Transcript: Julia Gillard, Interview, Sea FM
Julia Gillard
posted Thursday, 12 August 2010
E & O E – PROOF ONLY
Subjects: National Broadband Network; Campaign
HOST: What an exciting day, Matty after how long how has it been?
HOST: We’re in our fourth week and our 53rd minute, 12th second and half a split second into our Get Gillard campaign.
HOST: It’s time to welcome the Prime Minister of Australia, the very first female Prime Minister on top of that, Julia Gillard welcome to Hobart. Say hi!
PM: I’m here, you’ve got me, it’s worked.
HOST: Oh thank goodness because we want to know (music) are you the real Julia Gillard?
PM: Definitely.
HOST: Because you have, have you seen the actress that plays you or goes around doing rounds as you.
PM: I have seen some impersonations on TV but this is the real person.
HOST: Good now Julia Gillard you are one hard tough lady to get a hold of; you’ve been playing hard to get so much so that I have never seen Matty try to call a girl, or a lady, so many times in his life.
PM: Well I was working on the basis that absence might be making Matty’s heart grow fonder.
HOST: And it has, I’ve-
PM: And it has you see, it’s worked.
HOST: I honestly have never worked as hard to have a chat with a lady and it’s been a tough road but I tell you what I guess the harder it is the more the achievement feels like it was worth doing.
PM: So you’re feeling good now, that’s great then.
HOST: Feeling relieved.
HOST: He won’t call you again now Julia. Now that you’ve rung.
PM: That’s harsh.
HOST: I know it is, sorry. What I want to ask you about being the first female Prime Minister of Australia. What is it like being in charge of, in charge of a country of men?
PM: Well fortunately we are a country of men and women and obviously my focus at the moment is on that all important election day on the 21st. So I am getting to go around the country talking about all of the things I want to change for the future and deliver for the future. And nothing more important than the National Broadband Network here in Tasmania and that’s why I’m here today. I’m going to be switching on the commercial services. There are people in Tassie already using the National Broadband Network, we want to keep rolling it out around the country. Of course, Tony Abbott wants to shut all of that down.
HOST: Speaking of Tony Abbott, did you see him on the 7.30 Report the other night when he was asked about broadband, this is what he said:
ABBOTT - I’m no Bill Gates here and I don’t claim to be any kind of tech head.
O’BRIEN – Do you know what peak speed is?
ABBOTT - Again I, if you’re going to get me into a technical argument I’m going to lose it.
HOST: Do you know what broadband is Julia Gillard?
PM: Look I do know what broadband is and I think the point for Tony Abbott – look I’m not going to criticise him because he’s not going to hold himself out as a technical expert – that’s not the problem. The problem is, that as Prime Minister, he would make the judgement call to not build the National Broadband Network. That’s the problem. So I don’t ask him to be a technician but the, the real issue here is: if he’s elected no more National Broadband Network whereas if I am re-elected we will keep delivering the National Broadband Network and I think it is so exciting for Tasmania that the delivery is rolling out here and people are already connected and Tasmania is showing the rest of the company what it’s going to look like and how it can be done.
HOST: Tony Abbott, just on him, if you become Prime Minister again, will you have the budgie smugglers banned?
PM: I’ve contemplated that but, you know, I’ve come down on the side of civil liberties and people being able to choose what they wear. So we do hope that people make smart choices.
HOST: It wasn’t the best look on Tony Abbott, though, was it?
PM: I’ll let others speculate about that. I don’t think we’ve seen the budgie smugglers out for a while, though, have we?
HOST: Thank goodness.
HOST: And my brother’s a professional triathlete. He reckons his time was rubbish. He reckons he’s not an ironman, he’s a finisher. But that’s a – my brother just calls anyone that does a certain time, ‘not an ironman, a finisher’. He thinks that word gets used too much. I watched the People’s Forum last night. Rooty Hill RSL Club, a room full of apparently undecided voters. I was watching that, I wasn’t too sure if they were so undecided. Um, but, the big issue last night, of course, Julia, you spoke first and then Tony got to speak second. And everyone’s made a big deal out of you sitting on a chair opposed to Tony Abbott, he was on the floor. And it reminds – I don’t know, have you watched much Seinfeld, Julia?
PM: I have watched Seinfeld, yes.
HOST: It reminded me of this moment.
<Cuts to Seinfeld>
GEORGE: Have they ever offered you a chair?
GUARD: Nope.
GEORGE: Would you like a chair?
GUARD: I suppose if they gave me one, I’d sit down.
GEORGE: Ah ha. Ah ha. You would, wouldn’t you.
GUARD: Obviously I’d rather sit than stand, if that’s what you’re asking.
GEORGE: That’s exactly my point.
GUARD: Well, who wouldn’t?
HOST: And I couldn’t believe everyone was making a big deal because, Julia, if I was offered a chair, I’m taking the chair.
PM: Well, look, I did look out on stage and there were two stools and David Speers, the moderator, was going to sit on one so I sat on the other. I’m always happy to wander through and have a talk to people face to face, I’ve been doing a lot of that during this campaign. And during this campaign, I’d have to say, Mr Abbott’s taken a pretty different approach. He’s still doing the traditional style of campaigning, which is mostly very closely stage managed events and not out with voters.
HOST: I believe businesses like Ikea are concerned if he does become prime minister because of his issue with chairs.
PM: I have seen Tony Abbott sit down, so–
HOST: So he’s not–
PM: I don’t think it’s a profound objection to chairs.
HOST: He’s not chair-ist, then. Good to know.
PM: He’s not chair-ist.
HOST: I don’t know what men are supposed to do anyway. Stand for the lady? Anyway, let’s move on. Julia Gillard, we have been trying to chase you for over a month now, as Matty said. Can we replay some of the things we’ve done for you?
PM: Terrific.
HOST: First of all we had Premier David Bartlett, a good mate of yours, I believe – well that’s how he tells it, anyway.
PM: And he’s absolutely right about that. He is a good mate.
HOST: Good. We asked him for your mobile number.
HOST: It just gets even better though, we even wrote a song for you Julia.
HOST: Better or worse. We’ll let Julia decide.
SONG: What about southern Tassie, it isn’t fair, -
HOST: We shortened that and I think you’ll thank us for that later.
PM: Well look after all of those efforts, I’m here, I think your persistence has paid off-
HOST: I think there’s about two more efforts.
PM: Two more efforts?
HOST: Yeah have you spoken to Wayne Swan recently because he’s down here announcing the Super GP Clinic in Rosny and we took a sign that said, please Julia give us a call 13 12 16.
(Replays audio from Swan Press Conference)
SWAN: Because he’s cutting a lot of other things. We might leave it at that.
PRESENTER: Can you get Julia to call the Matt and Libby show.
SWAN: I’m happy to call the Matt and Libby show.
(ends)
HOST: You know what, not only did he call, he actually came into the studio Julia.
PM: Oh he’s a good man.
HOST: A man of his word. But our final thing came down to Premier David Bartlett again.
HOST: Yeah I guess the chase came full circle didn’t it, cause it started with Dave, he’s a good friend of the Matt and Libby show and then we were getting a bit desperate so we thought he was our go to man.
HOST: And we made um, now I think you’ll be particularly proud of this Julia, we made t-shirts up, now they only cost about six bucks each, and we didn’t have a big budget, so we got the iron on words.
HOST: We’ll send one to Canberra.
HOST: And this was Julia, please call Sea FM’s Matt and Woody show 13 12 16. And the Premier, he was loving it.
(Replays audio of Premier Bartlett)
PRESENTER: Matty would you present the very first T-shirt to Premier David
BARTLETT: That’s beautiful. I’m putting it on now.
PRESENTER: Julia please call Sea FM 13 12 16.
BARTLETT: I’m going to take a photo of this and send it to Julia.
(ends)
HOST: And did he?
HOST: He said he was doing that live on air.
PM: David Bartlett actually has been texting me about the campaign. So he’s acted as your agent and made sure that I knew what was happening.
HOST: He’s a very good man.
HOST: And he’s a Manchester United supporter, which just gives everyone just ten per cent in their personality.
HOST: Just really quickly, we even did things like a commercial for you Julia Gillard and we even sent an email to your partner Tim Mathieson.
PM: Oh really?
HOST: He was smart enough not to reply, we don’t blame him for that. It actually proves that he’s a clever guy.
PM: Well I didn’t hear about that, so David Bartlett has been texting me, but Tim didn’t tell me about the email.
HOST: He’s a good man Bartlett and we have got you on the show, can we finally say to Southern Tassie, to Hobart, that we have got Gillard?
PM: You can certainly say after all of that effort, you’ve got Gillard.
(music plays Hallelujah)
HOST: What a great day it is for Hobart.
HOST: The only problem is now Julia, what are we going to do for the next ten minutes of the show? It’s like we built everything on this, now we got nothing.
PM: I think you two are going to be able to come up with something else. I’m backing you in.
HOST: Thank you so much Julia and thank you for talking to Hobart this morning and hopefully you enjoy your stay.
HOST: And great, great, great, great for having you. Thanks for the opportunity and good luck with the election.
PM: Thank you very much.
Tags: broadband, Gillard, Hobart, internet, NBN, Tasmania