TRANSCRIPT - TELEVISION INTERVIEW - SKY NEWS AFTERNOON AGENDA

TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AFTERNOON AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, 4 JUNE 2025

Subjects: Superannuation; Western Australian Labor Senator Dorinda Cox; the Liberal Party failed in their efforts to win back the 'Teal' seats; Jason Falinski's future in politics; the Tasmanian Parliament; Tasmanian AFL Team. 

TOM CONNELL, HOST: Let's get the take on the political week that has been. Joining me now, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman, former Liberal MP for Mackellar Jason Falinski. Thanks both for your time. Why don't we start with the superannuation tax? What's changing here, Patrick? Is it not wanting to do a deal with the Greens, or do you think there's some unrest amongst the community around taxing unrealised capital gains?  

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: We've put our plan out, and it's been out there since last year. Clear. It's in the Budget. We've taken it to an election. I'd call on all senators to let this go through. It's good for the nation's finances. It's good to make sure that those very generous superannuation tax breaks are there, targeted for people who need them for a good, long retirement. We want to get it done. We're happy to talk to anyone. But I'm not really convinced by some of the things we've seen from Ted O'Brien, who's sort of saying that he's got a plan to make it all work, but he can't seem to write any of it down. He can't seem to actually articulate what it is that he wants to do. He just, I think, wants to be in the media cycle.

CONNELL: Well, he's about to hold a press conference. We'll see what he says. Jason, where do you think the Coalition should go on this? Try to be more involved, or just say flat out, 'no' to this bill?

JASON FALINSKI, FORMER LIBERAL MP FOR MACKELLAR: This tax is unconscionable. It's regressive. It will hurt the Australian economy. It is unfair to people who have been planning their retirement. It does not understand the historical circumstances in which it was brought in. And the fact of the matter is, though, that the Labor Party took it to the election, and the Australian people voted for it, and therefore they have a mandate. And it is interesting that when I suggested, therefore, that the Liberal Party in the Senate should abstain, Patrick was quite critical of me. In fact, he called that 'extraordinary' -

GORMAN: I'm always critical of you, Jason, I want you to be the best version of yourself, so I've got to keep your toes.

FALINSKI: [Laughs] And we're off. We didn't even get through my first answer! But it's also fair to say that now that's exactly what he's calling for. And I think, you know, we should let the Labor Party do their unconscionable thing, and the Australian people can see it for what it is, and it will do real and lasting damage to our economy.

CONNELL: Alright, we'll see where that lands. We've got Ted O'Brien about to stand up on that. I'll let you two argue this week, because, you know, we all - it got pretty firey, didn't it between you and me last week, Jason? But we're fine. If you're out there in 'Viewer-land' worried about us, we've both fronted up again. Let me ask you, Pat Gorman, Labor out there snaring a Greens senator, Dorinda Cox - what's the motivation here?

GORMAN: Well, I think Dorinda Cox has been really open about her motivations, which was that she'd reflected over a period of time about her values and how to best turn those values into action. And that she came to the conclusion that being part of the Australian Labor Party, which she had been a member of before, was the best path forward. So she's decided to act on that decision, rather than to just sit in another party room. She's decided to act on that decision, I welcome her into the Labor Party -

CONNELL: Will she become a double agent? Part of a sleeper cell? Waiting to duck back over?

GORMAN: I think we know, and we've talked about this on your programme a number of times, Tom, the Greens Party has changed quite dramatically and radically in the last few years. It's Labor that's offering consistent, solid progress on things that the Australian people care about. Senator Cox wants to be part of that team delivering practical progress. I welcome her in. She'll make a fine contribution in our caucus processes, and I look forward to seeing her both here in the West as a Labor colleague and in Canberra as well.

CONNELL: But I'm not going to ask you about this, Jason, but I guess we're at this position now we can reflect on the overall, so-called 'Teal' seats. So Goldstein won back. We'll see what happens on a legal challenge on Bradfield, but Nicolette Boele is going to end up ahead after this recount. How do you judge these seats and a Liberal Party going forward? Is pursuing them becoming a fool's errand, or you need to double down?

FALINSKI: Tom, I assume you are asking that question to be provocative. We had, after the last election, the idea that we didn't need to pursue these seats, if this election shows anything, these seats are more representative of the seats we need to hold than other seats that we were pursuing. So yes, we need to target these seats. We need to win these seats back. I think it comes down to a very simple issue, which is, if we are talking about cultural issues, we're losing votes in areas where we need to win votes, and we need to, therefore, reorientate towards value arguments and economic arguments and frame the debate in terms of the economy and values that Australians actually care about. I think that's what's happened in Bradfield. That's what's happened in all the Teal seats. So yeah, that's what needs to happen.

CONNELL: If I wanted to be provocative, I would have asked something - say, 'would you have done better than James Brown in Mackellar?'

FALINSKI: Yes, that would be a very provocative question. I'm lucky you didn't ask that.

CONNELL: Do you want to answer it anyway?

FALINSKI: [Laughs] No!

CONNELL: No?

FALINSKI: Why are you two being so mean to me today?

CONNELL: I don't know... I think I'm alright.

GORMAN: Can I volunteer to answer it for you, Tom?

CONNELL: Yeah, go on. So, how do you follow up better than me? I've been trying for years. You do a follow up, Patrick, that Jason can't possibly avoid on that - go.

GORMAN: Well, firstly, I'll say my view, which I'll leave it open for Jason to disagree with -

CONNELL: - How is this a follow-up? Geez!

GORMAN: My view, is that Jason could have done much better. In fact, Jason could have gone into pretty much any seat in the country that the Liberal Party were contesting and do better than the Liberal candidate that was plopped in there. Seriously, I mean, we had Jason out there talking about Tim Wilson being leader of the Liberal Party, but I think it's time to give the people what they actually want, which is for Jason Falinski, outside of the parliament -

CONNELL: Alright -

FALINSKI: - Don't interrupt him Tom! Don't interrupt him!

GORMAN: - unshackled from the obligations of the House of Representatives to become leader of the Liberal Party.

CONNELL: Yeah -

GORMAN: - Let's make it happen, Jason, stand up for what you believe in!

CONNELL: I love the way I was like - 'how does a journo follow up?' And we got 'The Gorman Show,' maybe that'll be the next programme of Sky News.

FALINSKI: I like this episode of The Gorman Show.

CONNELL: Yeah. Oh, he's doing alright. Let me ask you this. This is a question for you, Patrick, by the way, just to make that clear, I'm running the programme today, or kind of running it -

GORMAN: Yes, boss.

CONNELL: Labor in Tasmania, they're going to blow up the next AFL team?

GORMAN: Obviously, there's a range of things happening in the Tasmanian Parliament at the moment. I won't give a minute-by-minute commentary. Obviously, we work with the government that the Tasmanian people elect. That's currently the Rockliff Government. We've had a really good relationship with that government, delivering on a range of things, including on support for that sports enterprise, for the Tassie team to eventually head into the AFL as you mentioned. But I'm conscious there's a lot happening in the Tasmanian Parliament at the moment, and I'll leave the local democracy there to do their business. I don't think I'd be particularly excited having a Tasmanian Labor person give a blow-by-blow commentary on WA state politics, so I won't do the same.

CONNELL: Jason, I'm sure your love of AFL is about as convincing as Malcolm Turnbull's. Do you care at all what's happening down there?

FALINSKI: No. In terms of AFL teams, no, not really. But in terms of the parliament, obviously I care, and I think that it's, you know, this is what Australians hate about politics, when people play games in Parliament rather than actually tending to the business of the people. And you know, this appears to be what's happening writ large. I mean, too many people in our parliaments never left student politics, and I'm afraid this seems to be a case study in that.

CONNELL: We'll see. I'll just do a Patrick Gorman and say 'Build the stadium. Get it done. Need a Tassie team.' There you go. Made it all about me. Patrick, Jason, we'll talk next week.