08-June-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, The Economy
Topics: Lindsay Tanner’s pork barrelling, opinion polls.
E&OE
Derryn Hinch:
Andrew Robb, good afternoon
Andrew Robb:
Good afternoon Derryn.
Derryn Hinch:
Now there’s pork barrelling in both parties, your party has done it in the past, you’re well aware of it, but boy this one’s a doozy.
Andrew Robb:
Well it is a doozy and you’ve got to look at who they are doing it for, who’s done it to himself. It’s the man who probably made his reputation over the years in opposing rorting and pork barrelling. He was the man who was always looking across the chamber in a very sanctimonious way, giving us a big lecture and he’s the man responsible, in part with Swan, for a $57 billion deficit.
He’s out there telling everybody, mums and dads, to tighten their belts and here he is, because he’s worrying about the Greens taking his seat, in probably one of the biggest pork barrelling exercises we’ve ever seen.
Derryn Hinch:
Yes, the words have been spelled out by the Sunday Herald Sun in some detail, and a lot of it I must say, to me seems indefensible.
Andrew Robb:
Well, they put it, I understand it, all of that detail to Tanner’s office, to Lindsay’s office, and asked would they, could he, would he explain and they just got back the message ‘no thanks’. So here he is 24 hours later, we’ve heard nothing from him and I think he has to front and put the case.
Because as I say, we’ve got the Government, who’s built a mountain of debt and he’s been out there telling people to be sensible and pull their belts in and yet for crass political purposes he’s showing the hypocrisy.
This Government, I tell you, it has sort of lost the plot in lots of ways. There seems to be a sense of panic running through everybody, including people like Lindsay, who has a strong reputation.
Derryn Hinch:
Yes, he does have a strong reputation. One other point though is that you can’t all gloat too much. Kevin Rudd’s down, Labor is down, the Coalition’s ahead, but Tony Abbott’s personal polling has also dropped, they’re not convinced, although they’re no overly happy with Mr Rudd, they’re not overly happy with your leader either.
Andrew Robb:
Well, we’ve always thought this is very difficult to get up on, this one Derryn. We will fight it as hard as we can, but it has been 80 years since a first term Government, so people will make a judgement.
But I’ve known Tony for a long time now and he’s what you see is what you get, he’s real. He’s decisive, he says it as he sees it and I think people will see that, compared with, they are still asking after three years in Government just what does Mr Rudd stand for? Where would he take us? Where are his principles?
At the moment I think people are really disenchanted with the fact Kevin Rudd doesn’t seem to stand for anything.