E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Topics: Olympics; Immigration
SARAH ABO, HOST: Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth and Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie. Good to see you both. Now, I want to, first of all start with how good it was to see how well our Aussies competed on the world stage. Amanda, the women, just getting it done.
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Oh, look, they did. It was a fantastic performance. Our most successful Olympic campaign. But it was just such a joy to watch, and I think knowing what type of work and effort goes into the lead up to an Olympics, just a big congratulations. We were all cheering them on, and they did us proud.
SARAH ABO: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Bridget, it was all led by Chef de Mission, Anna Meares and you couldn't have asked for a better outcome really.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE, NATIONALS SENATOR: No, not at all. As an old sports minister and an old phys ed lecturer, I'm just stoked to see so many Australians inspired by, not just our medal winning performances, but all the trials and tribulations that athletes go through to actually do their best for us on the global stage. It was an inspiration.
SARAH ABO: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, Paris really had the upper hand with their beautiful scenery and with that handover, it looks like LA will put on a show of their own as well. But, Amanda, I guess it makes us a bit nervous, doesn't it now, about Brisbane 2032 and hopefully not missing the mark when it comes to our turn?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Oh, look, I have every confidence that we, in this country, will put on an amazing show. You only have to look at the effort that we put on in Sydney. When I reflect back on Sydney, absolutely, it was the stadiums, but it was also the people, all those people that stood up and volunteered and wanted to be part of the atmosphere and the games. I have every confidence that Brisbane will put on an amazing games. There's a lot of work to be done, but I think we'll all work together to put on an amazing games.
SARAH ABO: No, absolutely. You're right there, Amanda, about the people. And obviously we have that beautiful, natural scenery that we will show off when the world is watching. But, Bridget, it's really about the stadium, isn't it? I mean, more than 70,000 people packed out the Stade de France during the athletics. LA will have a similar capacity. When you think about QSAC and 40,000 seats. It doesn't quite cut it.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: Yes. Sarah. I mean, nice platitudes, Amanda, but again, in two years we've had a lot of debate, no decisions, a lot of buck passing, no building, and we still don't have a stadium. What has been funded is a transport link to the Sunshine Coast that goes halfway. And we don't know where the closing and opening ceremonies are going to be because the state government has walked away from the Gabba. So $9 billion of Australian taxpayers’ money has been committed and we don't know where these significant projects are going to be.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, we do have a little bit of time, Bridget. We do have a little bit of time.
SARAH ABO: But I guess we need a solution Amanda, this is the issue, right? I mean, we don't want to risk being an international embarrassment considering what we've seen.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: And that's been the concern. That's why we've had to set up a Senate Inquiry because international stakeholders were raising concerns with us two years ago. Not about the rollout, because these projects take time to actually build and we haven't even made the decision. And unfortunately, when you look at sporting legacy, having a drop in drop out pool in a swimming nation like ours again, doesn't leave that legacy that the Olympics is supposed to leave in the modern era.
SARAH ABO: Yeah, I think we all agree that we need something that is fit for purpose, that's for sure. But let's move on. Now, we've been away for a couple of weeks, but the released detainee saga continues to unfold with new documents showing the Albanese Government potentially misled the public. Amanda, this is not ideal, obviously, for the Government. The former Immigration Minister, Andrew Giles is once again under fire. What happens from here? This should have been handled better.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, look, let's be really clear, we had to respond to a decision from the High Court. We argued against that decision, but that decision was made and so we then passed laws to ensure that we kept the community safe. Now, of course, the Opposition just played politics with that, but we had to deal with the circumstances that the High Court provided. Now, we made sure that we have put strict monitoring in place and first priority was to make sure the community is safe and we will continue to do that. So, I think that there is a lot of politics being played by the Opposition here. Our job is to get on with making sure the community is safe and that's exactly what we're doing.
SARAH ABO: Very quickly, Bridget, because we've got less than a minute. Community safety is at the core of this. When you think about more than 80 being released…
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: Over 80 detainees were released without appropriate visas and without appropriate conditions in place. The Minister then walked into the Australian Parliament and told the Australian people that they had bridging visas and that they had appropriate conditions, which was not true. And under the Prime Minister's own Ministerial code of conduct, that is a clear breach because Ministers are supposed to not lie in Parliament and they're supposed to not lie to people and he's breached the Ministerial code of conduct.
SARAH ABO: We've got to go, but I have a feeling we're going to be talking about this for a little while longer. Thank you both so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE: Thanks Sarah.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Thank you.