Jamie Briggs MP

 

Just before the seven o’clock news we like to touch base with two MP’s who represent a big chuck of South Australia. Jamie Briggs, Liberal MP for Mayo, which is the Adelaide Hills, the Fleurieu Peninsula and I think also Kangaroo Island in the federal Parliament. And Amanda Rishworth, she takes in the big chuck of the southern suburbs, Labor MP for Kingston.

ABRAHAM:

 

Jamie Briggs, good morning.

 

BRIGGS:

 

Good morning, yes, Kangaroo Island. We cannot forget about Kangaroo Island. It is a brilliant part of our state.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

Well it’s lovely, good fishing there, federal liberal MP for Mayo. And Amanda Rishworth, Labor MP for Kingston. Any part of your electorate that you want to remind us about particularly Amanda Rishworth?

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Oh well absolutely, there is Hallet Cove, then there is Aldinga and Seaford and McLaren Vale.

 

BRIGGS:

 

Onkaparinga Hills?

 

RISHWORTH:

 

The Onkaparinga Hills is in there and Morphett Vale, Christies Beach. It is a lovely part of the world.

 

BEVAN:

 

Well now that both of you have successfully sucked up to all of your voters, we can now get on to the business of the day.

 

 ABRAHAM:

 

Now Amanda Rishworth, do you and Jamie Briggs agree on one thing, that you loathe the Greens? Because the Greens are going to be running the place aren’t they, from, well they are, as of this week.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Well, absolutely not. And they are not running the place and they are certainly, they have been elected to the Senate and we as the Government will work with the Greens as we worked with and we continue to work with Nick Xenophon, as we worked with Steve Fielding and as we worked with the Independents. Look the Labor Party is different from the Greens; we are a mainstream party that has a big reform agenda in front of it. We will continue to pursue that and we will work with, whether it is the Greens, whether it is the Independents, to ensure that we actually achieve that.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

But should we be worried that a lot of the policies are now going to be dictated by a party, who your Prime Minister says do not represent the best interests, the best interests of mainstream Australia?

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Well they are not necessarily going to direct it. I think the important thing is that we have been dealing with a Senate that has had different interests, different balances and so we will work with them but we will also work with the Opposition as well, if they want to work with us. I mean, you know, if the Opposition supports our policy, if the Opposition supported our good policy, then we certainly could pass a lot of things through the Senate. Unfortunately, with this Opposition Leader we have just seen him oppose everything rather than actually look at what is good policy and that has been the problem. We will still work with the opposition; we will work with the Greens. What we won’t do is get away from our big reform agenda.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

Jamie Briggs, can the Liberals work with the Greens?

 

BRIGGS:

 

Well look, I think that the big problem here is and let’s be honest the Labor Party has entered into a coalition with the Greens. They are in government because of the Greens, so that’s the fact of the matter.

 

ABRHAHAM:

 

Oh and the Independents?

 

BRIGGS:

 

Julia Gillard is Prime Minister today because they did the deal with Greens, they are in coalition with the Greens, we know that. Now I have a problem with many of the ideals that the Greens stand for, like Julia Gillard said. Many of their ideals are not what most Australian’s stand for and I think in recent days the greatest example of that, obviously the carbon tax has taken a lot of our time here in Parliament House at the moment. We had on your program the senator from South Australia, the senior Senator from South Australia, Greens Senator Senator Hanson Young, most likely the next leader of the Greens, talking about Whyalla and the steel works up there, dismissing the jobs. The jobs will go under the carbon tax, well that is okay, that is fine because there will be all these great new jobs, these jobs will just appear. I mean it just shows that they are absolutely economically reckless; they have got no concept about how you need to run an economy and the difficulty of what their policy says, of what their idealistic policies will have on workers. I think the Labor Party in South Australia needs to very quickly disassociate itself with its coalition partner, in Senator Hanson Young, in what she said about Whyalla two days ago.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

Amanda Rishworth, Tom Koutsantonis, hopped in pretty quickly to slap down the argument of Sarah Hanson Young made on this program. Will you do that as a Federal Labor MP? Because what she has said, is that, Whyalla could soak up the loss of One Steel and she has also said that there is huge potential for new industries and she has reiterated this in a press release, she hasn’t backed away from it, saying the wind energy there would be huge. She says it is the perfect place to invest in wind power along the coast there, because it would just be zinging along with strong breezes.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Well look, I have to say this shows the fundamental difference between the Labor Party and the Greens. Our focus is on jobs and our focus is on ecomonic growth and growing our economy but ensuring that that opportunity does spread out to all Australian’s. I think you have seen the differences here. In terms of the carbon tax, we have stood up and said clearly that we believe there will be a coal industry. Yes, we are going to put a price on carbon, we want our economy to change but we are not going to close down coal and that is what effectively the Greens have said. So we have a differing opinion in terms of how we strengthen our economy, how we grow jobs and that is why I didn’t join the Greens, that is why I joined the Labor Party.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

You are in effect in coalition with them, are you not? That is the point that Jamie Briggs makes.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Well not at all, we have made an agreement with Rob Oakeshott, we have made an agreement with Tony Windsor, with Andrew Wilkie and the Greens. There is a…

 

BRIGGS:

 

And the Greens. So you are in Coalition with them Amanda.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

And the Greens. Well…

 

BRIGGS:

 

You are in coalition with them.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

We will work with all parts; but we will not take our eye off the ball.

 

BRIGGS:

 

No, no, no. You are in government because the Greens. You are in government because the Greens agree to you being in Government, you are in coalition with them.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Rob Oakeshott, Andrew Wilkie and Tony Windsor that is a broad group that we will work with. But as I said before, I am happy to work and I am sure the Labor Party will be happy to work with the coalition in the Senate, but they just keep opposing everything. They don’t look at anything properly.

 

BRIGGS:

 

What about the jobs in Whyalla? Sarah Hanson Young has been honest about your policy on the carbon tax and what it will do in Whyalla. What do you say to the 4000 steel workers in Whyalla?

 

RISHWORTH:

 

What we are focussed on is protecting jobs. We have made it clear that the price on carbon will, part of the package will be about protecting jobs, that is why we have come out, we have been very clear that we will assist the industry and we will protect jobs. Now, obviously the detail will be released on Sunday. But we have already seen Bob Brown last night on Lateline saying he didn’t get everything he wanted, that in terms of coal we are making sure that we are very much ensuring that industry, we work with that industry and we helped them transition. So we have made it clear that there is a difference on carbon price on petrol, we said we will not put, make the carbon price apply to petrol, there is a lot of differences here and jobs is just one of them.

 

BEVAN:

 

If we just come back to Jamie Briggs, Liberal MP for Mayo. Matthew yesterday put the hard word on Tony Abbott, saying well what is your alternative. And he said basically I am going to plant a lot of trees. And Matthew said you are going to have a plant a hell of a lot of trees aren’t you? How many trees and by when? And that questioning was actually taken up by the Prime Minister in Question Time yesterday, until the speaker stopped her going any further.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

What a spoiler sport.

 

BEVAN:

 

Well that’s right, I thought she was on a roll.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

She was just about to mention our program.

 

BEVAN:

 

Aided by Matthew Abraham and his questioning of your leader. Jamie Briggs, do you have any idea, how many trees your leader is going to have to go out and plant to meet his carbon targets?

 

BRIGGS:

 

Well look what I can tell you is prior to the election in February 2010 we put up a policy, put out our policy which remains on our website today, which is direct action. It has the same target as what the Labor Party’s target, which is 5%.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

It has the same target?

 

BEVAN:

 

But how are you going to meet it?

 

BRIGGS:

 

No, no it does. Because what we say is that you will have, you can purchase that abatement and it would be on a competitive basis. We say you clean up the dirtiest coal fire plants, which by the way, the Labor Party announced two days ago that they are going to do.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Unfortunately Jamie…

 

BRIGGS:

 

So much for it being a bad policy, the Labor Party has now announced that they are going to do it. I mean this is the great hypocrisy of the Labor Party here.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

Well, unfortunately Jamie in terms of the trees being planted, effectively, every farmer will have to give up their farm to plant trees.

 

BRIGGS:

 

Amanda, how come you know the detail about this but you don’t know the detail about your own policy? How come you know the detail about our policy, but you don’t know the detail about your policy? Why don’t you tell us what you are about to announce?

 

RISHWORTH;

 

Well unfortunately, the Liberal Party hasn’t been able to come out with their policy, except planting trees, except planning trees. And it is estimated…

 

BRIGGS:

 

That is not true at all, that is simply not true.

 

RISHWORTH:

 

… that you would have to plant enough trees to cover the size of Germany.

 

BEVAN:

 

Amanda Rishworth, Labor MP for Kingston. And Jamie Briggs, Liberal MP for Mayo. We are going to have to leave it there, but thank you very much.

 

ABRAHAM:

 

We can just hook your phones up and let you continue that conversation.