Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
TRANSCRIPT
ABC Great Southern with Peter Barr
Topics: industrial relations, nuclear, cost of living, domestic violence
30 April 2024
E&OE.
Peter Barr
Now Shadow Attorney-General, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator for WA Michaelia Cash is also a former Minister for Women, and is in Bunbury today. Good morning Senator.
Senator Cash
Good morning, and good morning to your listeners.
Peter Barr
I’d like to start there, the prevalence of violence against women. With that just one example. I mentioned there, it’s part of a terrible snapshot of society with more than one death every four days. How are you feeling personally over the last few days as we have this conversation nationally?
Senator Cash 00:35
Well, I think like all Australians, improving the safety of women and girls is above politics. The numbers are without a doubt going in the wrong direction. And immediate action is certainly required. We have said, as the Coalition that we will work with the government to combat the scourge of domestic violence in Australia. I mean, every woman who’s lost their life, and every single family member or friend who’s lost a loved one needs to know that they are not alone. And that’s why Peter Dutton has made it very clear, the Coalition will work with the government to combat the scourge.
Peter Barr
You’ve worked in this space before, both in government and in opposition as Minister for Women. You were credited with bringing domestic violence to the fore and helping develop a $100 million domestic violence package. But reflecting on your time in that role Senator, was there something you could have done more, could have pushed harder for?
Senator Cash
Well look at that time, it was literally a first time anyone had got that investment into domestic violence. And certainly it was good in particular, bringing it to the forefront of society. I think as everybody knows though – unfortunately, governments alone cannot fix this crisis. A lot of it is about culture and education. But to the extent that governments can contribute to the solution and this is not just the Commonwealth Government, this is also state and territory governments around Australia they must pull on every lever. You know Peter Dutton he stated, this national crisis requires urgent attention but it also requires all levels of government to work together, you know, because you look at say, from bail laws, to federally funded programs, the policy levers span across commonwealth and state lines. I do acknowledge, though, that the Prime Minister will be convening a meeting of the National Cabinet and I think that scheduled for today, you know, to put this crisis at the top of the agenda, and certainly that is something that the Coalition was calling for and we acknowledge that the Prime Minister is now doing just that.
Peter Barr
What the Prime Minister won’t do is hold a Royal Commission into domestic violence. He’s rejected those calls vowing to stick with his current plan, which he says needs more time for the effects to be seen. Are you happy with that?
Senator Cash
Well again, as we’ve said, in the first instance, we acknowledged that he said you’ll have a meeting of National Cabinet. That’s a good thing. The reason being, it is a Commonwealth, State and Territory issue. It is something that all levels of government has to work together on. We have said that we will continue to work with the government to combat the scourge of domestic violence in Australia. You know but certainly in these last few, few weeks and days have been devastating across the board. The numbers are going in the wrong direction and immediate action is required. But as I said, it is a national crisis yes. It requires urgent attention but it also required all levels of government to work together.
Peter Barr
Thirteen after ten, I’m speaking with Shadow Attorney-General and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Michaelia Cash on regional mornings. 0448922604, if you have a question or a comment for the Senator on this. While you’re with us Senator, you’re in Bunbury, what’s happening in Bunbury today for you?
Senator Cash
Look, fantastic! I’m down in Bunbury with Ben Small, the Liberal candidate for Forrest and we are out and about. We’ve been up early this morning. We’ve been out and about talking in particular, to small businesses, you know cafes who you know we all want to get our coffee from every day. But when you actually talk to the cafe owners, the cost of living crisis is literally pushing them to the brink. You know in particular – the cost of energy, their energy bills, inflation obviously, the cost of everything that they buy is going up. And then when you talk to the people who are in the cafes, and they say to you, look I’d normally come in for a coffee and a cake, I can only now come in for a coffee. So that inflation and in particular that food inflation and the cost of living crisis is really impacting on people. We’re going to do a shopping center walkthrough later on today. And again, I do shopping center walkthroughs all the time. People now actively seek me out to tell me just how tough life now is. But also we’re about to do a forum with the Bunbury Chamber of Commerce and Industry, number one on their agenda, the impact of Labor’s IR laws on small business – complexity, cost and confusion. And as a small business owner said to me this morning – Michaelia, under the Federal government, I wake up every day now and I say to myself, why do I even bother? And that’s not the type of Australia we should be living in. We should have small business people jumping out of bed every morning and saying the government backs me, this is a good thing, I want to go to work, I want to provide my service, but under Mr. Albanese, that’s just not their reality.
Peter Barr
How would a Peter Dutton government back small business and get them spring out of bed ready for a big day behind the counter?
Senator Cash
Well in the first instance as I’ve always said, get out of their lives. The Albanese government, they not only want to be in your life, they think they should run your life and run your business. I have made it very, very clear to small businesses. I understand what you need. You need a simple, not complex environment, not a confusing environment, and certainly an environment that doesn’t impose extra costs on you. And I often say to them, the greatest thing that a Peter Dutton government can do for you is get out of your life. And they know exactly what that means. Get out of their life, relieve that regulatory burden and let them get on with doing what we want them to do. Prosper, grow, create more jobs for Australians.
Peter Barr
A good question regarding the South West while I’ve got you in that part of the world, Senator the South West coast as a side have a recently proposed offshore wind farm zone. What’s your stance on this kind of a project for that part of the world?
Senator Cash
Well, Ben Small was at a council meeting in Busselton just a few nights ago with over 300 locals turned up. They are absolutely furious at Chris Bowen and Albanese because of the lack of consultation – they want to be heard. You’ve seen the fishing industry have said this could be devastating in particular, on our reefs, and the fishing environment. Is Mr. Albanese and Mr. Bowen listening? No, they are not. We have always said, these projects need to stack up both economically, environmentally but you also need the social license. And I tell you when it comes to social license, this government does not listen. The people down here, they just want to be heard. And at the moment, Chris Bowen couldn’t care less about his social license. Well quite frankly, that is not good enough. Listen to the people because that’s what Ben Small is doing.
Peter Barr
You’re talking to a lot of people. You’re saying a lot of people are bailing you up in supermarkets and talking to you, Senator, how about Collie? Have you managed to speak to anybody in Collie about how they feel about the suggestion of replacing aging coal power plants with nuclear?
Senator Cash
Well, we’ve always said that we are technology agnostic when it comes to energy. But what people do want is this, they want reliable energy. In other words, when I turn the lights on, guess what? I know that I’m turning the lights on. They want lower emissions if not zero emissions energy, and they want this is possibly the most important thing, cheaper energy. If you are not prepared to put nuclear in the mix – we’re technology agnostic – then you are failing Australian’s. And certainly with the great work that Ted O’Brien’s been doing across Australia, more and more people are understanding that this government, the Labor government has an ideological obsession with certain types of energy, but to the detriment of others. And what you need is as I said – you want cheaper energy, you want low zero emissions energy, but you also want reliable energy. And certainly that is something that nuclear can offer and we want it to be part of the mix.
Peter Barr
Senator I appreciate your time. Enjoy your time.
Senator Cash
Great to be with you.
Peter Barr
One of the best places in the world.
Senator Cash
Beautiful part of the world, thank you so much.
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