TRANSCRIPT - SKY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION WITH TIM GILBERT

PAUL FLETCHER MP

Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts

Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy

Manager of Opposition Business in the House

TRANSCRIPT

SKY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION

2 MARCH 2024

TIM GILBERT: While today's Dunkley byelection is being seen as a real world test of what the electorate thinks of how the Albanese government is going. Joining me is Liberal MP and shadow minister for Government Services, Paul Fletcher. Paul, good morning. Thanks for coming in to the studio this early in the morning. But what are your thoughts on Dunkley?

PAUL FLETCHER: Well, we've got a very strong candidate in Nathan Conroy. He's a community leader. He's been a mayor for about three years. Mayor of Frankston, came to Australia from Ireland at the age of 19, and he and his wife and young child making a life here in Australia. Look, this is a chance to send a message to Anthony Albanese that people want him to be more serious about dealing with the cost-of-living challenges that Australians are facing. We've run a good campaign.

TIM GILBERT: Hard to win?

PAUL FLETCHER: It's always challenging in a by election when a sitting member has died, there's naturally sympathy. There And the last ten times there's been a by election for that reason, there hasn't been a change. But nevertheless, we've run a good campaign. It'll be a matter for the people of Dunkley.

TIM GILBERT: Yeah. Of course. Our thoughts and prayers are still with the family. Uh, tragic story last year. Of course. Um, now a wrap up of the Parliament week. As we change pace, we say goodbye to Scott Morrison. You worked with him? How will history remember him, I think.

PAUL FLETCHER: Scott Morrison has left a very substantial legacy from, uh, around four years as prime minister. Of course, he delivered AUKUS, um, a very significant national security initiative. And of course, he led Australia through the pandemic, the most challenging times for our country since World War two. The economic outcomes amongst the best in the world, but even more importantly, the public health outcomes amongst the best in the world. And of course, earlier in his political career, he was the minister who stopped the boats strong immigration minister keeping Australians safe a bit of a contrast with the current immigration minister, Andrew Giles, who rightly has been under pressure in Parliament this week. He led 149 people, hardened criminals out of immigration detention, murderers, rapists and others and people have seen him floundering around in Question time this week and earlier this year. You don't look at that bloke and think, well, he's keeping us safe.

TIM GILBERT: Wasn't always bells and whistles for Scott Morrison. He did give himself a few jobs.  His tenure as prime minister, tarnished by the back end of that job and that election.

PAUL FLETCHER: Look, Mr. Albanese made that a big attack point last year. It made very little practical difference, I might say. The reality is that prime ministers are the ones, you know, Prime Minister is in charge. And no significant, decision is taken without a minister consulting with the Prime minister or the Prime Minister's office. But at the end of the day, those short term political talking points will be forgotten before too long. What people will remember is the significant structural measures that Scott Morrison as prime minister and before that as treasurer and indeed as Minister for Immigration and Minister for Social Services, was able to deliver.

TIM GILBERT: Meta decision to abandon the news media bargaining code. Now you were instrumental in establishing the code when you were communications minister in that former government. Um, this is a huge move. Now, a lot of people looking at it, I think, are you just hitting the big media organisations? Well, it's not, it's attacking the heart of some very, very small Australian operators.

PAUL FLETCHER: Look, we did have a big focus on this issue. As communications minister, I worked closely with then Prime Minister Scott Morrison, then treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and the whole point was that we had Google and Facebook, using content generated by Australian news media businesses, big and small, as you rightly say, using that very successfully to attract eyeballs to their sites, uh, earning a lot of advertising revenue and not paying for it. Well, we believed and the advice from The ACCC was that was wrong and was a breach of their market power or a misuse of their market power. And on that basis, we legislated the news media bargaining code. Now, what we've seen from Facebook or Meta yesterday is not dissimilar to the way this this company often behaves. Of course, in February 2021, they shut down.

TIM GILBERT: What should we do?

PAUL FLETCHER: The Facebook pages of a lot of news media companies. Well, there's a lot of powers in that act. There's a lot of powers in the news media bargaining code and the legislation which embodies it, including the treasurer, has the power to designate meta the parent company of Facebook. Once that happens, the news media company can apply to have an arbitration process commence and a compulsory arbitration can occur, and that can have the force of law. So look, the Morrison government stood up to the big global digital platforms, including meta owner of Facebook, successfully. Some $200 million will be paid to Australian news media businesses by the two big platforms. Under deals that were struck under the code, the Morrison government successfully stood up to meta. Now it's up to the Albanese government to do the same.

TIM GILBERT:Absolutely. Thank you Paul.

PAUL FLETCHER: Thanks.

TIM GILBERT: Appreciate it