Seat of Kingsford Smith, Iraq, Environment Policy Mark Latham - Leader of the Opposition

TV Interview with Tracey Grimshaw

Transcript - Today, Channel Nine - 7 June 2004

GRIMSHAW:        In a bid to woo young voters the Labor Party is recruiting or trying to recruit, at least, former Midnight Oil front man Peter Garrett. He would fill the spot in Kingsford Smith left open by Laurie Brereton, who announced his retirement over the weekend. Joining us to discuss the potential new face plus all things Labor is opposition leader Mark Latham. Mr Latham, good morning.

LATHAM:         Good morning, Tracy.

GRIMSHAW:       It would appear on the face of it, you’re going to have a branch fight on your hands if you try to impose Peter Garrett on the people of Kingsford Smith.

LATHAM:         I think in politics it is always important to get candidates in place who are good for the nation. Peter Garrett, right around Australia, is a very well-regarded person. He’s inspiring on issues such as the environment and indigenous affairs. He is the sort of person that we need in the federal Parliament. It would be a great honour for the Labor Party to have him among our ranks and the offer is there for him to run as our candidate in Kingsford Smith, if he chooses to take it up. I think he would be a great asset to the Parliament, a great asset to our national politics.

GRIMSHAW:       So if he says that he will do it, the local branch will have to cop it sweet?

LATHAM:         We will have to go through those processes inside the Labor Party but anyone who goes into politics knows that at the end of the day our responsibility is to put in place candidates who are good for the nation. We don’t do this for ourselves; we do it for Australia. And to have someone of Peter Garrett’s quality in the Australian Parliament is something that is highly desirable, and to have him there as a Labor Party representative would leave me tickled pink.       

GRIMSHAW:       Have you spoken to him personally? Do you know if he is interested?

LATHAM:         Yes, I have spoken to him. Bob Carr sometime ago made Peter Garrett an offer to go into the state Parliament; the offer is there to go into federal Parliament as a Labor representative and hopefully this time around we can be more persuasive and he can take up the offer.

GRIMSHAW:       Has he given him any indications in your conversations with him?

LATHAM:         It is not for me to speak on behalf of Peter Garrett. He will make his own decision and public announcement in due course, I’d expect, and that of course is up to him.

GRIMSHAW:       Greens Senator Bob Brown wonders why Peter Garrett would stand for a party that has ‘sent chainsaws into Tasmania’s forests and fed 1080 to endangered species’.

LATHAM:          Labor has got a good record on the environment over the years and now we stand in support of the Kyoto Protocol, a real effort to do something about climate change. We’ve got policies to save the Murray-Darling, a good policy for a protection of our beaches and oceans. Just yesterday I announced our policy to ultimately ban the use of plastic checkout bags, something that’s good for the environment, working with Planet Ark. We’ve got a very good record on the environment. We are proud of our environmental credentials and someone like Peter Garrett, I hope, recognises that and would add to that in our efforts and many other regards.

GRIMSHAW:       We were discussing on the program a short time ago that he is not exactly a political pragmatist – he is very passionate about the environment. How far would you be prepared to tailor Labor’s environment policy to suit him?

LATHAM:         Our policy is mostly announced. I would be working on the basis that he would be in support of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, saving the Murray-Darling, and all our other initiatives. Peter Garrett is certainly an idealistic person, and I think we need more of that in federal politics. In Canberra you can get some cynicism in certain quarters. That’s no good in the public interest; we need more idealism – people who want to do big things for the country, particularly on important issues such as the environment.

GRIMSHAW:       Let’s move on to Iraq. Iraq’s new interim Prime Minister has called for Coalition troops to stay on to ensure safety and security in the country during the transition to self-rule. Would those sorts of requests have any effect on your plan to bring the troops home by Christmas, if you were elected?

LATHAM:         No, we make our policy in Australia’s interest, according to Australia’s priorities. We’ve set that out. We’ve also got to recognise, in the past, the Howard Government has said no to overseas governments. In Afghanistan, the government there wanted our forces to stay longer but the Government had them home by Christmas 2002. So when it comes to putting Australia’s interests first that’s what the Labor Party is doing in relation to Iraq and our commitment stands.

GRIMSHAW:       And if Iraq were to descend into turmoil?

LATHAM:         You’ve got turmoil now. You’ve had turmoil in the past. Our argument is that the best solution will come under United Nations leadership, and the best role Australia can play is not a long-term military role but through economic, humanitarian and civilian aid to be part of the process of rebuilding Iraq. But, in terms of settling the country down, we all know – particularly after the prison atrocity scandal – that you need to move to United Nations leadership to get the best outcome.

GRIMSHAW:       Okay. Mr Latham the Prime Minister says the ABC – this is obviously non-Iraq related – was foolish to depict lesbian mums on Play School. What do you think?