E&OE…
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, good afternoon, everybody. I'm delighted to be here with Jane, with Tim and with Claire to announce the new Coalition front bench. But before I do, I just want to make a couple of comments about the ISIS brides. The first job of any government is to keep Australians safe, to protect our way of life. Anthony Albanese’s government needs to come clean with the Australian people on these so-called ISIS brides. Are any of these ISIS linked individuals coming back to Australia? Are passports being processed, or will they be, what specific security assessments have been or will be undertaken, and has the government used, or even considered using its temporary exclusion order powers.
These are individuals who chose to associate with a terrorist caliphate.
This is not aligned with the values we as Australians believe in - democracy, the rule of law, our basic freedoms, including freedom of religion. The door must be shut to people who do not believe in those things.
Australians expect our borders and communities to be protected from individuals connected to extremist violence. Security agencies must have full oversight of any returnees, leaving this to chaotic circumstances overseas is absolutely unacceptable.
We have seen in the past where individuals linked to ISIS have posed real threats. We cannot repeat those past mistakes by being passive.
Now moving on to more positive things. As I said, I'm delighted to be here today to announce the new Coalition front bench. This is a team that blends proven experience with the next generation of Coalition talent.
The team is designed to do two key things, one, prosecute Labor's failures. It's a long list. The worst government in our nation's history, and two ensure the Coalition is ready to govern and change Australia for the better because right now, the country we love is changing for the worse. Prices are through the roof, interest rates and inflation are going up. Home ownership is out of reach to so many Australians. Businesses are struggling. Industries are moving overseas. Record immigration has added pressures to housing, to infrastructure, to services. Our borders have been open to people who hate our way of life, people who want to bring violence and hate from other parts of the world to our shores and our defence force is underfunded for the dangers of our times.
This new team will also see the return of our National Party colleagues, a decision endorsed by the Liberal Party leadership team just a short time ago.
Today marks a fresh beginning, an opportunity to put the past behind us and to remember that our historic strength comes through unity, and unity is again needed for strength.
A Coalition government that I lead will restore Australia's standard of living and protect our way of life. Australians are doing it tough. Too many families are working harder just to keep up with rising prices, rising interest rates. They're feeling the pain of higher taxes, higher energy bills and a government that simply stopped listening. Australia needs responsible spending, lower taxes and a rising standard of living.
Senator Jane Hume, who I'm delighted to have here, my deputy here today, will drive our plan to rebuild an economy that rewards effort, that re injects aspiration into the Australian dream. As Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and Shadow Minister for Productivity and Deregulation, she'll focus on getting wages up by lifting productivity and making it easier for Australians to get ahead.
Tim Wilson, I'm delighted to have here today, as well, as Shadow Treasurer, will lead our push for responsible spending, lower taxes and lower inflation. He is a proven fighter against Labor's higher taxes that are making Australians poorer. He and the entire Coalition will fight ferociously against Labor's bad taxes, taxes on homes, taxes on superannuation, taxes on our children's future.
Senator Jacinta Price returns Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Minister for Small Business and Shadow Minister for Skills and Training.
Australia's 2.8 million small businesses are the engine room of our economy, the lifeblood of our communities, but under Labor they have been forgotten. Supporting Australians who take risks, who invest in the future of their businesses and our nation is incredibly important. And I note Jacinta is absolutely passionate about the role that small businesses play in our communities and in our great country and I know she will do an outstanding job.
Senator Claire Chandler, who is right beside me here today, delighted to have her here as well. Will take on finance, government services and the public service. She'll hold Labor to account for its budget blowouts and skyrocketing debt, which will be passed on to our children and grandchildren to pay back.
Tony Pasin will back her as Shadow Minister for Scrutiny of Government Waste and Accountability, taking aim at Labor's rorts and waste that are driving up inflation, contributing to higher prices and making it much harder for Australians to make ends meet on a daily basis.
Aaron Violi will enter the ministry as Shadow Minister for Digital Economy, Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as Cyber Security. Aaron will drive the digital and AI reforms needed to lift productivity, attract investment and keep Australia economically secure, something that he's worked on much in the past in these areas.
Economic prosperity doesn't happen by accident. It requires vision, discipline and coordination across all parts of government. Andrew Hastie will return to Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability. I have also asked him to serve as Deputy Leader in the House of Representatives. Andrew will align our economic and security agendas, ensuring Australia can make more, make more of what we need in our country, on our land, in our borders.
He will lead the fight against Labor's net zero tax on Australian manufacturing that's causing investment in our country to dry up and the jobs of hard working Australians to go offshore.
Dan Tehan will continue as Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction and will assume the role of Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives.
Energy is the economy. We can't rebuild manufacturing without cheaper, more reliable power and families need relief from rising bills. Dan will hold Labor to account for its absolute and abject energy failures. Supporting him is Garth Hamilton, a qualified engineer, someone who has had deep experience in the energy sector, as Shadow Assistant Minister for Energy Security and Affordability.
The Coalition will also protect our way of life and unapologetically defend Australian values. Senator Michaelia Cash will return to the Attorney General's portfolio and continue as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Michaelia is an absolutely exceptional lawyer and a relentless parliamentary prosecutor. Her mission is simple, protect those freedoms that make Australia the greatest country on Earth.
Senator Jonno Duniam will serve as Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Shadow Minister for Immigration. The Coalition will stand for an immigration policy that puts the interests of Australians first and puts Australian values at the centre of that policy.
For too long, immigration numbers have been too high, and standards have been too low. If someone doesn't subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut. Australia faces the most dangerous strategic environment since World War Two, and we must stand as a coherent, strong middle power, strengthen our alliances and build readiness.
Ted O'Brien will move to the Shadow Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Ted will bring the moral and strategic clarity to Australia's foreign policy that has been lacking under this government. He'll be supported by Senator Dave Sharma who will serve in a role, the role of Shadow Assistant Minister for International Development and the Indo Pacific
Senator James Patterson will become the Shadow Minister for Defence. James will be relentless, as he always is, in holding Labor to account for its failures on defence funding, readiness and delivery, because deterrence depends on capability, not slogans. He’ll work side by side with Phil Thompson, a veteran, of course, who will serve as Shadow Minister for Defence Industry and Defence Personnel, a role that has been elevated to shadow cabinet in recognition of the growing strategic challenges Australia now faces.
Together with Andrew Hastie and Aaron Violi, James and Phil will ensure that Australia capitalises on the economic and strategic opportunities created by AUKUS.
Now making life easier for families is a top priority for the Liberal Party and Coalition I lead. Melissa McIntosh will take on the role of Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services, Shadow Minister for the NDIS and Shadow Minister for Women. This is a key economic portfolio, lifting participation, reducing long term unemployment and ensuring families can get ahead. Melissa will be on the front, front line, fighting for Australian families that are falling further and further behind under this Prime Minister.
Assisting Mel will be Senator Matt O'Sullivan as the Shadow Minister for Choice in Childcare and Early Childhood. Matt's role is to develop a childcare policy that works for families, that's flexible for families who have different needs as we get right across our country. Matt will champion choice to meet those different needs, not a one size fits all approach so parents can make decisions that work for them. We need quality government services that use every taxpayer dollar with great care, because we know how hard people have to work for that income, to pay those taxes.
Henry Pike will enter the front bench as the Shadow Assistant Minister for NDIS and Disabilities and Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health. Henry will bring rigour and urgency to make the NDIS sustainable now and into the future. We will stop the fraud, end the waste, and protect the NDIS for those who need it most in this country.
Senator Anne Ruston will continue as the Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care and Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Senate and will scrutinise the implementation of Labor's aged care reforms, exposing Labor's promises on bulk billing and deliver policy that makes the health system work better for Australians.
Senator Sarah Henderson, the Shadow Minister for Communications and Digital Safety, will stand up for media competition and free speech and ensure digital safety efforts target criminals and predators, not lawful, law abiding Australians.
Julian Leeser will continue as Shadow Minister for Education and add responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians. Julian will work closely with Jacinta Price and Matt O'Sullivan to advance an agenda where trade is valued as highly as a university degree, where education is about knowledge and critical thinking, not ideological indoctrination.
Home ownership and the prospect of home ownership needs to again become a centrepiece of the Australian dream. That is not how younger Australians see it right now; Senator Andrew Bragg continues as the Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness and will take on the role of Shadow Minister for the Environment as well. Andrew's goal will be simple. He's the Shadow Minister for getting more houses built and more Australians owning their home. His job is to unblock supply, speed up approvals, and demolish the barriers that stop homes from being built. And as environment spokesman, spokesperson, he'll ensure Australia has a practical, effective approach to environmental protection. He'll put an end to the excessive regulations that is choking new housing supply and holding back investment in job creating projects, whilst also ensuring that we protect our environment. Ably assisting him in this task will be Cameron Caldwell as Shadow Assistant Minister for Housing, who will be promoted to Chief Opposition Whip.
James McGrath will continue in a closely related role as Shadow Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities and Shadow Minister of State.
The front bench is also about revival. Simon Kennedy and Zoe McKenzie will be elevated to crucial roles in our economic and broader team. Simon Kennedy will be elevated to the position of Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition, in addition to serving as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Finance and the Co-Chair of our Coalition Policy Development Task Force.
Zoe McKenzie will continue as Shadow Cabinet Secretary, but will add the important role of Co-Chair, along with Simon of the Coalition Policy Development Task Force. Zoe will also serve as Shadow Assistant Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations. Ben Small will take up the position of Shadow Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters and Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Senator Leah Blythe will take on the position of Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Infrastructure, an enormously important issue now, with big projects starting to proceed at Henderson, Western Australia, Osborne in South Australia, we're waiting for the East Coast submarine base sight to be named. We may be waiting for a long time, sadly, but that whole role of defence infrastructure is becoming more and more important.
Unfortunately, not everybody can have a front bench role, and I thank the outgoing members of the shadow ministry for their tireless service to our country. We're fortunate to have real depth of talent in our party room, and I'm committed to drawing on all of it. Our people are our greatest strength, and we’ll make the most of everyone's contribution. I want a culture of healthy competition, the kind that lifts us all to deliver for Australians and to hold a bad government to account. This is a team with two overriding priorities restore Australia's standard of living and protect our way of life, because Australia is worth fighting for.
Happy to take, well actually, before I get to that, I'm going to ask Jane to make some additional comments, and then we'll go to, we'll go to Tim and Claire.
JANE HUME:
Thanks, Angus. I promise I won't be long because that is a long list. And there's a reason why there's a long list, and that's because, as Angus said, there was an incredible depth of talent in our party room. I congratulate everybody whose name has appeared on the front bench, they are going to be at the very front line of restoring Australia's standard of living and protecting our way of life. I am extraordinarily honoured to take on the role of employment industrial relations, as well as productivity and deregulation, something that you have heard me speak about many times before, for many years gone past, because without productivity, we simply cannot have rising wages without inflation. Without productivity, we cannot have a growing economy that will deliver the prosperity and promise for future generations. This will be my relentless focus. Now the team that we have put together, I must say, the depth of talent is extraordinary. I do feel like I have become something of a LinkedIn stalker over the last few days when I realised just exactly what private sector experience, what public sector experience, what parliamentary experience my colleagues have had over the last few years. I know that they are very much the right people that we have put together to hold this terrible government to account, but also to develop those policies and those platforms and those positions that we will take to the next election, where Australians will see that their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations will be reflected and that we will be a genuine and credible and viable alternative for them to place their trust and their votes. Now you will hear Labor make all sorts of criticisms. They already have started going the man rather than the ball. That's just fear, because you know that when Labor smear you can smell their fear.
We know that our focus will not be on talking about their personalities. I'm not interested in that. Our focus, they can talk about us as much as they like, but our focus is going to be talking to and for all Australians. Now I'm going to turn over to our terrific new economic team led by Tim Wilson in Treasury and then Claire Chandler in finance, a very exciting new beginning for the Coalition.
TIM WILSON:
Well, firstly, I'd like to start by well, thanking you, Jane, but particularly thank you to Angus for the incredible trust you provided me in the privilege of serving as Shadow Treasurer. In addition to that, I also congratulate Claire on her position and also thank all my outgoing colleagues that are leaving the shadow cabinet or shadow ministry positions for their role and their service to the party and particularly to an enduring Liberal vision for this country. I also want to start by acknowledging all of the small businesses in Australia who are doing it so tough right now. I see you, I hear you, and you will be central to the policy platform that we will be taking forward to make sure that we can energise a future Australia where we back you 100%.
Small business is more than just at the core of the Australian economy. It is lived aspiration and hope of Australians who back themselves every step of the way, but they're living with the challenges of rising inflation, and of course, interest rates, rising taxation that's indexed to inflation, and of course, the consequences of industrial relations inflation as well. There is a cost of living and a cost of small business crisis in Australia right now, and the government is responsible through the active inflation agenda. We know full well that we have a government that has its priorities completely wrong. When they're more focused on how they get $15 billion to organise crime via the CFMEU of taxpayer’s money, than they are focused on how they're going to get $15 off your grocery bill. We need a government with an economic focus that is actually going to be in the best interest of Australia to lower the cost of living, protect living standards and drive the economic dynamism so that the next generation of Australians can look forward with hope. And most importantly, we need an economic agenda that's very clearly focused on hard work paying off, because that's the basis in which Australians are going to be hopeful about their future. Hope is on the way. We are going to do everything we can over the next two years, not just to do it in our words, but our deeds and our campaigns, so that you see the pathway forward and that you want to see a change of government.
The only pathway forward for achieving economic hope in Australia is a change of government, and the end of the Albanese Government, we are going to deliver that. I'm excited by the challenge and excited by the opportunity of what we're going to be able to build together. And with that, I welcome the opportunity for the new finance, Shadow Finance Minister, Claire Chandler.
CLAIRE CHANDLER:
Thank you, Tim, and it is such an honour to be standing here with Angus and with Jane and with Tim today, and I'm so excited to be joining the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Finance, Shadow Minister for Government Services and Shadow Minister for the Public Service. Fiscal responsibility is one of the fundamental principles of the Liberal Party. In fact, it's one of the reasons I joined the Liberal Party, because I believe in a small government that lives within its means and spends money wisely because at the end of the day, we have to remember that every dollar the government has isn't actually the government's dollar. It's your dollar. It's your hard earned tax dollars, but under Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers, the Labor government has completely abandoned any discipline when it comes to the expenditure of your taxpayer money. They are sitting on an almost trillion dollar debt bomb with no plan for how they are going to repay that debt, and it will be my generation, Tim's generation, Australians younger than us, that are going to be left repaying this debt.
I believe that Australians deserve a government that spends taxpayer money wisely and delivers real value for taxpayers, not a government that wastes funds on frivolous public spending, and that is what we have seen time and time again from the Albanese Government. I look forward to holding them accountable for this wasteful spending, and of course, for working with our economic team standing here today and the others that Angus has announced in the shadow ministry, and indeed our whole Coalition team to build the policies that will restore Australia's way of life.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Taylor, how quickly will you move to release policy? And will immigration be the first cab off the rank?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, we've already been releasing our priorities very clearly. I've been out and about, it's been just over two business days since I've been the Leader, and we've been laying out our priorities very clearly. It is about restoring Australians’ standard of living, but it's also about protecting our way of life and immigration, which was your question, is obviously, absolutely essential to that, and we will shut the door on people who want to bring hate and violence from another part of the world to our shores. So, we will have more to say about that. One thing I can give you a sneak preview on is that standards have been too low and numbers have been too high, and that must change. I have to say, you never know what the numbers are going to be under Labor. They're always higher than what they forecast, but their forecasts are also always wrong. So, we will, we will, well, we will have more to say about immigration as this team, this fantastic team, hits the ground in the coming days and that immigration policy will adhere to the principles already outlined.
JOURNALIST:
The rise in public sector wages out striped private growth for the fourth quarter in a row tomorrow, will your new Liberal team zero in on reducing the bureaucracies record share of the economy and jobs?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
I'll make couple of comments, and then Tim or Claire might want to, want to add to that, but, yeah, we have to make sure that the growth of the economy exceeds the growth of spending, government spending. I mean, it's pretty simple. If you, if you can make sure you your economy grows faster than government spending, then you are on a pathway to fix the deficit and repay debt. It's that simple. Now under Labor what we're seeing is an economy that's not growing in any meaningful way, and government spending that's growing at a rapid rate, and that's why we're getting into bigger deficit and bigger debt under this government and this hopeless Treasurer, and I don't see any end in sight of that, but we will be laying out a pathway to address that.
TIM WILSON:
I couldn't agree more and in addition to that, we've seen from analysis, eight in ten jobs are being created by direct and indirect public expenditure, in comparison to two out of ten jobs nationwide. It's worse, sadly, as Jane and I can unfortunately attest to the state of Victoria, where it's only one in ten.
We need to unleash the ingenuity and potential of the Australian community in creating a pathway for jobs in the private sector that requires private investment. That means people need to be confident, and there is one sure fire way to kill private investment, and that is by adding new taxes and creating uncertainty on the Australian economy. So Jim Chalmer’s floated new housing tax is directly going to harm investment in the sector where, one, we need more houses, but two, in creating the jobs that we need and the skills we need towards more houses, so that we can keep not just the dream of home ownership alive, but more importantly, that we get the jobs growth we need to grow the overall economy, rather than just becoming a mendicant economy dependent on the state.
JOURNALIST:
I just wanted to go back to the immigration question, because last night, you said that you've not seen a plan devised by your predecessor. Have you seen that now? And will you adopt any of the aspects of that plan, given that the Home Affairs portfolio isn't changing.
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well can I be clear. There is no plan that went through Shadow Cabinet. There is no plan that went through the leadership. I'm not sure what the source of that plan was. No one has told me, but I tell you what my plan will be. It will be to raise standards, reduce numbers, and ensure that the door is shut to people who don't share our core beliefs. And you, you will hear that from me many times, and you will see initiatives supporting that over the coming months, and Jonno Duniam and the team that I've already outlined today will be, will be working that through, and we'll release policies in good time.
JOURNALIST:
You’ve said that you'd like to see security services have more of a role in checking the backgrounds of these applicants. Would the Taylor Government make more resources available to do that kind of work?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, look, there's no question that if we're going to make sure, we shut the door on people who want to bring hate and violence to our shores, we've got to have intelligence agencies who can identify those people. That is crucially important and it's also clear that if extra resourcing is needed to do that, we are committed to it. This is too important. This isn't too important. We've seen an unprecedented terrorist act not far from here at Bondi, truly, truly tragic, an extraordinary attack by an extremist or two extremists who, frankly, just were nowhere near believing in our way of life and sadly, there are people who want to come to this country, we know, who also don't believe in our way of life, and that's got to stop.
JOURNALIST:
And just on the Shadow Home Affairs role. Previously, Andrew Hastie stepped down from that role because he felt he didn't have enough input into the devising of immigration policy. I was just wondering, what role will Senator Duniam play in forming the Coalition's position on immigration policy.
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, he's, he's the Shadow Minister, so he'll play a big role. Andrew Hastie is a member of the leadership team, and he'll play a big role, and everyone here will as well. I mean, this has got to be a team effort. We've got to get this right. It matters too much. We're going to protect our way of life. We've got to get immigration policy right.
JOURNALIST:
Just a question for Senator Hume as well, you co-wrote the Liberals Post 2022 Election Review that found the party had lost faith with women and multi-cultural communities. Just wondering, have your colleagues listened to you over the past three years?
JANE HUME:
I think the entire organisation has those recommendations have been adopted, but they're not easily implemented overnight. We've got a lot of work to do as a parliamentary team to make sure that we have a policy platform and positions that reflect the hopes and aspirations and the dreams of all Australians, not sectional interests. We're not here for big unions. We're not here for big business. We're here for ordinary Australians, ordinary Australian families, small businesses. That's who the Liberal Party heartland is, and it doesn't really matter what their gender is, where they come from. We want to make sure that our policies and our positions reflect their hopes and dreams.
JOURNALIST:
Why have you waived the Nationals front bench suspension and allowed them back into the shadow ministry from now? Are you rewarding David Littleproud for splitting the Coalition?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, I think, I think it's signalling a strong reset, an important reset in the relationship which I know the National Party is committed to, and we as a team are committed to. We've just talked it through with the leadership team, and come to the strong conclusion, it's time to get on with it. Get back to that unified coalition that we know has been such a strength for our side of politics and such a strength for this nation. I mean, coalition governments have delivered for this nation over a long period of time, and so I want to see that unity again. I've spoken to David many times over recent days, and I'm happy to say that the relationship is in good health. We now need to make the most of that, get back together and get working on these important policies that we know can restore Australia's standard of living and protect our way of life.
JOURNALIST:
Have you signed a new Coalition agreement, and does that include policies?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, we are a united Coalition with a united front bench, and we're getting on with the job, and I'm very confident that David and I can steer our way through the challenge that inevitably happen in any Coalition. We don't always agree on everything initially, but over time, we align and fight for the Australian people, and that's what, that's why the Coalition is so important, because it is the means by which we can fight as a united front against a bad Labor government that is letting Australian’s down.
JOURNALIST:
Pauline Hanson today said that she doesn't know “a good Muslim”. What's your reaction to those remarks, and what's your pitch to voters in Farrer and beyond for your new Liberal team over one nation.
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, I know many good Muslims. They're in my electorate. I've got many and we had a wonderful man, Sam Kayal, a Muslim guy running for us at Werriwa, right next door to my seat at the last election. A wonderful Australian who believes deeply in Australian values and what this country can offer people who come to this country, but I say again, people who want to come to this country, who don't share our core beliefs, who don't believe in our way of life, who want to bring hate and violence from another part of the world, will not be welcome. And it doesn't matter what their race or religion. It doesn't matter what their race or religion, the test is whether they believe in our way of life and accept our core values.
JOURNALIST:
But what do you make specifically of Hanson making those remarks?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
You're the commentator, I’ll leave it to you.
JOURNALIST:
This is a very young, meaning no disrespect, this is a very young economic team that you've put forward today. Does that expose you to criticism about a lack of experience or is this a deliberate statement about the direction you're taking the Liberal Party?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
I think Jane and I would consider that to be a great compliment because I consider myself as part of the economic team as well. But I think this is, this is an incredible team. I mean, Claire, with deep experience in business, before coming into politics. Tim, who is just deeply passionate about the power of private enterprise in this country and has been for a long while. Lower taxes and what that can deliver for a strong economy. And I know Jane has been an extraordinary champion of core liberal economic values, the power of free markets, the power of harnessing Australians to make life better for other Australians. That's what the private sector is about. That's what's fundamental to our beliefs.
JANE HUME:
It is a young team, but there's a really good reason for that, and that's because it's the next generation that are going to suffer from the debt and the deficits that are going to be left behind by this terrible Labor government. It's Claire and Tim and Claire and Tim's kids that are going to be the problem, that are going to carry the burden here for the decisions that Jim Chalmers and Katie Gallagher and Anthony Albanese are making today. That's why it's so important to get the right people to hold the government to account, but it's also important to get the right people to develop the policies that we will take to the next election.
JOURNALIST:
And just to you, sorry, I’ve had a skim but haven't been able to count, but is this a gender, is this a 50/50 quota?
JANE HUME:
There are more women in the ministry than there were in the previous parliament, which I think is really important, and moreover, it is, you're right. You noticed it. I'm glad you did a younger, a younger ministry than the previous parliament. Not the previous parliament, the previous ministry, previous shadow ministry.
JOURNALIST:
Just a follow up on Senator Price returning to Shadow Cabinet of course she was sidelined by your predecessor for comments about Indian migration. But she's moving into small business and skills and training, where there's a large migrant base, you could say. Will her comments, previous comments, and I want to find out what you made of those comments and whether or not she should apologise make it difficult for her to work in those portfolios.
ANGUS TAYLOR:
No, not at all. I mean, Jacinta, Jacinta is passionate about small business as are all of us. We heard Tim speaking about it just a few moments ago. She's passionate about small we all are as Liberals. We believe that the best way to have a strong community is to have strong small businesses in that community. They employ; they deliver services and goods to customers. They are the very essence of a strong community and a strong country, in Australia. So, Jacinta understands that she's going to be out talking to small business people, no matter what their background. And I know, because I know Jacinta well, she will engage with them, she will connect with them, and they will love her, because she is, she is an extraordinary Australian, an extraordinary human being.
JOURNALIST:
But should she apologise?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Look, Jacinta has made her comments, and I think it's time to move on and focus on the important role that she is going to play in small business, because we need strong small businesses in this country.
JOURNALIST:
Just on the gender quotas you were talking about before you've got more women than any previous shadow cabinet but obviously a smaller pool to choose from within the Liberal Party. Are you open to voters in future, how do you see boosting the number of female MPs in parliament?
ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, I want to see more women in our branches, right through our organisation and in our parliamentary party, because I know there's so many great liberal women out there that have been reticent about politics for all sorts of reasons, reticent about getting involved in the party organisation, reticent about getting involved in parliamentary politics, and I want them to join the Liberal Party, get involved, and ultimately stand for pre selection and stand for election. And so, the job of all of us is to encourage great women to do that and I can understand the reticence in the past, but we have to change that. That's our job, and I think that's how we fix the problem. I'm not a believer in quotas, but I am a big believer in encouraging so many great women who are liberals out there to get more involved with our organisation. And any watching today, please join up. We want more great women in the Liberal Party. Thank you very much.
ENDS.