Interview with Tom Connell, News24

Topics: Community Grants, Gas Reservation, Antisemitism in the Arts

E&OE…

TOM CONNELL
We have had a lot of debate this week again about government grants. This is something that has popped up on both sides, you’d have to say on the political aisle. The latest ones, the focus is on Labor for this invitation-only scheme. So communities didn’t know about it – they were asked to apply. Joining me live now, Shadow Minister for Youth, Sport and Arts, Angie Bell. Angie, I’m sure you’re a big fan in general of golf courses –maybe not of this particular upgrade from the one in the PM’s electorate. Let me ask you this, is there going to be you working now with the Greens on some sort of agreement that will have parliamentary scrutiny over this scheme?

ANGIE BELL
Well, what I would say about this particular issue, Tom, is that it’s actually about the Prime Minister lying about his honorary membership at Marrickville Golf Club. I asked him the question in Question Time this week, and he lied, misled the Parliament, and said that he didn’t know about his membership. When on his social media, clearly it is there that he did know the executive at Marrickville Golf Club, he has used the grounds, he walks his dog regularly there – so basically, it’s another broken promise. It’s a lie from the Prime Minister, and he cannot be trusted. Australians must wake up now because this is a lie. On top of the “I didn’t fall off the stage” lie, on top of the $275 electricity promise that he’s broken, and all the other lies along the way.

TOM CONNELL
Just to be clear, though, is there anything categorical that you point to? You indicated things that show a link there, but that he knew about the honorary membership, which I understand was bestowed back in 2012.

ANGIE BELL
Well, he said “I didn’t know about it”, but on his social media it was outlined that he was there. He can’t have it both ways. He tells the Australian people when he falls off the stage that he didn’t fall off the stage. Australians are not mugs, Tom. They can see a lying Prime Minister when they smell one.

TOM CONNELL
So, is there an agreement with you and the Greens for some sort of scrutiny post facto on this?

ANGIE BELL
Well, at the moment, I’ll leave that to the leadership to talk to the Greens on. But from where I’m sitting in the House of Representatives, I can see a prime minister who cannot be trusted and who repetitively lies.

TOM CONNELL
In terms of the sports grants under the Coalition, car parking grants as well. This is analogous, isn’t it?

ANGIE BELL
Well, this is a prime minister who has misled the Australian people on the floor of the Parliament. If that was a Coalition Prime Minister, they would be after his scalp. The Prime Minister has been caught lying repetitively over and over again to the Australian people, and they know that his time is coming to an end. It’s only a Coalition Government that can deliver a better future for Australians to fix the economy and protect our way of life, Tom.

TOM CONNELL
Right, but in terms of the overall action, we’ve seen very similar schemes under the Coalition when it comes to analysis of where the money goes. In this case, safe Labor seats or marginal seats that Labor had a good chance in. We’ve seen exactly the same, haven’t we, under the Coalition?

ANGIE BELL
Well, that’s something that needs to be looked at more closely. But the issue here is the Prime Minister lying, and I’m not going to veer from that, Tom.

TOM CONNELL
So, so when you say more closely, you’re saying that you won’t do it again as a Coalition Government if you get back into power. No more grants of these types.

ANGIE BELL
I’m saying that this stinks around the prime minister. He’s said one thing and done another. He’s misled the Australian Parliament and the Australian public yet again.

TOM CONNELL
But you get what I’m saying – there’ll be a viewer saying, “Well, hang on, you guys did this – now Labor is, so why the outrage?

ANGIE BELL
Because the Prime Minister has misled Australians. Now Australians want a leader who doesn’t mislead them, and this is a pattern of behaviour from the Prime Minister to the Australian people of outright lies, and this is yet another one on top of all of the other ones.

TOM CONNELL
The gas reservation scheme, Labor outlined it’s a step back from what they were going to do, so the reservation no longer an automatic 20% but an up to. Does this mean it’s more likely to get Coalition support?

ANGIE BELL
Well, look, that was the draft that was released yesterday, and the Coalition’s position on gas is very clear. We want to see more gas, more Australian gas for Australians. We want to see cheaper gas prices, and we want to see abundance of energy. And Dan Tehan, and of course Susan McDonald, the Resources Shadow, they’ll be looking at this draft legislation to make sure that all of those fundamental principles are in place when it comes to a gas reservation policy.

TOM CONNELL
All right, going to end in your area. So you’ve made a call on arts funding. There are some accusations. Even these have been levelled at the Royal Commission into anti-Semitism and social cohesion. This is to do with the National Association for Visual Arts. So that accounts, if you like, on social media has been posting anti-Semitic content. Given this is part of the Royal Commission, should we wait until what they have to say about it in what, a couple of months, before deciding where this should go?

ANGIE BELL
Well, look, this is about funding, taxpayer funding that has been awarded to organisations who promote antisemitism. I’ve written two letters to Minister Burke about this. One on a website called Pearls and Irritations, who received taxpayer funding from the government on their blog, talking about basically anti-Semitic rhetoric, and the second one, of course, which you just mentioned, Tom, is NAVA, where also one of their employees reposted a post celebrating the Hamas attack on October 7. So what I would like to see, and I’ve asked the Minister to look into, the CEO of Creative Australia to make sure that taxpayer funding is not being used to divide Australians through social cohesion, and that’s very, very important. So the government’s spending money, awarding it on one hand, and then on the other hand, it’s letting down film producers. For example, the tax offset for film producers was supposed to come before the Parliament, and it’s taken the government two years, and they still haven’t brought it forward. So that’s a promise that the government’s broken. Another one, it’s 1000 jobs that have gone offshore to New Zealand because we’re not competitive in this space. So it’s very important that we make sure taxpayer funds are going where they should be.

TOM CONNELL
Angie Bell, thanks for your time.

ANGIE BELL
Thanks, Tom.