Have Your Say

TRANSCRIPT: WIN NEWS CANBERRA COREY SINCLAIR, 22 MAY 2025

22 May 2025

Subjects: Coalition Split  

E&OE 

STARTS: 11:16am 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

Obviously, I know it, but could I get your name and title? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Michael McCormack, Federal Member for Riverina. 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

No worries. How are you feeling three days out from the Coalition split? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

A little bruised, but look, I’m hopeful that common sense can prevail and we can get back with the Liberals very, very soon. I’m confident that, negotiations between the parties, can continue in a practical and pragmatic way so that it’s best not just for the two parties, but for the people we represent, because we need to show that we are a mature and credible and progressive, reasoned Opposition. We need to show that we’ve learned from the mistakes of the election after the review that will take place. We need to do obviously, a lot of soul searching, searching over the next days and weeks and months. But, once that process is all taken place, we need to ensure that we present, a very credible opposition. I’m sure we will, ready and fit for government. And I’m sure that process will all take place.  

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

No worries.  

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

They say a week is a long time in politics. And this week has been a very long week. But, three years is an eternity, and a lot can happen, in politics very quickly. And, and I know that a lot has happened this week, but Australia is best served when the Liberals and Nationals, together united, working for the people we represent, working for Australians, small businesses, farmers, people who slipped through the cracks. Veterans, Defence people, people in uniform, that’s when Australia is best served. John Howard has said that many, many times. And I know he’s made some comments this week about how he’s very disappointed with what has transpired this week. As am I, but look, we’ll work through it. That’s what Nationals and Liberals do, and I’m sure we’ll broker an outcome, that’s not just good for our parties, but good for Australia.  

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

Did you speak out against the split during the party room meeting? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, look, I did, and it’s been reported in The Sydney Morning Herald and other media outlets that I did and I’m not going to deny that I was against the proposal to split from the Liberal Party. But I understood why some of my colleagues, most of my colleagues, took this decision. I always adhere to what the party room decides because that’s what you do in a situation. The National Party is a very democratic organisation and majority has to rule, has to rule. And I can understand, the angst of some members, but look, I’m confident that we can work through this. I think getting back together again is the sensible way for us to behave as an
Opposition. And I’m sure that things will progress and that things will get back together. And I’m hoping that that happens sooner rather than later.  

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

Are you concerned that The Nats will have less resources to advocate for regional Australia outside of the Coalition?  

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, look, no matter how much or many or little or few resources we have, the National Party will always be a voice for regional Australia. We retained all our 15 seats in the Lower House, we’ve done that six elections in a row. We’ve retained every single one of our seats. We absolutely transition three seats, Parkes, Hinkler and Lyne and that’s not easy to do, not in modern politics, it’s not easy to do. But we’ve done it and we’ve done it successfully under four different leaders over the past six elections. Now, other parties could learn a thing or three, from the way we do our politics now, we will always fiercely and passionately and loudly and proudly represent the interests of regional Australians. Whether we’re in Opposition, obviously, if we’re in Government, you can do a lot more in Government than you can in Opposition, whether we’re with the Liberals or not with the Liberals, we will always stick up for the interests of regional Australians. But look, it just remains to be seen whether we can get back, in you know, soonish time with the Liberals, that remains to be seen, but I’m sure that David Littleproud and Sussan Ley will go to this in good faith, as they did last Thursday when they met in Albury. I know they’ve had, subsequent talks, but look, we’ll work through it. 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

No worries. Ley’s seat was originally a Nats seat before she won it in 2001. Ted O’Brien, the deputy PM, he’s an LNP…  

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Deputy Leader Ted O’Brien is. 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

Sorry, Deputy Leader. One could argue that they’re both quite regional voices. Do you think that sort of speaks to the power of The Nats as well? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Oh, look you know, I mean there are there are Labor people who are holding regional seats. But, look, of course I’m going to say that the best representation for regional seats, belongs in the National Party room. Of course, I’ve got to say that. But look, that said, I’ve got every respect for those members of Parliament who get elected, by regional electorates who do not sit in the National Party room. Whether they are Liberals or whether there’s something else, you know, they bring a certain, type of representation to the Federal Parliament. I was told when I first got into Parliament, by the then Speaker Harry Jenkins, don’t ever look across the other side and wonder why or how somebody actually got elected. Everybody deserves their spot. People get there through different ways and means. But you’ve got to get a lot of votes, tens of thousands of votes to get elected to a Lower House seat, House of Representatives seat, People’s Parliament. You know, that’s the way it is. The House of Representatives is the people’s House. And you have to get a lot of votes to get elected, and everybody brings something different to the table. But I do believe earnestly and honestly that the National Party for regional seats, is the best form of representation.  

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

No worries. Do you think there should be flexibility with the nuclear policy, or is that something that you think should be maintained with the Liberals?  

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, if we’re going to get to net zero and there are many people clamouring to get to net zero by 2050, I do think that nuclear has to be part of the mix. Let’s have the rational, national discussion. Let’s not go down the Paul Erickson way or the Labor way of putting up silly memes and three-headed fish and The Simpsons and all the like. Let’s have a sensible, practical, pragmatic discussion about costings. Let’s hear from the experts. Not necessarily politicians, but let’s hear from international analysts and people who’ve got experience in this field and have the national, rational discussion about the nuclear option. Goodness knows we’ve got plenty of the stuff that goes into the reactors to produce the energy, we’ve got in our soil, we sell it to the world, just like we sell a lot of other resources. Why don’t we use it for the practical good, for reliable, affordable energy going forward, as part of a diverse mix of energy options into the future? 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

And just touching on that, you’ve just taken over the Yass Valley and Upper Lachlan, there’s a lot of, you know, solar panels, and I think it’s been described as a junkyard. Is that a growing concern about losing a countryside to clean energy? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

I’ve described it as that, and certainly the Yass Valley’s Mayor, Jasmin Jones, has described it as that. I went to a meeting just last night in Bowning, 140 people crammed into a tiny community hall at Bowning to express their concern over Wind Prospect, this particular proposal which is, they don’t know what they don’t know, but they’re fearing that up to 90 towers of more than 250 metres high, are going to be plonked between Bowning and Binalong, those wonderful little villages, you know taking up very valuable, arable farmland, spoiling people’s vista, affecting the people’s amenity, they’re liveability. They love those little areas. They move there, many people, because of the affordable accommodation, they move there for the great landscapes. Some people have been there for generations and generations. And all of a sudden, a company comes along and then they start to divide and conquer. They buy off a few people here, they buy off a few people there. They divide neighbours who’ve been friends for years. They divide families. This rush to renewables is madness. Chris Bowen might have a mandate, given the last election results, but he doesn’t have a mandate to ruin regional Australia. And that was what I heard loudly and clearly last night at Bowning. I heard it last week at Crookwell where another wind factory is being proposed with huge turbines. Speak to Cheryl O’Donnell who lives right in the shadow of one of these things, and the fact that she can only get three – three-and-a-half hours sleep every night because of the constant whirring and noise that they produce, the reverberations which not only comes through the air but comes through the ground. I mean, Jasmin Jones is right when she describes it as a junkyard. And besides, Yass Valley and Upper Lachlan, they’ve done the heavy lift when it comes to renewable energy. They’ve got towers right up and down the ridges. They’ve done enough. They think it’s time that these are put and plonked somewhere where communities actually want them. Somewhere where it’s still close to transmission lines, where the Sun shines and the wind blows. But not in the Yass Valley, not in Upper Lachlan. They’ve had enough. They’ve seen enough. And rest assured, the new Binalong Bowning action group will be very much objecting to this and taking up the fight to this company, to show them that they’re not wanted in their backyard. 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

We were just up in Yass, I think it was on Tuesday, and they’re starting to feel the drought. Is clean energy not an alternative income source and will you be advocating for more drought support? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, I have already written to Julie Collins, the Agriculture Minister, about the drought. They’ve got a little bit of rain overnight, up to 5mls, but that’s certainly not enough to break the drought, one swallow doesn’t make the Summer, and they’re desperately worried, they need fodder assistance, they need transport subsidies to move their stock. So many farmers are offloading their stock because they can’t afford the fodder. They haven’t got any pasture left and they’re taking them to the saleyards just in Wagga Wagga, which is the biggest saleyards stock selling centre in the Southern Hemisphere. They’ve had record yardings of both cattle and sheep the last fortnight, tens of thousands of sheep, more than 10,000 cattle. All you see on the road these days are stock crates with stock in them, going to processing centres and saleyards or sending the cattle for agistment north. And this is a worrying time for our farmers. They have, particularly in the southern part of the State, it’s almost bizarre, we’ve got dry as a chip conditions and yet in the northern part of the State, it’s underwater. They’ve got inches of rain, and the state emergency services are out, rescuing people in helicopters and boats from rising floodwaters. You cannot make this stuff up. But I have called on Julie Collins to look to see what she can do. It’d be nice for her to be able to visit firsthand and see the drought conditions, at some of these properties, because they’re doing it tough. It always seems to fall upon Coalition Governments. We seem to be able to find assistance when it’s needed. You can’t just talk about this, they need assistance, they need it now.  

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

Have you spoken to Kristy McBain or Catherine … I forgot her last name … about the Barton Highway upgrades, is that also a priority? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, I’ve certainly also written to Catherine King this week, and she certainly knows my feelings about the Barton Highway duplication. I was very pleased to see the Labor candidate, Mark Jefferson, in the first reaction he made after the recent election was to say, well, at least now the Barton Highway will be duplicated. So that’s on him and that’s on Labor. I provided as Deputy Prime Minister $100 million, which was the work that was done between Murrumbateman and Canberra, that dual lane of the highway, all the safety upgrades there, I provided that money as the former Infrastructure Minister at the time. This Labor Government needs to put more than just words on the table and media releases out, they need to put some real money, right here and now and in the Forward Estimates so that we can get on with the work of bypassing Murrumbateman and get on with the work of duplicating the Barton Highway in full. 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

No worries. Just one last question. So, you just mentioned you were Deputy Prime Minister. Is that something you could see yourself taking that role again or looking to lead The Nats again? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, I won’t ever be leaving the National Party. You can rest assured that, I appreciate Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has taken another pathway, but that’s up to her. Look, we’re in Opposition, and we’re going to be in Opposition for three years at least, that’s the term of Parliament that Labor has just won. But, you know, I respect the decision of the Australian people, but rest assured, I’ll be working every day in Opposition with The Nationals, to form a credible Opposition so that we can re-earn and regain the respect and faith of the people of Australia, the people who send us to do a job. I love this job. I work hard, I’m out and about every day. I’ve got a very large electorate, the fourth largest in New South Wales. I think it’s the 15th largest in Australia. We’ve got some new areas to certainly get up there and show people in Upper Lachlan and Snowy Valley’s and Yass Valley that I’ve got that hard work ethic. Many of them already know me from the fact that I have been in and listening to their needs and concerns, I’ll be fighting hard for them. I was up at Bowning last night, Crookwell last week, I’ll be travelling through there again in the next couple of days, and, I look forward to meeting as many people as possible, hearing their concerns, and take them to Canberra. 

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

Sorry I must have mumbled, I said, would you lead the party again?  

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Oh, would I lead the Party again? Oh, right, okay. Look, David Littleproud is the Leader at the moment. And certainly, you know, I respect the fact that the party room has, once again chosen him. He staved off a bid by Matthew Canavan, for the leadership last week. And look, what people don’t need to see is a revolving door of Leaders, revolving doors, you know, of people in political positions is probably not something that, earns the respect and trust of people who are doing it tough. People out there in voter land, they’re running businesses, they’re running kids to and from school. They’re trying to manage and juggle household budgets with the cost-of-living pressures. That don’t want to be seen seeing politicians necessarily navel gazing and talking about themselves. They want to be seeing politicians representing them and fighting hard for their best welfare interests. So, look, I’m not looking at the leadership any time soon. David Littleproud is doing that job. Kevin Hogan’s been voted in as his Deputy, supporting them and supporting The Nationals, but moreover supporting the people who we represent and that, for the Riverina is everyone, whether they voted for me or they didn’t, I’ll be in there fighting for their interests. Not my own voice.  

 

COREY SINCLAIR 

No worries, thanks mate, that was great.  

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Good on you. Thanks, see you later. 

 

ENDS: 11:32am 

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