Interview with Monique Wright, Sunrise

6 November 2024

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Well as Americans head to the polls today, Australian politicians are closely watching the outcome for one of our most critical diplomatic partnerships. A win for Donald Trump could mean large new trade tariffs, a shift on climate policy and a potential challenge for the AUKUS agreement, while a Kamala Harris victory would likely mean business as usual for their take, let's bring in Housing Minister Clare O'Neil and Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume, welcome to you both. Gosh, we all love an election here, as Jane said in the break, especially those that are not happening in country when you're on either side of the political divide. Clare, want to start with you. We know that Ambassador Kevin Rudd and Donald Trump are not very fond of each other. In fact, some pretty brutal remarks made by Trump who called Kevin Rudd nasty. That was just in March and not the brightest bulb. It's going to be difficult for our Ambassador to do business with the US government if Trump wins.

CLARE O'NEIL: Well look, Ambassador Rudd is not just one of the finest foreign policy minds in Australia, but actually in the world, and he has done a power of work to help Australia prepare for whatever eventuates out of the election today, it is a big and consequential moment for the world, and like you said there, we're going to be tuning in very closely to see, to see what happens over the coming days, but Ambassador Rudd has done a fantastic job here, and he's going to do a fantastic job no matter who's elected president.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: That may well be the case, but if Donald Trump is saying things like, if he's at all hostile, he won't be there long, he's sort of making these threats, it's going to be tricky for him, isn't it?

CLARE O'NEIL: Look, I don't think so. I mean, Australia and the US are firm friends and partners, and we have been now for many, many decades. And those relationships, they're not about one person or one individual on either side. They're about the strength of the connection between millions of people in our country, in the US. So I don't think we've got any question about where those bonds are going, but I'd say again, Ambassador Rudd is is one of the most clever people in the world, is doing a great job over there in the US, and done a lot to prepare our country for what's ahead. So let's just watch the results. See what happens when Australia is well positioned in any event of who wins?

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Okay, Jane, 50% chance here, though, isn't it that it could be Donald Trump in power? Would you keep Kevin Rudd there as Ambassador if Trump gets in? Or who would you prefer?

JANE HUME: This is very much a call for the government of the day. Clare is right. The relationship that Australia has with the US is an enduring one, both strategically and economically, and that will persist no matter who is sitting in the White House. Kevin Rudd is one of the brightest policy minds in foreign policy. We know that because he's told us many, many times. In fact, he's been spruiking his own book in the last few days, which is an unusual thing to do, I would imagine, just before a US election. Look, he's certainly done some good work around the US, the AUKUS agreements and around Defense Contract ties, that's terrific good news, but we know he has a very close relationship with Anthony Albanese. Albo was the one that backed him in the stabbing of Julia Gillard, so it's going to be up to Anthony Albanese and the government to make a call as to whether Ambassador Rudd can actually deepen and progress the relationship with the US, or whether it would be better to put in another.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Yes, but you’re going to be in this position. There's going to be an election in this country next year, around May. So would you keep in there?

JANE HUME: Yeah, well, it's all about who can best deepen that relationship and progress the ties that we have with the US, rather than weaken them.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: All right, look, we know it's going to be extremely tight. The polls are neck and neck. But if you were to place a bet on either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, Jane, who do you pick?

JANE HUME: I'm not a betting girl, except on Cup Day, of course. But look, I can't call it out. What I will say is that even though it's been messy, democracy wins at the end of the day.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: It's a very diplomatic What about you Clare?

CLARE O'NEIL: Look, I'm going to, I'm going to join Jane in the diplomacy there. You know, it's, it's one of the world's greatest democracies. They've got a big decision to make today, and whoever they elect as their president, Australia is going to work closely with them, as we have for many decades,

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Both been on agreement several things now, okay, let's move on. And it's been revealed that the number of foreign yoga teachers coming into this country is actually not higher than the number of bricklayers, which the Coalition has previously claimed. Jane, you've been stretching the truth here a bit, haven't you? It turns out, 69 yoga teachers, 195 brick layers, and 165 construction workers?

JANE HUME: Yeah, I'm still scratching my head as to why yoga teachers are on the core skills list at a time, particularly when we have a housing crisis. We've had a million migrants come to this country. They've got to be housed somewhere. We know that we have a shortage. Jane, that's not the question. Surely there. Would be more builders, more tilers, more bricklayers, more painters. These are the people that we need to come to the country. I still don't understand why yoga teachers are there in the first place.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: But there is, there's more than double bricklayers, more than double, almost three times the amount of bricklayers, double the construction workers. And your side…

JANE HUME: And Master Builders has been telling us we need about 50,000 more.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: But you've been claiming for months now that we're prioritizing yoga teachers. Our government is prioritising yoga teachers rather than builders and construction workers. That's just not true.

JANE HUME: Well they're on the core skills list. Do you think that yoga teaching is a core skill that we need more of in Australia or do you think we need more tradies? Because it's more tradies that we need to order to build the houses that we need to house the migrants that are coming in, ironically. This is a real problem. The housing crisis is affecting our economy. It's affecting our opportunity for economic growth. This is what needs to be addressed through our skilled migration program. I can't understand why we need more yoga teachers.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Okay, Clare, that's a fair question. Do we need yoga teachers to be coming in?

CLARE O'NEIL: Well, one, as you've said there. I mean, Jane and her colleagues have been massively caught out telling porky pies here. What the data released yesterday shows is that not only are very few yoga teachers coming into the country, but the most number of yoga teachers that ever got bought into Australia got brought in when Peter Dutton was the minister, and Jane has asked why they're on the core skills list. Well, they're on the core skills list, Jane, because your colleagues put them on the core skills list through Dan Tehan’s engagement in trade agreements. What I want people to understand is…

JANE HUME: Mate you’ve been in Government for two and a half years….

CLARE O’NEIL: …don't listen to all this ridiculous fallaba…

JANE HUME: You were the Minister, why didn’t you take it off.

CLARE O’NEIL: coming out from Jane and her colleagues, they've been shown to be not telling the truth here. What the truth is is that hardly any yoga instructors are coming into Australia. What we are doing is bringing significant immigration...

JANE HUME: Weren’t you watching this while you were Immigration Minister.

CLARE O’NEIL: What we are doing is bringing a significant number of skilled construction workers into the country, more in the last year than in any year in the previous decade.

JANE HUME: Are you going to meet your target?

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Clare, Jane, thank you. Thank you both so much for being with us. Terrific though, that you could both get on board and wear the same outfits

CLARE O’NEIL: Totally planned.

JANE HUME: Just for you.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Thank you both very much.