Topics: Senator Paterson, Tom Hughes Oration, Gaza peace deal, Gaza visa applications.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

Joining me now live in studio is Shadow Defence Minister, Angus Taylor. Angus, great to see you again.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Good to be with you, Sharri.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

We're going to come back to that topic in a minute, but I want to start with James Paterson's oration, his, the Tom Hughes Oration last night. Which has made big headlines today because he accused the Liberal Party of spending too long dwelling on itself and not moving on. Let's have a quick look at what James Paterson had to say last night.

 

Senator Paterson:

“There is a time limit on this soul-searching process. We must do it now at the start of the term, so that it does not drag on forever. An ongoing mass public therapy session doesn't exactly scream ready for government.”

 

It's hard to disagree with that. Well, Angus Taylor, do you agree that the Liberal Party needs to stop its apology tour and soul searching and actually give the government a run for its money?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

No, I absolutely agree. Look, there's understandably a lot of grieving, even anger, that I've seen from our supporters and others about the outcome in May. But we have to get on with the job now of holding the government to account, working on our policies, and make sure we're in a position to beat a bad Labor government at the next election. And that does mean filling the policy vacuum over time, which I've done in my area. I mean, we recommitted to 3% of GDP for defence spending, which is incredibly important at a time as uncertain as now. But we have to do this across the board over time, and that work needs to happen as quickly as possible.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

You've just called it a policy vacuum. Hard to disagree with that. But what I want to ask you is, you ran for Leader against Sussan Ley, she narrowly won. If you were Leader right now, would you have more policy platforms on the table?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Look, I’m not Leader, Shari. So, I'm not going to go with the hypothetical, but I will say it's important, over time, to get our policies out there, to stay true to our values, which was the point that James was making, above all. To focus on freedom, free enterprise, and the power of getting government out of the way for businesses, and people to get on with their lives. The importance of conserving our key institutions, the family, small business, the nation itself – which is a big focus for me in the defence portfolio. And that means rolling up our sleeves, getting the work done, and I'll continue to do that, certainly in my portfolio, every day.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

He also spoke about not being Farage-light, or going too far to the left, to the Teals. Do you think there is a position, and this battle has been playing out in the Liberal Party between the moderate and the more conservative faction. Do you think there is a position in the middle where the party can unite on?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, I don't think we should be anything light. I don't think we should be Labor light, or any other light. I think we've got to be Liberal heavy. And it's those values that I just talked about. We've got to be the freedom party, the party that conserves our core institutions. And if we do that and put the policies out over the coming months and years, in line with that, I think we can win the next election, because this is a bad government. And I think Australians and many of your viewers will be, they're hungry for our values to be articulated in important policies. And as I say, I'll be continuing to do that every day.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

I mean, there are some thorny issues that are very difficult to solve, like energy policy, Net Zero. Those debates have been going on for a long period of time. Where do you think the Party should land?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, we've already opposed bad 2035 targets. We've said we're not going to adopt targets that are unachievable and destructive, and you know, we should stay consistent with that. We have also said that immigration got too high under Labor, and it did. I mean, on its own metrics, they weren't even meeting their own targets. But as I say, we've got to continue doing the work. We've got to move on from the anger and the grieving, and we've got to provide the Australian people a real contest, because that's what they want.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

It's what Australians deserve, quite frankly. Now just to return to the Middle East, you saw those comments from President Trump. Now he vowed to remove Hamas by violent force, if necessary. Do you think there, he's implying that we could see American troops in Gaza?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, it's a good question, Shari. What I would say is that this piece is not going to be sustainable unless Hamas is disarmed and neutralised. That is very, very clear. And some of the scenes you've just shown, which are quite extraordinary, tell us exactly that. So, this…

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

It’s unlikely they're going to just surrender voluntarily.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

And of course, in the 20-point agreement, there is a commitment to a multinational force. And I think in reality, that is going to be necessary; and Donald Trump has said exactly that. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organisation. Now I know you know that. But it cannot coexist with sustainable peace in the Middle East, it must be disarmed and neutralised. And if it's not, we're not going to see the outcomes we all want to see.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

If there is a presence, would you think Australia should join our allies, like America, like we did against ISIS? Would we send troops there?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

I think the incredibly important piece of this is to have the Arab states enforcing that peace. We know that is going to be the most effective way forward. And what is so masterful about what the United States has achieved here, is that they have engaged with, successfully, the Arab states to be involved in this force. That is incredibly important.  In terms of Australia, it's not part of the plan, and we certainly haven't been asked – that I'm aware of at least – to be part of it, but we do need to make sure we do our bit to make sure it succeeds. And I’ve got to say, Shari, our government recognising Palestine before this peace was sustainably in place, was just completely irresponsible, and is not helping to get to the outcome we need to.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

What do you think about this hypocrisy of you know, all the aid organisations, most governments, being silent on these public executions by Hamas?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

It's pretty extraordinary. I know that scene, I saw it earlier today. To think that Hamas is still doing this sort of thing. We don't know all the details around it, obviously, but that's incredibly brutal, and I think we all want to see the end of that brutality. We won't see the end of that brutality until we see the end of Hamas.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

Very quick final question, because we're out of time. Tony Burke says up to 700 Gazans could still arrive in Australia, from Gaza. Do you think this should go ahead, given there is now a cease fire?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, Shari, we've been deeply sceptical of the way this government has brought people in from Gaza on tourist visas. I mean, they claim to have had the appropriate security checks. I think there's real questions about that, and we are going to continue to ask those questions, I can assure you.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

Alright, Angus Taylor, really appreciate your time. Good to be with you.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Good to be with you.

 

SHARRI MARKSON:

 

Thank you so much.

 

 

ENDS.