Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud – Transcript – Sky News
THE HON DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP: LEADER OF THE NATIONALS: 18 MARCH 2025 – TRANSCRIPT – INTERVIEW WITH LAURA JAYES, SKY NEWS; CFMEU, UNION CORRUPTION, CITIZENSHIP, DEPORTING CRIMINALS, COST-OF-LIVING, US TARIFFS
LAURA JAYES
Welcome back, you’re watching AM Agenda. Plenty to get to with The Nationals Leader David Littleproud, he joins us live now, David, thanks so much for your time.
First of all, the CFMEU, I mean, it’s hard to go past these allegations in Victoria and The Age newspaper on 60 Minutes, Nick McKenzie leading the charge here. There’s now calls to reinstate the ABCC. Would that really fix it?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
No. Look, I think the time’s come for the CFMEU to be deregistered. It’s not just in Victoria, we saw cases in Queensland on government construction sites. The evidence is clear and while the ABCC should be reinstated to give us long term support and strong policeman on the beat, the reality is I think the CFMEU has gone over the threshold now. And now it’s a moment of leadership, we’ve said to the Prime Minister, we’re prepared to go back to Parliament next week to move legislation to also beef up laws similar to that in the United States on mafias, this is about a moment of leadership.
And it’s not just for the Prime Minister, it’s also for the union movement. I mean, the union movement needs to understand that unless they lean into this, this actually is disparaging on their own brand and a broader brand that they have. And we’re not saying that construction workers shouldn’t have union representation, just not the CFMEU.
And unless the union movement wants to stand up, unless the Prime Minister wants to stand up, Australians are going to continue to pay more, but this abhorrent behaviour will continue unchecked.
LAURA JAYES
We haven’t heard Anthony Albanese on these latest allegations. I do have to point out, I think it’s fair to point out that, you know, he was the strongest Labor Party member when it came to dealing with John Setka at the time.
But what do you want to hear? What do you think the public expects to hear from him when he stands up in Queensland in about an hour and a half?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Well, the time’s up for the CFMEU, they’ve had their chance, they’ve had multiple chances. This sort of behaviour just can’t be walked past. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept and the reforms that they put in place were piecemeal. They show that the CFMEU didn’t fear this. And so therefore I think the time’s up. But this is where the Prime Minister needs to call in his union backers and simply say they need to stand in unison with him, deregister the CFMEU and have the AWU or another union support construction workers. And to actually get to the bottom of this, but actually put in place punitive penalties so that the courts and police can deal with these sort of individuals.
LAURA JAYES
We are going to hear from Jim Chalmers again today. Of course, this is a cost-of-living election. It is issue number one, two, and three if you ask me. He’s going to really manage expectations ahead of the Budget. Trump’s trade war will affect us here in Australia, there’s a billion-dollar cost to Alfred.
Are these all reasonable reasons for inflation? Do you accept that at least these two issues are out of Jim Chalmers control?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
I think Jim’s looking for excuses. The lived experience of Australians over the last three years is quite clear. They’re worse off after three years of Anthony Albanese, and they’ll be worse off giving him another three years with him and Adam Bandt and the Teals and a few independents running in this country.
Jim Chalmers has been an abject failure as a treasurer, and they’ve let the ideology get in the road of the practical reality of what’s been bled out of Australians wallets. They haven’t been prepared to lean into the structural changes that need to fix the fundamentals of what’s driving inflation. That’s your power bill, in the long term It’s nuclear, in the short term it’s gas. And we need to flood the market with gas to bring down your energy bill. And that will also flow into your food bill because food processors are paying three, sometimes four times more what they were three, four years ago.
This all-renewables approach is not working. You are paying for it despite being promised $275, you’re now going to pay over a thousand dollars, and to go down it is 44 per cent dearer than having a mixed grid with nuclear energy in it.
So, the lived experience of Australians, I think is starting to see through the excuses that Jim Chalmers, and he’s very polished and very slick in being able to sell a message, but the reality is, is that his message is one that’s predicated on an ideology that’s costing Australians more, and they’re not prepared to lean into the fundamentals.
In fact, they’ve spent six and a half billion dollars on subsidies to try and bring your energy bill down and it only continues to go up. And someone’s going to have to have the courage and strength of leadership to lean into it. And that’s what we’re saying we’re going to do. Peter Dutton and I will lean in to getting an energy mix to get a grid that will actually give you and put downward pressure on your energy bill. And in the short term, that’s gas in the long term that’s nuclear energy.
LAURA JAYES
Okay. Let me ask you about this deportation, it’s become a debate this morning, I should say, of dual citizens. So, what’s the deal here from the Coalition? Do you plan to consider a referendum on dual nationals and their criminality?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Well, everything should be on the table, and we’re exploring all options. Obviously, a referendum is expensive, and it also takes time. We’d like to explore every option, but we shouldn’t rule any out. When the world is evolving and becoming more fluid and the threats are becoming more real and are changing, then we shouldn’t be constrained as governments to protect the Australian people. The primary responsibility of any government is to keep its people safe. And if governments don’t have the tools to do that, and one of the constraints is the constitution, then ultimately, we may have to explore that. But you should have the strength and courage of your leadership to say that if there are constraints on keeping the Australian people safe, that you’re prepared to lean into it.
So, we’ll explore every option, every option constitutionally that we can. But if the world’s changing, Australia needs to understand, we need to change with it if we’re to keep ourselves safe. And that’s why we’re prepared to look at and consider, that’s what strong leadership’s about, about having the courage of your conviction, of understanding your responsibility, leaning into it and living up to it. And that’s what a Dutton Littleproud government will do. And we’re not afraid to take on the hard issues and ask the Australian people to come with us to keep them safe.
LAURA JAYES
Are you borrowing from the Trump playbook here?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
No, not in any way, shape or form. Look, we agree with some of the things President Trump says. In fact, we’ve been quite critical on him on others. He has his own right to be in his own country as his own sovereign nation doing it his way.
But Australia’s totally different to the United States. Our sovereignty is one that’s been fought for at the sacrifice of over a hundred thousand Australians. And we’ll preserve that, not have any influence from any other country. We’ll work with our international partners, but if it’s good for Australia than Peter Dutton will do the right thing by Australia, not by what President Trump wants.
And we are prepared to have the tough conversations with him as we’re prepared to have the tough conversations here in Australia to make sure we get the fundamentals right of our economy and our security.
LAURA JAYES
The AFR has dropped a story this morning about tariffs. When it comes to Trump, we face potential tariffs of two to eight per cent on $30 billion worth of exports sold to the United States. And this would include products such as beef. So, Trump could be coming after our food producers, the agricultural sector, and that would be way worse than steel and aluminium, wouldn’t it?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Oh, it would. And the reality is, we’ve got a government that’s been flat-footed and asleep at the wheel. They haven’t leveraged not just the relationship we’ve had for generations, but the fact that we have a compelling case of dropping a cheque for over $800 million in the last couple of months in buying submarines off them, plus the other defence artillery that we’re looking to purchase off them. We have a compelling case with the United States, but when the Prime Minister can’t even get a phone call with the president, and he and our current Ambassador have made disparaging comments. There’s no way in the world the President Trump hasn’t forgotten that he’d be reminded by his trade advisor every day. Just remember what the Prime Minister and, and Ambassador Rudd has said about you in the past.
LAURA JAYES
Yeah, that’s right.
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
The reality is, is unless you’re going to lean into this, unless you’re going to show leadership and be able to get in the front door, then unfortunately we’re going to go out the back door. And that’s what’s happening. That’s what’s going to happen to our beef producers. It’s happening to our aluminium and steel producers here already. And there’s a human toll to that. I was in the Illawarra last week, there’s jobs at risk there, people with mortgages, all because a Prime Minister hasn’t had the courage to pick up the phone or be able to get a phone call but actually get on a plane and go over there and see President Trump and put our case. And we have a more compelling case than anyone else in the world. But he’s gone missing and Australia’s going to go missing if we’re not careful.
LAURA JAYES
David, just one final question then. Given what you’ve just said about being unable to leverage our relationship. If you win the election, you’d have to be considering Kevin Rudd’s position then, wouldn’t you?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Well, we’ll look at what’s in the best interest of Australia. And who are the best people to leverage a deal with President Trump. And I suspect that if Peter Dutton is the next Prime Minister, his first trip will be to the United States. We’ve had a relationship with the previous Obama and Trump Administrations as well as the Biden Administrations when we were in government, we have long lasting relationships at a personal level in the, in the United States that Peter Dutton would be able to leverage. But that’s the gravity of what we’re facing. And that’s about standing up to a good friend and getting them to appreciate and understand the position that they are putting us in.
And understanding that we are better being together and working together, and that we have shown our loyalty, but there needs to be a repayment of that. And free trade is the best way to articulate that to the Australian people. And unless you’ve got a Prime Minister that can get in the front door of the White House, Australia’s going nowhere.
LAURA JAYES
David Littleproud, great to see you as always. See you next week.
ENDS
