Topics: Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s press conference, Victorian election.
E&OE…
STEVE PRICE
On that very matter, Senator Scott Ryan is a Victorian Liberal and he’s also the Parliamentary Secretary for Education. He’s on the line. Senator, thanks for your time.
SCOTT RYAN
Good evening, Steve. Good evening, Andrew.
PRICE
How much do you blame Tony Abbott for what happened in Victoria on the weekend?
RYAN
No, I don’t. The problem with the government in Victoria, and one of my senior state colleagues, I think, summed it up the best to me when he said: ‘the Victorian government didn’t get elected because it didn’t convince people of the reason to re-elect it’. But, to be fair, he also said that it was a little bit difficult at times because of what was happening federally. And the truth is that state and federal elections always have a little bit of an impact on one another, but I’ve never seen them be decisive. I’ve never seen them make the difference, and that wasn’t the case on the weekend.
ANDREW BOLT
I also thought, Scott, when you looked at the results, and I don’t know if this is really determinative much – I know that you are a poll-watcher, a machine man.
PRICE
He knows the numbers.
BOLT
You know. You know the numbers. I was struck by the fact that the anti-Liberal swing was highest in the safest seat, and the highest in a safe Nationals seat in particular. Big swings – three, four times the state average. What does that tell you?
RYAN
Well, I haven’t looked at what drove that swing. And what you do notice, and I did notice on your blog today – I mean, Hawthorn and Kew had long-term sitting members retiring – that means a little bit of a hit. But that wasn’t the case elsewhere – Caulfield and Sandringham.
Now, one of the things that tends to happen in these affluent areas is the Green vote increases. For example, as we’ve seen in the state seat of Prahran. So, sometimes the two-party preferred can be people moving to the Greens. The thing is…
BOLT
[Interrupts] Wait, wait. Just against that, the Greens vote was static.
RYAN
No, I agree. That’s why I haven’t looked at it on a seat-by-seat basis. And that’s actually big news that the Greens’ vote state-wide is static, and it actually just got a little more concentrated in the inner-northern suburbs. In the country, it’s a different issue. What I fear about the country is that – and this is what I read about Shepparton, I didn’t actually follow that campaign closely…
BOLT
[Interrupts] That’s where the Nationals lost one of their safest seats to an independent, confirming a trend that we’re seeing, for example, in the federal sphere [inaudible]…
PRICE
[Interrupts] Even though Denis Napthine saved SPC there.
BOLT
Yeah, well he didn’t save SPC. He threw money at a company that didn’t need it.
PRICE
[Interrupts] But that’s a vote-catching [inaudible]…
BOLT
[Interrupts] The point is that the Nationals aren’t getting a separate identity and they’re getting wiped out by independents who say ‘I can speak freely’. And, in a sense, that’s a wider fragmentation than the main political parties. But going back to you, Scott.
RYAN
Yeah.
BOLT
It seemed to me that here was a Liberal Government that failed to get its own supporters excited. It didn’t get really much traction – much support – from the few conservatives in the state – conservative commentators. It lost its vote mostly in the seats where Liberals are strongest. It didn’t have an identity.
RYAN
It suffered right from the beginning from a sense of inertia. I know that when it got elected, it was an unexpected election victory. I think everyone will have to admit that. We were excited about the prospect that the Attorney-General Robert Clark had intimated that the so-called charter of rights and freedoms was going to get seriously reconsidered. And after a long wait, the Government announced it wasn’t going to do anything about it – that disappointed a lot of Liberals. Robert [Inaudible]…
BOLT
[Interrupts] It’s not a vote switcher, this is the point. It’s like the free speech thing that you guys squibbed. It’s not a big vote-switcher and in fact you might even lose a few votes, but the point is it identifies you for your supporters and it gives them an investment into the party.
RYAN
I think there’s also a good story that probably wasn’t told, particularly in the first couple of years strongly enough. And particularly on sentencing changes that they got rid of suspended sentences. There was a policy of having a lot less tolerance towards violence. And the usual suspects in the Law Enforcement Council were critical of that. I actually think they could’ve run harder on that. Sometimes, being attacked by certain people can be very good in a Liberal government.
BOLT
It’s always your enemies that invest more in advertising your virtues than do your friends.
RYAN
You’re quite right.
PRICE
Let’s turn our attention to you federally. Tony Abbott stood out there and had a 45-minute media conference today. One of our callers has just said that he was very impressed by the frontbench in Question Time today. Have you had a reset? Have you realised, as my colleague Andrew Bolt wrote in a column last week, that you needed to harden up?
RYAN
I didn’t see the press conference this morning, but I’ve read the transcript and I’ve seen the clips of it. I think what the Prime Minister was doing was coming out and saying ‘look, we’ve had a pretty rough week. In fact, we had a rough couple of weeks’. He also admitted that what we’ve done on certain areas like ABC funding doesn’t reflect what was said in the hours before the election. But, importantly, he wanted to point out that we have actually achieved quite a bit in the five months that we’ve had the opportunity to. I don’t think we could communicate it as strongly enough that, in this five months that’s been our chance to get the repeal of taxes through the Senate, and some of our Budget measures, because until July 1, I wouldn’t have got a motion for motherhood and apple pie through the Senate with Labor and the Greens’ attitude.
BOLT
Well that’s true, but I thought for all of the criticism I’ve been giving him lately, I thought today in the press conference was terrific. He owned up to two broken promises, he spoke more freely – I think he’s sounded too scripted. I think more needs to change, though. You’re getting a new head of the Prime Minister’s department, which is good, but more needs to change. What do you think that change should include?
RYAN
Well, being a member of the Ministry, it’s not sort of entirely appropriate for me to freely commentate on that, Andrew!
PRICE
Oh, I love that [inaudible]…
BOLT
[Interrupts] Can you give me a hint?
RYAN
I’ll be honest, I’m not going to try and spin it. I think the challenge for us…
PRICE
[Interrupts] I loved that little trap there. I thought that was beautifully done, Andrew.
RYAN
[Laughs] The challenge for us…
BOLT
[Interrupts] That was just being friendly.
RYAN
…and the lesson from Victoria is you can’t take for granted that good deeds speak for themselves. [Inaudible]…
BOLT
[Interrupts] This is what frustrates me. Do you know that’s what I wrote when Tony Abbott said exactly: ‘our deeds will speak for themselves’? I think it was within a month or so of being elected. I said ‘they don’t. Politicians speak for deeds. Deeds are silent’. How come it took that long? Anyway.
RYAN
I think, as you saw with Tony today, when I read the transcript off the telly he was speaking more freely. And the more freely Tony speaks, I think the more people will relate to him. He is the most well-read and one of the most well-educated people to have held the office, and he’s got more command over the language than virtually anyone else. So I think the important thing is, without bragging, it’s actually pointing out what we’ve achieved so that people realise, for example on border security and the boats, that yes, we’ve achieved it – yes, I know that’s what a government should do – but the alternative is we go back to the way it was.
BOLT
Switching to the alternative.
PRICE
Great to have you with us. How are you getting on with Jacqui Lambie?
RYAN
I’ve only had a very brief conversation with Jacqui on the day I got sworn in, so I’ve generally sort of left it to the leadership to deal with her.
BOLT
Very nice answers.
PRICE
He’s being very careful.
BOLT
Very well done, Scott.
RYAN
Thanks, gentlemen, lovely chatting.
PRICE
Senator Scott Ryan there. Back with Andrew in a moment.
(Ends)