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TOM CONNELL, HOST: Joining the panel now, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman. And friend of the programme, I can say now, because he’s one of our regulars, for better or for worse. Patrick, welcome.

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. Tom.

CONNELL: Let’s start with this issue to do with people coming here from Gaza. So the Coalition has made a lot of what the Prime Minister’s quoted in terms of the ASIO boss. Now what happens here is, the quote is ‘they get referred to ASIO,’ but the full quote is ‘where criteria are hit.’ That’s what the PM didn’t say. So that means, if criteria are not hit, people not necessarily been assessed. Is that accurate?

GORMAN: Well, what we’ve also said very clearly is that our security agencies are involved in the issuing of all visas and all processes that we undertake. Now, in terms of the specific quotes, I know some are battling between whether they watch Sunday Agenda or Insiders on a Sunday morning. But most people find a way to watch both with the technology available to us today. I don’t think anyone avoids watching the Director-General of ASIO when he speaks. I always make sure that I pay close attention. The transcript was tabled in question time today. But I also want to make this point: what we’ve been seeing from the Coalition is they’ve been making claim after claim after claim and not taking any responsibility where they’ve sort of overreached in terms of what they’re expecting, of how we would conduct ourselves in Parliament, or what we’d expect of our security agencies.

CONNELL: I was going to say, can we sum it up this way then? Just to cut through to what you’re trying to tell voters – it had to be done really quickly, but the assessment didn’t end there, so…?

GORMAN: Well that’s the case for any visa, anyone who comes to Australia comes here in our national interest, that’s a fact. And anyone who is on a visa in Australia who does not comply with the terms of that visa we show them the door.

CONNELL: But not just the terms, because if it comes up about their background, is that necessarily going to be the terms? Because this is a visitor’s visa or a holiday visa, so –

GORMAN: People are coming to this country in our national interest, and as Tony Burke made clear in question time today, these things are under constant reviews, as they should be. But equally, we’re not going to have that discussion open in the Parliament about every process that our security agencies undertake –

CONNELL: – Well, that’s why I’m asking a broad question –

GORMAN: – and I think that’s the thing that Mr. Dutton and his frontbenchers have been quite loose in their expectations.

ANDREW CLENNELL, HOST: Ed Husic conceded yesterday that the reason the visitor visas were granted, as opposed to some other process, was because there was a rush to get these people out.

GORMAN: We take advice. We take advice from security agencies when we’re making these decisions. This was a cohort of people. What we also know is that that flow of people from the occupied Palestinian territories has slowed. People haven’t been able to get out of Gaza –

CLENNELL: So you asked security agencies whether it was okay to issue visitor visas?

GORMAN: We take advice. When you’ve got these complex international situations, we take advice and we get advice from the same agencies. When Mr. Dutton and others were sitting on the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Security Committee of Cabinet, they issued visas to some 12,000 Syrian refugees. We take advice and ultimately –

CLENNELL: This is going to sound like an obvious question, but what was the impetus for taking this cohort? Why did the government decide it wanted to take Palestinians? In this instance?

GORMAN: We’ve granted again, as was outlined in question time today, this was not new, to be granting visas to people from the occupied Palestinian territories. We saw that under the former government –

CLENNELL: Agreed. But that you took more than the previous government had in a very short space of time. So what was the impetus?

GORMAN: I think what we know is that there has been significant people movement, both in Gaza and then into Egypt. It’s appropriate that Australia where, again, and I say this, and I said this in response to Tom’s question, where it’s in our national interest to play our role, we will play that role. But, again, I want to reassure your viewers and yourself, Andrew, that everyone who’s been issued a visa has undergone the appropriate checks to be issued with a visa to Australia.

TRUDY MCINTOSH, HOST: We’re seeing on a separate issue, Labor backbenchers speaking up about gambling. Where do you personally sit on whether there should be a total ban of ads of gambling on TV, for example?

GORMAN: Yeah, we’re undertaking those consultations at the moment. We’ve seen that. I’m not going to prejudge the conclusions of where the government’s final policy settings will be –

MCINTOSH: Would you be disappointed if it wasn’t a total ban like Peta Murphy had called for?

GORMAN: I think that report, all 31 recommendations that were from the report that Peta Murphy and a range of Parliamentarians across the spectrum put together was a very good report. And because of that report, which I will note, the Minister for Communications asked that committee to commence, because of that report, we’re having this discussion now. But we haven’t been waiting for the response to that report. We’ve introduced BetStop. 27,000 Australians have used BetStop. That’s those who have identified in themselves they have some form of a gambling problem, and the system that we’ve put in place is helping them. We’ve also put in place the restrictions so you can’t use a credit card – i.e. money you do not have – to gamble online. We’ll continue to consult. It’s important that we get that right, because I want to make sure that we get things that support those who need help most, but also reforms that last.

CONNELL: I feel like this is the sort of question you’ll have an answer for. What’s your favourite underground train system in the world? Sydney has a new one today.

GORMAN: Well, of course, my favourite would be the Perth –

CONNELL: No, it can’t be!

GORMAN: – Perth-Bayswater Airport Line Underground –

MCINTOSH: That’s your favourite in the world?!

GORMAN: – which goes under the Derbarl Yerrigan, the beautiful Swan River. Look, Tom I can’t hide my excitement. That Sydney Metro is an incredible piece of infrastructure, a huge credit to everyone involved in its construction. A very exciting day for commuters and visitors of Sydney. Look, I can’t wait to catch it.

CONNELL: Good day for privatisation.

GORMAN: I still have an Opal Card. I’ll take my Opal Card, I’ll test it out.

CONNELL: Good day for privatisation, given it funded it?

GORMAN: I come from a state that has the great benefits of a publicly owned electricity network and electricity generation –

CONNELL: You could sell that and build a really good underground. For not many people to go on, I guess.

GORMAN: We’re going in the opposite direction at the moment. We’re building some above ground, removing a number of level crossings on the Armadale Line at the moment in Perth. So we’re going up, not down.

CLENNELL: Everyone drives in Perth, don’t you know that?

CONNELL: Patrick Gorman, always good to get your thoughts. Thank you.

GORMAN: Thank you.