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OLIVER PETERSON, HOST: We’ll go to Canberra now, where we are joined by the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and the Member for Perth, Patrick Gorman. Good afternoon.

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Oly, and good afternoon to your listeners.

PETERSON: Why didn’t you attend the farmers rally yesterday?

GORMAN: Oly, I’ve been I’m in Parliament. When Parliament’s on, I’ve got to be here doing my job, representing my –

PETERSON: – But all the Nats and all the Libs were out there. There was no one – from the Agriculture Minister, from the Prime Minister, from any of the WA Labor members. Why didn’t any of you turn up to see the farmers who travelled all the way across the Nullarbor from Western Australia to talk to you?

GORMAN: Oly, I think it’s important that you and your listeners know that the Prime Minister indeed did meet with representatives from WA who were here yesterday. Myself –

PETERSON: Did he go to the rally?

GORMAN: I don’t need to meet with farmers here in Canberra, I’ve met with them in Western Australia. And of course, they came to put their message across. And I completely respect that. Parliament House is the home of Australian democracy, and everyone, even when there are disagreements, everyone should be able to come here and put their view. And indeed, that happened yesterday.

PETERSON: But they didn’t feel respected. And we spoke to many farmers yesterday, Patrick, who just thought that you might even take an ear, that your government might have had a listen to their concerns. They feel really let down. Why couldn’t any of the WA Labor federal MPs, and your good self included, just go out there and have a listen to the rally?

GORMAN: Before that rally was even planned, Oly, I’d spoken to people in Western Australia. My job is to talk to people in WA, bring their messages over here, and also explain to them why we’ve made the decisions that we have. I welcome those who chartered a plane to fly themselves over. I think that’s very innovative, and it’s good to have differences of opinion. But my focus right now and every day going forward, is to recognise that the parliament has made a decision about ending the live sheep export trade in 2028. I want to make sure that I keep my government’s commitment to ensure that those producers get to continue to grow their businesses, that those producers get those new opportunities, and that we continue to grow the sheep meat industry. What I know is that in 2022-23 it was worth about 4.5 billion. This financial year, the sheep meat industry is going to be worth 5.1 billion. It is a growing industry, and so I also don’t want to talk down the industry. I recognise it’s going through a big change, and we’re there every step of the way. $107 million package to make sure we do more processing here. Now, there are differences of opinion, and I respect that, but I want to make sure that we do exactly what we said we would do, which is to work with farmers in Western Australia to make sure that their businesses actually grow, but grow in a different way.

PETERSON: But you’re not working with them. I mean, that’s the clear message that they’re telling us time and time again and saying you’re with them every step of the way when they make the effort to come across the Nullarbor again, to Canberra, to Parliament House. Surely it’s incumbent on your government that somebody goes out and listens to the rally and sometimes just has to cop the punches and the feedback. I mean, you govern for all of Australia, Patrick, and you are the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister. That’s part of your responsibilities. He’s elevated you to that position to be, as I’ve called you before, the megaphone to WA. Shouldn’t you have been out there?

GORMAN: Oly, as you know, I always front up, even when there’s disagreements. I’m here having a chat with you now. You’re putting the views of a range of your listeners. I think that that is my job. I do mobile offices so people can come and talk to me. I’ve spoken to farmers in Western Australia about this issue over a number of months, but my focus, as it should be, is to respect that the parliament’s made a decision, and now to get on with the job of growing the sheep meat industry in Western Australia, but growing it without reliance on live exports,

PETERSON: The minimum social media age. Have we set a decision on whether it’s 14, whether it’s 15, whether it’s 16?

GORMAN: We haven’t set that yet. We are going to continue consulting. There’s been a lot of views put around. I think there’s a number of people who are suggesting that 16 should be the age. We want to get this right. We also want to make sure that those big, multinational social media giants actually do some heavy lifting. I think they’ve been too slack for too long. Parents are sick of it. We want to make sure that kids are actually out having a childhood, not having a drained battery on a screen. Let’s get it. Let’s make sure we get our kids back out in the playing fields, back out in our parks, actually having a childhood. We’ll get that legislation in this year. I’m going to be guided – I think this is important as well – the big report, the 270 page report that is sitting on my desk right now was written by former Chief Justice Robert French, an outstanding Western Australian. He did that work for the South Australian Government. We’ve said that the Commonwealth, we’re going to grab Robert French’s work and use that to help inform what we do in the weeks ahead.

PETERSON: You’ve written an opinion piece that the Greens Party’s ruining our democracy more than you know, the combination of their ‘block everything approach’ and their dishonest slogans is undermining democracy. Many people look at the polls and think at their next federal election, if you need to be returned to office, you might be relying on the support of the Greens to hold on to government. Patrick, is it not so cozy a relationship between the Labor Party and the Greens now?

GORMAN: I think for a period of time, you’ve seen members of the government calling out the immaturity of the Greens. We’ve been calling out the immaturity of the Greens with some of the protests that they’ve attended. Including the protest with the corrupt, thuggish parts of the CFMEU in Brisbane. We had a Green there. In Melbourne today we’ve seen another awful protest where there’s been the assault of police officers. There was a Greens MP cheering it on today, disgusting behaviour. And the WA Greens are just as bad. The WA Greens oppose the GST deal that actually funds the hospitals in Western Australia. They want to rip up that GST deal, and I don’t think enough of your listeners know about that. And then they’ve got this really bizarre position. A number of your listeners would have had friends who’ve benefited from Keystart, the shared equity scheme that’s helped 120,000 Western Australians into their own homes. We’re trying to take that great idea that happened has worked well in WA for decades. And take it national, but the WA Greens in the Senate are voting against it. I mean, I don’t know how they can justify their existence, Oly.

PETERSON: Before I let you go, Patrick, just have a listen to Shane the shearer who spoke to us yesterday afternoon. He flew all the way, in fact, I think he drove all the way across the country to Parliament House, and to that rally.

SHANE THE SHEARER: Coming from Western Australia, it was 3776 kilometres that I’ve travelled, along with my fellow friends. Of my own personal income. I’ve spent 25 years shearing sheep. So I paid for my own flight, and I paid for my own accommodation, and I pay my taxes as well, and they still wouldn’t come out and welcome me to Australia’s Capital Territory. It was very disrespectful.

PETERSON: What would you say to Shane, Patrick?

GORMAN: I’d say firstly to Shane, thanks for engaging in Australia’s democracy, and thanks for making the effort. I always welcome the fact that West Australians do have to go that little bit extra to get to the nation’s capital –

PETERSON: – and then none of you met them!

GORMAN: Like I said, Oly, I’ve met with a range of representatives and individuals about this issue over, in fact, not just over this year, but I mean, we’ve taken this policy to two elections now since 2019. I’ve been talking about this with my community and with a range of people who have interests in this matter. But to Shane the shearer, I’d firstly say, thanks for the work you do. It’s really important. And I want to make sure that people like Shane have a job, not just in the next few years, but that we manage this change where we know there’s been this large decline over the last twenty years in live export, we’re going to manage the conclusion of that trade and make sure that people like Shane do have a job for as long as he wants one. And on the way through, Shane would have noticed in his pay packet last the other month that he got a tax cut.

PETERSON: Oh, that’s really going to help. After 25 years, Patrick, he’s been a shearer and he’s been working in the live export trade, and you’ve just torn up his industry. You reckon he’s going to be looking at the tax cut? He got a couple of bucks. Woohoo. Thanks, Patrick.

GORMAN: Oly, I think, I think, you know, as do I that when it comes to the actual size of the sheep meat industry in Western Australia – we’re talking about sheep meat and wool. The value of those industries is about $650 million each. The value of the live export industry is about $77 million so a far smaller proportion. That’s why, to Shane the shearer and many others, I say: I want to work with you to make sure that we find the smart ways to grow this industry, while not relying on the live export piece, which we know has been declining for a number of years.

PETERSON: Patrick Gorman, thanks for your time.

GORMAN: Thank you, Oly.