E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO | 666 CANBERRA WITH ROSS SOLLY
Subjects: Australia Day; Investing in our Apprentices; Mobile broadcasting units to backup ABC radio during natural disaster and power outages
24 JANUARY 2025
Ross Solly, Host: Yeah, you're with Ross Solly. Kate Medina, as I said, will be in with us very soon. Andrew Leigh joins us. He is the member for Fenner, of course. He is out today, out and about. He's in Gungahlin because the Federal Government has been unveiling this mobile broadcasting system. It's basically a system which is set up to back up local radio during natural disasters and power outages. Now, as part of the programme, they're going to build five or fund five mobile broadcast assets and one of them is going to be located in Gungahlin, and it's going to be serving a wide part of the region around here. Andrew Leigh joins us this morning. Good morning to you, Andrew Leigh.
Andrew Leigh: Good morning, Ross. Great to be with you.
Solly: And with you as well. Look, before we talk about that, Andrew Leigh, a couple of other quick issues. Are you surprised that majority of Australians now, according to the Sydney Morning Herald poll, would like to see Australia day remain on the 26th of January? Or do you think that reflects where we are as a nation right now?
Leigh: Look, I think that reflects where we are and certainly that's the government's position, that Australia Day should stay on the 26th of January. Our focus is on issues such as getting more apprentices, getting more homes built, ensuring that people have the support they need as they deal with the global inflation challenge. They're the big priorities for the government right now.
Solly: Yeah. Do you think it's still as divisive an issue as it once was?
Leigh: It's an annual issue. It comes up every year. I was elected in 2010 and I don't think there's been an Australia Day where there hasn't been that conversation about the date. So, that's a hardy perennial, but certainly the government's focus right now is on making sure that we help people as much as we can, that we're building a more prosperous and egalitarian Australia.
Solly: Well, we are taking the pulse of the ABC Canberra breakfast listener this morning. Andrew Leigh, the simple question for our poll should Australia day remain on the 26th of January? At the moment, 53% of respondents say no, 47% say yes. So, it's pretty evenly divided, I must say, just on one other thing, Andrew Leigh.
Leigh: But Ross, at its best this is a conversation not only about a date, but also about what it means to be Australian.
Solly: Yeah.
Leigh: So, I think to the extent that we can broaden that out and recognise that this, at its heart, this is a discussion which has to do with how we bring First Nations Australians into the national story. And that, to me, is the more fundamental discussion, rather than which of the 365 dates do we pick?
Solly: Yeah, and I agree with you. I'm wondering, though, Andrew Leigh is, you know, for a lot of Indigenous Australians, 26 January is not a great day for them. You know, it's a day of mourning for them. So, part of that discussion should be, ok, what does it mean to be an Australian? But is it a good day to celebrate it on a day that some of our population feel very, very uncomfortable?
Leigh: That's at the heart of the conversation. Certainly what we've aimed to do as a government is to make sure that the first Australian part of our national story is front and centre. The role that the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies plays is really critical. The whole conversation around the Voice referendum was a conversation about our national story. It's a story of English institutions, of First Nations history and of the multicultural vibrancy that's come into Australia: what Noel Pearson talks about as those three big streams of Australian identity. To the extent that we can broaden it out and have that bigger conversation, I think that's healthy for us as a country.
Solly: OK, it's 17 minutes to nine. We're always open for the conversation here on ABC Canberra Breakfast. Just on one other thing. Anthony Albanese announcing today, Andrew Leigh, this $10,000 incentive to get people to stay on as apprentices or to become apprentices. We're getting a lot of chat on the text line and from callers this morning saying that there's an added problem here in the ACT, and I know this is a local government issue, but there are three tickets which are required to become an apprentice and they're quite costly. They're thinking that the $10,000 is very nice, but it might not be enough to encourage people to become apprentices.
Leigh: Well, Ross, this is about ensuring that apprentices have the incentives to stay in the apprenticeship, so on top of their wages, they'll receive $2,000 bonuses at the points of 6 months, 12 months, 24 months and 36 months, and then at the completion of their apprenticeship. So, that ensures that apprentices are getting more remuneration for doing something which is putting them into an important construction trade, which we know we need as a nation. We've got to build more homes, that's the fact of it. The central answer to our housing challenge is to be increasing housing construction. One of the ways we're aiming to meet that 1.2 million home target with the states and territories is by increasing the pool of apprentices.
Solly: Well, the Master Builders association is saying at your current level in the workforce, you're only going to get to about two thirds of that 1.2 million goal by the date. And that's why this is so important to get so many apprentices. Look, just on the issue, you're out at, as I mentioned, you're out at Gungahlin today. Brendan has just sent a text in and this sort of relates a little bit to what you're talking about today. Brendan said it would be good if the Federal Government could ensure that the radio signal from Tuggeranong Hill worked consistently. It goes down way too often now. This is what you're trying to fix, Andrew Leigh, to make sure that during times of emergency, which we've seen way too often, unfortunately, in this part of the world, that there is that guaranteed service.
Leigh: The mobile broadcasting units, you can think of them as like a portable safety net. So they make sure that even when natural forces wreak havoc, the vital voice of the ABC cuts through the storm. We know during the 2003 Canberra bushfires that there was work done to have ABC 666 broadcasting on the 102.3 ABC FM frequency. This will ensure that if the fixed transmitters are threatened, that these mobile transmitters are able to come in. They can broadcast over 13 kilometres on regular ground. Put them on the top of the hill, they can go to 30 kilometres, and you'll even be able to charge up your mobiles on them. So, they're another form of support for making sure that when those 2003, 2019-type bushfires hit, the vital voice of the ABC can be heard.
Solly: This mobile unit, which will be out at Gungahlin, is going to also service a lot of the surrounding areas. I think it's even talking about going into northern Victoria, is that right?
Leigh: It's a mobile station, so it can be towed around the place, taken wherever it's needed. The great thing about these assets, they'll be supporting 98 ABC and FM sites across the country. Last year they kept ABC radio going for more than 840 hours. So, that's a really important asset, providing more resilience to communities. Your mobiles will often run down in a crisis and that means people are turning to ABC radio as an essential source of information. Radio is amazingly resilient, Ross. It's 100 years since Australians started buying radio sets and it's still a vital asset, particularly in times of crisis.
Solly: We should get you to do a promo for how important ABC Radio is. That would be useful. One other issue before I let you go. The Greens have announced their candidates for the Federal election, they’ve announced that Danny Hunterford will be running for the Greens in the electorate of Fenner. Are you ready for the challenge? Obviously, you know, if you believe the polls, the Labor Party is on the nose, People are looking for alternatives and the Greens have said that there are seats that are winnable here in Canberra.
Leigh: Ross, getting to serve your local community in the Federal Parliament is always a privilege and never a right. I look forward to contesting every election. I understand that I need to make the case for re-election to all of my constituents. I welcome having good candidates in the field. You always want good opponents. People are able to test your ideas, to challenge you to take up that democratic conversation. Democracy isn't just the best of all the bad systems. It is a great system and enjoying elections, enjoying democracy is really part and parcel of what it is to be a federal representative.
Solly: Someone says back on the mobile broadcast unit, somebody's asked about Yass, because Yass being in a valley, they need a permanent transmitter located here. Is that a problem that you've identified, Andrew Leigh, will this new mobile unit fix that?
Leigh: Yeah, these units are certainly going to be looking to serve Yass. These units will be mobile and they're able to be moved up to Yass at an hour’s notice. So, that's certainly something that is in the planning of the government and BAI Communications, which is responsible for building these important backup local radio stations.
Solly: Andrew Leigh, before I let you go, I'll give you a quick update on our poll. The question is, should Australia day remain on the 26th of January? At this stage, the no vote is at 56%, the yes vote is at 44%. So, there you go, Andrew Leigh, you can take that to the bank.
Leigh: Democracy in action, Ross.
Solly: It is democracy. Yeah. No, I'm sure you're very, very happy to hear that. Andrew Leigh, good to chat with you. Thank you.
Leigh: Likewise. Thanks, Ross.
Solly: And so, Dr. Andrew Leigh, the member for Fenner on ABC Canberra.
Ends