TRANSCRIPT – ABC GOLD COAST DRIVE WITH BERN YOUNG

Angie Bell MP
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education
Shadow Minister for Youth
Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

ABC GOLD COAST – DRIVE WITH BERN YOUNG

19 December 2024

Subjects: Gold Coasters electricity bills double during Labor’s cost of living crisis, Liberal Party diversity, Peter Dutton’s strong leadership and conviction, Teal Independents deliver nothing for their community.

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………………

BERN YOUNG:

Bern Young with you. Aat this time of year, there’s that feeling that everything’s winding down. Is that the case for our federal polllies, though? Sitting days are done, sure. Do they get their Christmas cards out and then just kick back, relax? Probably not, I would think, with an election looming in the new year.

I’m joined this afternoon by the Liberal Member for Moncrieff, which covers the central Gold Coast. Angie Bell, good afternoon.

ANGIE BELL MP:

Great to be with you. Bern.

BERN YOUNG:

So, kick back, Christmas time.

ANGIE BELL MP:

It seems to be ramping up.

BERN YOUNG:

There’s nothing to do is there?

ANGIE BELL MP:

Well, I have sent out the thousand Christmas cards or so. So, I’ve got the RSI in the wrist, but I certainly have been out and about in the community and doing a little bit of media as well because of the impending election that we’re headed for.

Probably March or May, depending on if the Prime Minister can increase his 27 per cent approval rating that he has, with the Coalition at 38 per cent so it’s probably not a good time for him right now to pull the trigger, but certainly out in the community, there’s a lot going on.

BERN YOUNG:

What are people saying in the community to you? Are they, you know, and in Queensland, we’ve just had a state election, so you imagine a bit of election fatigue. What are they saying to you?

ANGIE BELL MP:

People want an election, which tells me that they’re in the mood here, certainly on the Gold Coast, to change the government. Yesterday, I was at a local cafe having lunch, and the cafe owner there said that her electricity bills had gone from $24,000 last year to $48,000 this year, and she really was not very happy about that, as you can imagine.

I think families are struggling. They’re struggling to pay the bills, the mortgage, the electricity costs. We’ve had 26,000 business insolvencies over the last term (sic), and that’s about 4,800 in Queensland alone. Was trying to get the numbers for the Gold Coast, for that, but wasn’t able to get those numbers from the department.

It’s a tough time for families and our community here on the Gold Coast comes together with charities like Serving Our People across the road like St John’s Crisis Centre in Surfers Paradise, but many across the whole state that come together to help people at Christmas time because they can’t put food on the table, and they can’t pay their bills. Australians are struggling.

BERN YOUNG:

And cost-of-living is going to be a huge issue. We absolutely know that at the at the next election, and in fact, of course, it’s being pertinent in every election around the world in 2024 so it’s an interesting trend to watch elsewhere as well.

In terms of trends, something’s been going on in the Liberal Party of late too, with some key resignations ahead of this election, of what people call moderates. It’s a little bit hard to pin down factions in the Liberal Party, as I understand it, and I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on any faction in any party, to be honest with you, Angie Bell, but Senator Simon Birmingham was seen as the leader, if you have one, of your moderates.

Paul Fletcher, another moderate, who has now said he will resign at the next election. First of all, I mean, do you consider yourself a moderate?

ANGIE BELL MP:

I think I’m considered a moderate, certainly a social moderate, fiscal conservative. Of course, something we all agree on is fiscal management or better fiscal management than what we’re seeing and open market economics, and that’s something that we all can agree on.

And we all certainly, across the broad church that is the Liberal Party and the Coalition indeed, can agree that we want to see a different government with a different approach to the economy.

In the words of John Howard, let’s say, we are a very broad church, which means there’s a lot of diversity in the party, those from the very centre of politics to sometimes more right than many of us would like.

It really is about respecting one another and having a strong democracy. Everybody has different views, and that makes for very robust debate, I must say, in the Coalition party room.

BERN YOUNG:

Do you genuinely find that, because as a moderate and do you genuinely find that you can have a say and that your voice is heard?

ANGIE BELL MP:

Absolutely. I believe that if I respect somebody else’s views, that they should respect my views. And that has generally been my experience in the Liberal Party, where I’m entitled to my view and you’re entitled to your view, that we don’t always agree, but that is the greatness of our democracy and of our great party as well, Bern.

BERN YOUNG:

Angie Bell is my guest. She’s the Liberal Member for Moncrieff, which covers the central Gold Coast.

You’ve said, you know, the with the party going further to the right than you would want, the leader is certainly very conservative, Peter Dutton, your leader is a very conservative. I mean, don’t you see him as further to the right?

ANGIE BELL MP:

Well, I see him as a strong leader. He has very strong views, and I think that’s what the electorate wants. Right now, across the country, you’re seeing, as I said, a 38 per cent approval rating for the Coalition. That’s how we’re polling, and people are crying out for strong leadership.

And Peter Dutton is a man of great values. He is a man of conviction. He’s a safe pair of hands. And actually, when you get to know him, he is a regular bloke with a pretty good sense of humour.

He’s always very self-deprecating in his humour. He always gets a laugh at the beginning of a speech, whether it be out in the community or whether it be – I know you’re frowning.

BERN YOUNG:

Well, the reason you know what I’m thinking of, I’m thinking of all those sports stars that they only have to say something mildly funny. And because no one’s expecting them to be comedians, we all laugh a lot louder. So, you know, you’re not expecting Peter Dutton to be funny.

So, he really doesn’t have to say. Neither of them have to. The Prime Minister nor the Opposition Leader has to say anything very funny. And we all think, oh, that’s moderately funny. We’ll have our heads off.

ANGIE BELL MP:

But I guess my point is, he is a very likable man when you get to know him. I’ve known him for the whole time I’ve been in the party, which is about 13 years. He’s been the most senior leader in Queensland, and now I’m proud that he’s the Opposition Leader, and I’m proud to be an LNP member and follow the very, very difficult conversations, the very difficult decisions that he has come to, as a strong leader, that the nation needs.

BERN YOUNG:

And how do you go if some of his convictions aren’t the same as yours? In 2019, you became the first openly gay woman to represent a major party in the House of Representatives. Now, I know, Angie Bell, that you don’t you’re not defined by that.

You very rarely talk about it, nor do you deny it. But you know, back in 2021 Peter Dutton was then the Defence Minister. You know, he ordered Defence officials to restrict, you know, so called woke activities and people having rainbow flags and the like.

You know, there are other examples of voting consistently against transgender rights. Where do your convictions sit in that area?

ANGIE BELL MP:

I think you nailed it at the beginning, Bern, when you said, I don’t define myself by my sexuality. I would hope that after six years in the parliament, I would have respect across the party and certainly across the aisle as well.

I have some good friends in the Labor Party too, which happens when you’re in the same space for a long time, together. But you know, we don’t always agree on everything, and that is where robust debate comes in.

That is where Peter Dutton has an open door. I have been to see Peter Dutton many times in his office as the Opposition Leader, as the Minister of Defence, as the Minister for Home Affairs as well.

BERN YOUNG:

And can you, can you give me an example of something that you’ve taken to him and said, I don’t think you’ve got this right, Peter.

ANGIE BELL MP:

Oh, we’ve spoken about many, many different topics. I won’t go into any one specific topic, but certainly he’s always shown me respect. He is a man that I admire, and I think he’s a very strong leader and will make an excellent Prime Minister.

BERN YOUNG:

Your guest this afternoon here on 612 ABC, Brisbane and 91.7 ABC, Gold Coast is local member on the Gold Coast for Moncrieff, Angie Bell. My name is Bern Young. We’re a few minutes away from the ABC News at four o’clock.

For those listening in Brisbane, they might not be aware that every federal seat on the Gold Coast is held by the Liberal Party and Karen Andrews, who, of course, has been a senior woman in the Liberal Party and outspoken on some issues around women in the party as well, in her time, is leaving the seat of McPherson.

And Erchana Murray-Bartlett has been announced as an independent and I guess we’re going to use the word teal, but I know that there’s a bit of conjecture around whether someone’s a teal or not, but certainly being financed by climate 200. Climate 200 is behind this particular independent for McPherson.

Can I ask you what you thought of Karen Andrews statement around this she said – “I’ve been made aware of the candidate’s impressive background and congratulate her on her achievements to date. The community deserves leadership that listens, understands and acts with integrity” – Do you think she was backing without backing, that that teal candidate?

ANGIE BELL MP:

I respect Karen Andrews for the work that she’s done as the Home Affairs Minister, as the Minister for Industry. She did some fantastic work on the Gold Coast as a local member for McPherson.

We now have a candidate in McPherson, Leon Rebello, his name is, and he’s doing a terrific job out and about in the community.

When it comes to the teal candidates, I think we have to remember that they actually don’t have any policies to speak of. They don’t have economic policy, they don’t have housing policy, defence, foreign affairs. It is a big void. They have also said they are not a party.

BERN YOUNG:

Well I was gonna say, well, they shouldn’t have policies in a way, because they’re not a they they’re an individual.

ANGIE BELL MP:

They’re an individual. So therefore, they don’t have a party, but they do accept donations from climate 200, from Simon Holmes a Court, and that is how they fund their campaigns.

So, I would say they don’t have a policy platform. So, how can they actually be effective to deliver anything for their electorates? And I think we’ve seen that across the country.

I would also say that some of those seats, those teal seats, you’re looking at Curtin, you’re looking at Kooyong, at Goldstein, they are in play now. And I think that they are polling very well for the Liberal Party, and I think that the teal phenomenon, if you want to call it that, is on the wane.

I think we’ll win those seats back at the next federal election. We’ll see less Teals in the parliament. Definitely, Kylea Tink is from North Sydney, has now disappeared. That electorate has been redistributed out, and there’s been some changes. And so, I think the teal phenomenon is on the way down.

BERN YOUNG:

I’m really interested to see what happens at the next election, and whether I’ll play that back to you, Angie Bell, and whether we’ll have further discussion.

Really good to have you here with me in our ABC Gold Coast studios. You are listening to 91.7 ABC Gold Coast and 612 ABC Brisbane. This is the drive show. Angie Bell, thanks for your time.

ANGIE BELL MP:

Thanks, Bern.

[ENDS]