Prime Minister's Transcript of interview with Lisa, Paul and Baz on 92.9 FM Perth

Prime Minister

Subject(s): Menu at Liberal Party fundraiser; Women for Gillard; Political satire; Game of Thrones

E & O E – PROOF ONLY

 

HOST: Always a special time when we have the Prime Minister of our country in Perth and an even more special time when the Prime Minister is good enough to join us on our radio program.

 

So Prime Minister Julia Gillard, good morning and welcome to Lisa, Paul and Baz.

 

PM: Good morning, good to be with you.

 

HOST: Good morning Julia, thank you so much for your time. 

 

Julia, you’ve done a lot of stuff with our station so I will just disclose that I’m a big fan and I vote Labor. I’ve got no problems saying that. 

 

Julia, can I just start by just talking about the menu at the Liberal’s dinner which you called grossly sexist and offensive. 

 

This has just been playing on my mind since yesterday. 

 

As a woman, does that hurt your feelings? 

 

Because I know once a paper took a picture of me and put under it that I had a fat ass and I went home and I cried for about 2 days and I’m tough as nails. 

 

Did it hurt your feelings?

 

PM: No Lisa, it doesn’t. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. I mean I suppose I’m pretty resilient. 

 

I’ve needed to be and you know I’ve had all of this happen before from the Liberal Party and you know, offensive things happening at Liberal Party fundraisers and the Leader of the Opposition standing next to grossly sexist signs and all of that. 

 

So because I’ve had all of that experience, no it doesn’t personally hurt me.

 

HOST: Do you fear for women should Tony Abbott become Prime Minister?

 

PM: Well I dealt with that earlier this week and yes I’m very concerned about what’s at risk and what women will lose if Mr Abbott becomes Prime Minister on 14 September. 

 

I gave a speech, some parts of which have been reported and some parts haven’t been reported. 

 

But to just go through some really practical things, let me just go to two – we make a special contribution for low income earners to put into their superannuation. 

 

They’re predominantly women and Mr Abbott has said that he would take that away. Very practical. 

 

Mr Abbott has said that he wants to fund nannies but do it out of the current pot of money that goes into childcare.

 

So that means if you’re using childcare now and getting some childcare money, that money must be being cut back. 

 

I mean they’re just 2 things that we know but the plan for cut backs is far broader than what’s been publicly exposed at the moment and that is all bad news for women. 

 

I think as I said earlier this week, women look at our nation’s life now; they look at me, women like our Finance Minister Penny Wong, they’re used to seeing women’s voices right there at the core, you know me as Prime Minister. 

 

When it’s budget time you get Wayne Swan to delivering the budget and then there’s Penny Wong as Finance Minister. 

 

You wouldn’t have those women’s voices.

 

HOST: Prime Minister, political satire has been a mainstay of Australian comedy for a long time now? 

 

Where do you reckon we draw the line?

 

PM: I think we’ve got to be just a little bit clear about comedy and what is political life. 

 

I mean, professional comedians, people who go on TV and make their living cracking jokes, are they going to have a red hot go at politicians, at celebrities, at sporting identities?

 

Yes they are, that’s how they make their living, and I think we can all tell when we’re sitting in an audience and a professional comedian is cracking jokes whether it’s the right side of the good taste line or not. 

 

I think we’ve all got a sense of that. 

 

But then there’s things that politicians do and should be held accountable for. 

 

I mean we’re in the business of leading the nation, not in the business of professional comedy. 

 

So I think that there is, when politicians engage in things and Mr Brough has still got a lot of explaining to do about this menu. 

 

When those sorts of things happen people bring a different standard to bear because you’re talking about the people who are going to sit in the nation’s parliament and make very important national decisions.

 

HOST: Prime Minister, I just want to say that whoever’s responsible for those comments on the menu, I mean they should feel ashamed of themselves because clearly it’s just inappropriate, it’s tasteless and it demeans women, but of course it demeans the Office of Prime Minister. 

 

I’ve also got a confession to make, you talked about people going on TV. 

 

I’m just going to tell you what I did last night, I want you to tell me what you think of me.

 

I went on TV last night because I also do the sport here for Channel 7 and I wore a blue tie, now am I in your bad books automatically?

 

PM: Absolutely not, no! 

 

I was actually in a conversation with Ben Elton last night where he asked me whether he needed to go and chuck all his blue ties out. 

 

I made it very clear that when I made a speech earlier this week I did talk about men in blue ties, but I was clearly referring to the fact, and it’s been the subject of much public discussion that the Leader of the Opposition now only appears in a white shirt and blue tie.

So some advice from the focus groups I think.

 

HOST: He must have a hundred of them-

 

PM: Well he must have many of them absolutely but he was the man in the white shirt and the blue tie that led me to talking about men in white shirts and blue ties.

 

Referring really to the absence of women’s voices from the core of our national debate. 

 

I used the example of, you know, Prime Minister or the personal who acts as Prime Minister when the Prime Minister’s away, Treasurer, Finance Minister and talked about the blue tie in that context. 

 

So your blue tie is fine.

 

HOST: Prime Minister we’ve noticed on Twitter that you are a massive fan of Game of Thrones and I’m wondering has Canberra turned into a bit of a King’s Landing?

 

I mean we’ve had an old King in Mark Latham, he was waffling on last week. 

 

You’ve got Prince Joffrey, I guess that’d be Tony Abbott, he wants a seat on the throne. 

 

Do you feel like it is a Game of Thrones sometimes Prime Minister Gillard?

 

PM: Let me assure you in Canberra we don’t have that brilliant sunshine, vivid colours and women wandering around in you know, flowy, off the shoulder numbers. 

 

We don’t have that happening in Canberra, that is only happening at King’s Landing.

 

HOST: Julia Gillard, you are the strongest woman I have ever known and I speak for a lot of women when I say we absolutely respect you, we respect the job that you’re doing. 

 

I don’t know any other woman in the world that could be putting up with what you’re putting up with in this political environment and I absolutely take my hat off to you. 

 

I adore you and I wish you all the best in the upcoming election. You’re tremendous. 

 

I fear if Tony Abbott gets into the Prime Ministership, that’s all I can say. 

 

So thank you for coming on our show.

 

PM: Thank you very much, thanks Lisa, Paul, Baz, thank you.