of it. You’re only ever two or three red wines for that journalist to tell who said what and when and how, and it’s time for discipline. It’s time for the parties to regroup and to rework what they do believe in, what they stand for and, it’s not time for recriminations. Australians don’t want to see, particularly regional Australians with the drought on us – don’t want to see the navel gazing by any politician. Certainly not the conservatives – who they need more than ever now and they need more than ever because this is going to be a difficult three years.
It was a tough three years under Labor. Interest rates went up. Cost of living went up. Every price of every commodity, as far as supermarkets, petrol, insurance, housing, it’s all become less affordable under Labor. Now the enemy for us, as Nationals, is always going to be Labor. We will work as Nationals, always do, together, united, for regional Australians. But people need to realise and understand that we will always stand up for those regional Australians and those things that we took to the Coalition negotiations were things that we fought hard for, the things that regional Australians wanted and the things that we weren’t able to get a guarantee on and that is why this situation has occurred.
EMILY FRANCIS (7NEWS RIVERINA)
Can you see the Liberal Party getting back into government without a Nationals’ Coalition?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
No. It’s only actually happened three times and John Howard always said that Australia is governed best when a Coalition Government is together, Liberals and Nationals working together. And look, I hope we get that back to that, but even in those three instances where the Liberals could have governed in their own right, they chose to stand alongside The Nationals. Now there’s a message in that for the Liberal Party, there truly is.
RACHEL HOLDSWORTH (ABC RIVERINA)
Do you think The Nationals could govern just by themselves?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Oh, I’d love to see that. I’d love to see The Nationals, we’d get some real common sense in Canberra if that were to occur but, look, we’re a fair way short of that. At the moment, we’ve got 15 seats, you need 76 to actually govern. I mean, look, if Australians were sensible enough to give us those extra 60 or so seats, well and good, but, you know, it remains to be seen.
JARRYD ROWLEY (REGION RIVERINA)
I spoke to Wes on the phone just before …
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Wes Fang?
JARRYD ROWLEY (REGION RIVERINA)
Yeah, Wes Fang, your State counterpart. He said he was shocked that the Liberals didn’t acknowledge the success of The Nationals even more so in the two weeks since the election and he’s shocked that they haven’t put you guys more on a pedestal for being successful in that space. Are you shocked at the lack of recognition that you guys have received from the Liberals since the election?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, I agree with Wes because we do deserve the respect and we do deserve the respect of the fact that we have won all of our seats and we’ve transitioned Parkes with Jamie Chaffey, he’s going to be a marvellous Member for Parkes. David Batt’s going to be a fantastic Member for Hinkler and, indeed, Alison Penfold as only the second woman ever elected in a New South Wales Lower House seat, federally, is going to be a marvellous member for Lyne and they take over from three wonderful members in Mark Coulton, Keith Pitt and Doctor David Gillespie, but we’ve been able to transition those seats.
I mean, the Liberals have lost seats this election, at the last election and they have a lot of soul searching to do. But the work, as I said, for the next election, it starts the day after the election. That’s what I got in the car and I drove three hours up to Cowra and then three hours back and I’ve been in the car ever since, visiting the new parts of the electorate, going up to Crookwell just last week to attend a wind factory discussion. Indeed. I’m going to Bowning tomorrow night to talk about a similar proposal, which is going to destroy the livelihoods and the wonderful vista of Bowning and Binalong where they’re proposing to put 90 massive wind turbines, higher than the Trump Tower in Manhattan, right between those two beautiful and peaceful villages. And this is what National Party Members do. And the trouble is and I’ve said it, I’m not saying anything new, I don’t know whether our city cousins always have that same work ethic. And it’s one thing to go into a news studio in Sydney and Melbourne and talk in those echo chambers but it’s another thing to actually do the work on the ground. And that is why The National Party keeps getting returned and that is why we’ve been returned this time because we show up, we turn up and we listen to our people, not talk at them but we listen to them. And we take those concerns to Canberra, whether we are in Opposition or whether we are in Government. I mean, you can do a lot more in Government than you can ever do in Opposition and I hope that we are returned to Government at the next election in 2028. I’d like to see that, obviously, with the Liberal Party and so that we can make sure that regional Australia gets looked after.
We’ve taken to the Liberal Party those four important policy areas, they weren’t guaranteed, obviously there are others, as Kay indicated, there are a lot more policy positions that regional Australians are wanting, expecting, demanding and deserving and we will continue to listen to regional Australia and take those interests to Canberra.
RACHEL HOLDSWORTH (ABC RIVERINA)
Just following that, Michael, do you think the Liberal Party talks at people and not listens to their community?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, not all Members of the Liberal Party, but I do think sometimes there’s briefing of journalists, anonymous briefing that just shouldn’t go on. You don’t see too many National Party Members quoted in newspapers anonymously. Unfortunately, you do see a few Liberal members, a few too many. And I’ve said that and it’s no secret. You haven’t got a big exclusive there of Michael McCormack says the Liberal Party, blah, blah, blah. I mean, I’ve said it. I said it just here last week. I do think that there is a bit of anonymous backgrounding going on and it’s bad for democracy. It’s bad for the Coalition and it’s bad for Australia. If you’re going to have something to say, do it like I am. Put your name to it, have the gumption and the guts to put your name to it. I didn’t ever see Kay Hull going and briefing journalists. I loved journalists, I was a journalist. You know, you play an important part in democracy. But if you’re going to have your say, do so in front of the press pack and put your name to it. It’s not difficult.
JARRYD ROWLEY (REGION RIVERINA)
Do you see any other Members of The Nationals deferring to the Liberals? Obviously, we saw Jacinta Price last week. I don’t imagine that would be the case but you guys have spoken that you are quite a tight community, do you think there will be any more deferrals?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Look, I’d be very disappointed if that were the case. Jacinta Price; there’s only one position that Jacinta Nampijinpa Price could gain being a member of the Liberal Party that she couldn’t gain being a member of the National Party and that is the Prime Minister’s job. And, you know, I said it and I wasn’t being disrespectful, I like Jacinta, but she’s a long way off the Prime Minister. First of all, she’s in the Upper House, second of all, she’s in Opposition. With all due respect to the Senate and it’s an important review process of legislation, but the action happens and governments form in the Lower House and she’s not a Member of the Lower House, so she’s a long way off from being the Prime Minister. I wish her well with the Liberals and after what’s happened today, good luck, Jacinta.
RACHEL HOLDSWORTH (ABC RIVERINA)
Michael, will your policies change since being away from the Coalition, will The Nationals’ policies change moving forward with nuclear and offshore wind farms?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well that remains to be seen. And, obviously, net zero is something which we will discuss. There’s a lot of things on the table for The National Party to discuss. But when you actually go out into your communities and you see, because of this rush to renewables, you see Sun mirrors and solar factories that are going to be bigger than towns themselves. And I talk about the French-owned ENGIE company, which was proposing to build a solar factory – they’re not farms, not growing food and fibre – they are solar factories, industrial factories which was going to be bigger than Yass itself. And you see people uniting as one between Binalong and Bowning where they’re going to put 90 massive turbines, wind towers, right on their doorstep, you can see why regional people are arcing up. You can see why they’re concerned about net zero. You can see why they’re concerned about Chris Bowen. Chris Bowen does not have a mandate to ruin regional Australia. He does not. He does not have a mandate to ruin their livelihoods, to ruin their views. People have moved to those towns and some of them have spent a lot, a lot of money, they’ve got a beautiful outlook and all of a sudden they’ve got these massive wind towers and they’ve got these massive solar factories right on their doorstep ruining their vista. And one lady, Cheryl O’Donnell spoke at the meeting in Crookwell the other day and she played a tape where the sound of the wind tower just – [sound of whooshing multiple times] – I mean, that’s what she cops all day, every day. It’s enough to do your head in. It was bad enough to listen to for 30 seconds, let alone 24 hours. Why should people have to put up with that just because of Chris Brown’s belief that we can lower the temperature from Canberra! I mean, it’s madness, it truly is. And, people are jack of it. People in regional Australia, they believe, and they’re right that they’ve done enough for the renewable energy, for the emissions reduction, here in country areas. I’d like to see some of those teals do more in their seats to lower emissions. I mean, they’re all well and good at lecturing regional Australians about how we should live our lives, but, Chris Bowen doesn’t have a mandate to just do what he likes and ruin the lives of regional Australians and Nationals will always stand up for those people and I’ll tell you what, if there’s one thing that unites Greens and Nationals and everybody else – stick a wind tower in their backyard and and you’ll soon see the Greenie change their tune.
ANDREW MANGELSDORF (ABC RIVERINA)
How important was the energy policy (inaudible)
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Sorry, say that again, Andrew.
ANDREW MANGELSDORF (ABC RIVERINA)
Sorry, how important was the nuclear energy policy that The Nationals brought to the election with the Liberals in this this decision to split?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, many Liberals agreed with the nuclear policy themselves. Ted O’Brien was one of the greatest advocates. Peter Dutton was, I mean many of them were and some of them probably might not have been as game enough as The Nationals were to say so in their own electorates. But if we are going to get to net zero by 2050 we have to have nuclear as part of the energy mix. I mean, it’s good enough for so many countries in the rest of the world and goodness knows we’ve got the resource to produce that sort of energy here in Australia. Why wouldn’t we be utilising it? It’s safe, it’s reliable, it’s affordable. And the first nuclear plant, as I recall, was in Great Britain, it started (construction) in 1952, ended in 1955, obviously the ABC will fact check that and probably prove me wrong, but it was around those figures and it was around that time and it was around that timeframe. And the cost for the nation was going to be far more realistic than what the Labor fear-mongering campaign said. And the other point about it, too, is we would have let the market also take part in that process. And we’ve lost an opportunity. But look, Labor has won the election and I acknowledge and respect that and we’ll work together with the Liberals to form a credible Opposition, albeit going a different way at the moment. And I hope that things work out that by 2028, it’s a long way off, that we can again win the faith of the voters of Australia and return to Government.
ANDREW MANGELSDORF (ABC RIVERINA)
Is this a politically calculated decision – time’s well away from the next election, to shore up the most support for Liberals or Nationals, then?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, it’s a decision, as I said at the outset, that we haven’t taken lightly. You could argue that politicians making decisions are always politically motivated and but the onus is not on us being introspective or navel gazing and thinking about our own selves and our own positions. The onus is on us representing the people who send us to Canberra to do a job. And it’s not easy. It’s not easy in Government and it’s not easy in Opposition to do that job. But National Party members turn up and we do it every day of every week. We don’t just do it in the six weeks of an election campaign. We don’t just put a name on our shirts like a lot of the candidates did in the Riverina and turn up and pretend as though they care, we do it every day of every week, and that’s what we will continue to do. We’ll continue to listen. We’ll continue to take those voices to Canberra and act fiercely on their behalf. Look, we won’t be shadow ministers for this and that. I never went to Canberra to gain any positions. I went to Canberra just like Kay Hull did, to be a fierce and loyal and passionate local Member. I was just lucky enough to gain a position as Deputy Prime Minister and, even then, I never forgot the people who sent me to Canberra, I never will. As long as I’ve got breath in me I will represent the interests of people of the Riverina fiercely and proudly, as I’ve always done.
EMILY FRANCIS (7NEWS RIVERINA)
Do you think this could be a sign of the times, perhaps the New South Wales Coalition splitting?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
I’m not going to enter into debates about New South Wales. No way. I mean, Dugald Saunders, I was with him this morning and the only thing we were focusing on was the drought and he spoke very passionately. He called on the New South Wales Government to do more as they need to. Victorian and South Australian State Labor Governments have stepped up and provided valuable funds for drought stricken farmers in the areas, why hasn’t the New South Wales Labor Government? It’s all well and good for (Premier) Chris Minns and (State Agriculture Minister) Tara Moriarty to talk about their care and respect for regional Australia – show it. Let’s see the colour of your money and I call on (Federal Agriculture Minister) Julie Collins again to do just that as well. Come out to the Riverina, see how bad it is in the Snowy Valleys and Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council areas.
This drought is insidious and it’s growing and our farmers are desperate. Their mental health is being tested. Their bottom lines are being tested. There’s not a cloud in the sky. There’s no hope in sight and they need our help. They’ll always get it from The Nationals.
MARYAM SULAIMAN (THE DAILY ADVERTISER)
Did you know about this announcement before today?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
What announcement? The announcement of the split? David Littleproud went down to Albury on Thursday to have a discussion with Sussan Ley. Those discussions were ongoing. The National Party Party Room met this morning, via a teleconference and, via from each of our electorates because we have work to do in our electorates. We didn’t go back to Canberra and put the expense on taxpayers. We met via a tele presence. And we made this decision, not easy, not lightly, but we made this decision for the best interests of the people we serve.
MARYAM SULAIMAN (THE DAILY ADVERTISER)
Is there anything that you’d like to say to the Riverina resident about what’s come out?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Know that we will always have you backs. Know that I will always represent you fiercely as National Party people always do. Thank you very much.
Ends 1.45PM