Jamie Briggs MP

Jamie Briggs, Liberal MP for Mayo. Good morning Jamie Briggs. 

 

 

Good morning. 

 

 

We were going to have a big discussion about CHOGM with you both. 

 

 

Ah excellent. 

 

 

However. 

 

We’ve changed out mind. 

 

We’ve changed out mind. 

 

Because I got something in the post last night. 

 

A lot of people have got these, David over the last month or so. 

 

It says ‘new clown, same Labor circus’ and there is a picture of Mike Rann with his fist to his chin, he is looking a bit pensive and there’s Jay Weatherill superimposed next to him and he is standing there quite confident, but on their faces are drawn clown masks. Now the question we have got for you, Amanda and Jamie is does this sort of stuff work. I don’t think it does because to me it looks personal. It looks ugly, and I find clown masks scary. Now maybe that’s the purpose of doing this, to make us associate Jay Weatherill with something scary. I reckon the Liberal Party, and this is clearly a Liberal thing, they would be better to stick to the flip side where they are talking about water bills going up, your gas and electricity bills going up. Stick to the bread and butter stuff, you might make more progress. 

 

You sometimes wonder what their narrative is, don’t you?

 

Yes. But Amanda Rishworth, new clown same Labor circus. Do you think that works? 

 

Well look I don’t necessarily think something that small works. I have to say I also find clowns quite scary, but I don’t think it actually works because I think you’re right in saying that political parties can criticise the other side, but it has got to be based on some sort of substance. It has got to be based on what are you actually attacking, what are the issues and more importantly, what are you going to change if you are in opposition and want to get into government, and I think that is the trouble with the state opposition is they have no policies. They are not campaigning on any policy. So trying to criticise a government, but there has got to be substance behind it and I think a pamphlet like this just doesn’t have any substance. 

 

I would also think, and we’ll find out when the polls come in over the next few weeks, I am sure the Advertiser is already working on a poll for, or contemplating one...

 

You would hope so. 

 

You would hope so, for Jay Weatherill. But you would expect that there would be some goodwill towards him out there in the electorate. He is the new guy, give him a go. 

 

Well I think there will be some goodwill but not necessarily just because he is the new guy, I think he has come out really clearly on his first day showing that how he is going to make his mark on the state, and I think he has done that in a number of areas. So I think certainly he has put out a very clear vision, very clear what he wants to do, some of the key areas he wants to take action in. So I think it is not just him being the new guy. I think also people will be listening and watching these things very carefully and the things that they support will certainly lend support to the new leader. 

 

Jamie Briggs, Liberal MP for Mayo. I have a funny feeling you will have a different view. 

 

Well just on the clown thing, it is interesting because while David and Amanda may be scared of clowns, Estee’s sister, my wife’s sister used to vomit when she was a little girl every time she saw a clown. So she took this to a next level. I’m sure I’ll have the clown union...

 

There are a lot of horror movies I think with clowns in them, but anyway. 

 

But maybe that is effective, Jamie Briggs. Amanda Rishworth seems to be saying they should focus on the negatives and they’re listed there – water bills tripled, yearly gas and electricity bills up $464 in 2011; billion dollar Royal Hospital budget blowout; state debt increase payments – nearly $2 million a day; public sector jobs up. 

 

What they’re trying to do with this brochure is to remind people that Jay Weatherill has been there for every major decision of the Rann Government. He is not a clean skin. He hasn’t just come out of the blue and sort of popped-up and is making all these different decisions now. What we’ve seen this week is the first step is Jay Weatherill went back to the Labor tradition and did what the unions told him to do on the carparking fees. The second thing he did was to adopt a policy of Isobel Redmond had announced some time ago about an ICAC. So I don’t think there has been some great new broom come through the place. Jay Weatherill has been there for every major decision, and what we have seen with Jay Weatherill early on is he’ll just do what he is told to do by the unions. He let a 30 year-old union hack walk in to try and tell Mike Rann to go. 

 

But Jamie Briggs, do people really care where the ideas come from so long as they get good government and what starts to upset them is when people get a little arrogant and they start doing silly things and they get the feeling as though their political masters don’t really like them very much or don’t respect them very much. Now at that point they start to turn. But Jay Weatherill hasn’t got any of that baggage. 

 

Well hang on, but if we are talking about the policies, I agree with that, I think that’s a fair assessment of what’s been going on, but at the same time, Jay Weatherill has been in Cabinet, he has agreed with all the decisions that have been announced, all the terrible policy directions, and he was a Minister for the Environment and one of the big issues the state faces, certainly in my area is the NRM boards. There are people who are very unhappy; a lot of food produces in my area. There is a big protest this week down at Victor Harbor about it. People are unhappy with the direction that this government has taken. We’ve got a massive debt. Workcover is out of control. A couple of weeks ago we heard the state Treasurer say well you can’t do any reform in South Australia, it’s just too hard. So I think there are genuine questions about Jay Weatherill’s ability to actually govern the state, and I think Isobel Redmond has been highlighting that very well. 

 

Amanda Rishworth. 

 

Well I of course completely disagree with that...

 

We could go round and round here, couldn’t we? 

 

...and I think, Jamie you weren’t sitting in Cabinet and Jay’s clearly said that now he is the person that is running the state. He is the leader and he is going to make his mark. I think he has though as a Minister, a very impressive record, including issuing in the common ground initiative, which has done a lot to support homeless people in this state. But apart from that, he is clearly said he is going to listen. Now I take umbrage with your issue about car parking fees. That is not just been a few people that are workers there which actually do deserve to be able to park near their work, but many many people in the community that have been concerned about this issue and Jay showed that he will listen to that. 

 

Did you bob your head up on it, Amanda Rishworth? 

 

Look, I did. I had a lot of concerns about the car parking issue. 

 

Did you communicate them to Mike Rann? 

 

I communicated them with the relevant Minister and also raised it in the Federal Parliament as an issue that I was concerned about, and I very much welcome this as a announcement that Jay actually showed that he did listen to people. 

 

And I think Jay Weatherill has got rid of the Minister for the southern suburbs. You are in the southern suburbs Amanda Rishworth. Does that worry you?

 

Or was it always a bit of a...

 

Always a bit of a token effort, wasn’t it? 

 

Well look I will work with every Minister in any government...

 

Do we need a Minister for the southern suburbs down there? 

 

Well I am not aware of whether or not there is now a Minister for the southern suburbs.  

 

So you wouldn’t miss it if it wasn’t there I suppose. 

 

No, no, no, I’m just saying I’m not aware in the reshuffle, but certainly I see it as a role of every Minister, every single Minister in every government to be working for the southern suburbs. 

 

Ok, thank you, well recovered. 

 

John Hill, he was the Minister for the southern suburbs, he is not anymore. 

 

Anyway, to the two of you, thank you very much for joining us on this beautiful Wednesday. 

 

Thank you guys.

 

Thank you. 

Jamie Briggs, Liberal MP for Mayo. Amanda Rishworth, Labor MP for Kingston.