E&OE TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECTS: MYGOV BIRTH OF A CHILD PILOT; CFMEU; PRESIDENT TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.
KIERAN GILBERT (HOST): Let's go live now to the Minister for Government Services and the NDIS, Bill Shorten. Bill, thanks for your time. A lot to talk about from the CFMEU to Donald Trump and that assassination attempt. I do want to start, though, with the news that you've committed to today along with the ACT Government. This is in your area of responsibility, when babies are born. So a positive time of life, wonderful development for families and you- it's basically making it easier in terms of engaging with government services, what you're announcing today.
BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FOR THE NDIS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: Yes. The birth of a child is fantastic for mums and for families, but it can also come with a whole lot of paperwork. So I think Australians will be pleased to know that there's been a bit of work going on between the state and Federal Governments, and in the ACT and two Queensland hospitals what we now do is rather than mum or the birth parent or the parent having to fill in seven different pieces of paper to make sure their child's on Medicare and the system knows who they are. We can do this digitally, online. And it just means that for the life cycle, when you've got the family here at the hospital, the children don't leave without being on the Medicare system and it'll- it saves on average parents half an hour. But it's a lot more than that because once families leave the hospital, then it's just a big chase getting the right paperwork. So this is a bit of common sense emerging in terms of digital government services.
GILBERT: It makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. And less risk for mistakes and that sort of thing as well. Now as a former union leader yourself over many years, as a former Labor leader and still a senior member of the Government and the Cabinet, what have you made of the stories around the CFMEU and then today, the Victorian branch entering administration, the state government suspending them and calling on the national executive to suspend the Victorian branch from Labor. Do you welcome this response from the Allan Government?
SHORTEN: I do, but first of all, let me just say I'm equal parts angry and disappointed. There are millions of Aussies who belong to trade unions. There are so many thousands of union reps just doing the right thing, making sure people are safe at work, making sure they get paid properly. But clearly there is a pathology in parts of the construction sector which we've seen exposed in the last 24 hours. It just lets down everyone else and it's not- no one should be using their position as a union rep to be taking money, and companies shouldn't be offering money. And it's just- it's just a shocking look, and it's not how the system should be, and nor do I think it reflects what a lot of people in a range of other sectors, how they behave.
GILBERT: And the organised crime, the bikies involvement, according to this investigation as well. Jacinta Allan's right in saying this needs to be rooted out?
SHORTEN: Yeah, it certainly does. Minister Tony Burke and in fact, the Prime Minister, the whole Federal Government is committed to taking action. All options are on the table. Minister Burke prudentially is making sure that whatever options he does can stand up legally. There's no point in going off half cocked. I mean, it does make you realise, though, what an amazing waste of time the old Liberal Trade Union Royal Commission was. They didn't get some of these Victorian CFMEU people in the box, but instead they went after people like myself and former Prime Minister Gillard, but the Labor Government will sort this and I know Minister Burke has got all options on the table and this behaviour is not acceptable and it can't be ignored.
GILBERT: On to the attempted assassination. The news that's dominated the world, not just the United States, but global reaction to the near assassination of Donald Trump yesterday. He had his ear grazed by a bullet. It was so close to him being killed and to what would have been an even greater disaster, a calamity for the US democracy, if that were to happen so close to the Republican Convention and to the Presidential Election.
SHORTEN: Yeah, it was shocking. And I'm pleased that former President Trump is safe. Of course, let's not forget that someone died and two others were seriously injured. So it's shocking and frightening. America has a long tradition unfortunately of having violence. I mean, from President Lincoln being assassinated to President Kennedy, it just reminds us in Australia that we are really lucky, but we now need to stamp down on some of the outrage and some of the anger factories and some of the heated debate we're seeing in Australia, because whilst we've been lucky relatively, we've got to make- we've got to learn from this and the political discourse in this country. We're allowed to disagree. We're allowed to disagree robustly, but we've got to stamp out some of the extreme madness which lives on the internet and can metastasise into real life.
GILBERT: Yeah, indeed. Well said. Bill Shorten, thank you as always. Appreciate it.
SHORTEN: Pleasure, Kieran. Cheers.