E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………

 

 

Joining me now is Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Good morning to you, Mr Abbott.

 

 

`Morning, Lisa.

 

 

Now, news this morning that Indonesia is putting next to no resources into patrolling one of the most popular departure points for asylum seeker boats on their way to Australia with just two boats patrolling 117 kilometres of the Javanese coastline and only enough fuel for two patrol hours a week. Mr Abbott, Indonesia really isn’t doing its bit on this issue, is it?

 

 

Look, Lisa, you can always say something like that but in the end it is the Australian Government which has fallen down on the job. We know there are policies that would work to stop the boats. They have worked in the past. They can work in the future. The Australian Government should stop sitting on its hands, it should stop doing effectively what the Greens have dictated to it and put those strong and effective border protection policies in place.

 

 

But with that lack of patrol and that lack of interest, that would indicate that Indonesia is more than happy for these boats to be arriving in Australia. Did you try to put any sort of pressure on the Indonesian President when you spoke to him this week?

 

 

Well, what I don’t do is play megaphone diplomacy with Indonesia. It is because Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard have mishandled the relationship with Indonesia that we have this problem. They have comprehensively mishandled both sides of this issue. They have not put the right policies in place here in Australia and they certainly have not been working effectively with Indonesia.

 

 

But if you’re saying that this is an Australian Government issue, it sounds to me like you don’t really care that Indonesia isn’t doing much to stop the boats coming?

 

 

Well, it’s very hard for us to say to the Indonesians "you lift your game" when we haven’t lifted our game. I mean, look at the Captain Emad disaster. I think the Indonesian Government quite rightly thinks that Australia is not serious on this.

 

 

Christopher Pyne said yesterday that there has been way too much emphasis on turning back the boats in your solution to the problem. It did seem like a bit of a slap in the face.

 

 

Well, that’s certainly not how I read it. Turning boats around where it’s safe to do so is one very significant element of our policy but it is by no means the only element. We have to have rigorous offshore processing at Nauru. Very importantly, you have to have temporary protection visas to deny the people smugglers a product to sell and also you do need to have good relations was Indonesia and that is certainly one area which has been comprehensively mishandled by this government.

 

 

Nonetheless, turning the boats around has been a strong part of your solution, but how do you turn a boat around without putting lives of those on board at risk as well as the lives of the Australian Defence personnel?

 

 

Lisa, it’s been done before. It can be done again. The Navy was professional enough to do it before and I do not think they have lost professionalism in the intervening years.

 

You said yesterday that one part of that process was to remove fuel from those boats. But removing fuel is not going to stop a boat capsizing like we have seen recently that resulted in 90 people drowning on one of those boats.

 

 

And that’s why it has got to be the judgment of the commanders on the spot, but where it can safely be done, it ought to be an option.

 

 

How would you decide what is safe?

 

 

Well, that’s really for the commanders on the spot, Lisa. As I said, it has been done before. It can be done again. What we’ve got now is a government which is effectively sitting on its hands. It has no policy except the Greens' policy which is essentially "lay out the welcome mat; if you can get here you can stay here." Is it any wonder the boats keep coming and the tragedies keep happening?

 

Alright. Moving on and this morning the Girl Guides has announced that it is dropping its allegiance to God and the Queen. Do you think this is a good move to bring what is a dwindling number of participants into the 21st Century? I think the numbers are down to just 28,000 girls who are involved Australia-wide.

 

My daughters were involved in the Girl Guides. Margie, my wife, was a Guides leader in Forestville. I think it’s a fine organisation. In the end, it is up to them what sort of pledges they want to take but, speaking for myself, I don’t mind pledging to both God and the Queen.

 

I had a feeling you might say that!

 

They’re ok by me. I don’t want to drop either of them!

 

 

Finally, billionaire businessman Clive Palmer made it clear this week he is red hot keen to become an MP under your leadership. He says he has knocked on four million doors since he joined the party in 1969. Now, we’ve done the maths and that’s close to 1,800 door knocks every single week for the last 40 years. If he was part of your team, do you think you would trust him with a portfolio involving numbers?

 

 

Look, he’s obviously been an incredibly busy person over the last few years...

 

 

Indeed!

 

 

...but I’m pleased, Lisa, to see such enthusiasm to join my team. The point I make, though, is I wouldn’t want to see any suggestion that politics is some kind of a part-time job and that being a member of the House of Representatives is some kind of a part-time job. But look, the fact that so many really outstanding Australians want to be part of the next Coalition government, I think, is a credit to the existing team and look, the more the merrier I say.

 

 

So, do you want Clive Palmer on your team?

 

 

Well, I'm very happy to see so many people putting their hands up to join the team. In the end, who gets the nod for any particular seat depends upon the preselection panel. That is the way it ought to be.

 

 

We'll take that as 50-50. Maybe we’ll take it as a comment. Tony Abbott, thank you very much for your time.

 

 

Nice to be with you, Lisa.

 

[ends]