TRANSCRIPT – SKY NEWS NEWSDAY WITH KIERAN GILBERT

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

TRANSCRIPT

SKY NEWS – NEWSDAY WITH KIERAN GILBERT

10 February 2025

Subjects: Tariffs, Victorian byelection results, Australians hurting under Labor’s cost of living crisis

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

KIERAN GILBERT:

Let’s bring in Liberal frontbencher Angie Bell. Thanks for your time. Last time you were in office, Joe Hockey as Ambassador successfully lead the effort to carve out an exemption. Do you think we can get it done again this time?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, you’re right. Joe Hockey was an excellent Ambassador for the Coalition to the United States. This is a test for Ambassador Rudd and also for Anthony Albanese’s leadership. This is crunch time for the government, and let’s see if they can negotiate as well as the Coalition did when we were in government.

KIERAN GILBERT:

They’ve pointed out it did take a number of months of lobbying and efforts by the Coalition to get that done. Should we give them, the government a little bit of leeway, breathing space?

ANGIE BELL:

Considering there’s an impending election on the table, we go into caretaker mode, I think it’s very important that the government get on this straight away.

KIERAN GILBERT:

The Trade Minister’s trying to get those talks underway. We’ll see how they go. We’ve got the byelection at the weekend in Werribee in Victoria. Redbridge polling suggesting that Labor’s support in the outer suburbs has collapsed. How encouraging is this to you ahead of the election?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I’d congratulate those two candidates and certainly Rachel in Prahran. But I think this is so very, very important. That Australian voters are sending a very strong message to state and federal governments, this is an opportunity for them to send that message to Anthony Albanese that they’re hurting, they’re sick and tired of failing Labor governments. We saw it in Queensland with David Crisafulli, now the Premier, and with Victoria with its debt levels where it is, putting up a statue of Daniel Andrews after what he’s done to the state economy? I mean, you know, I think this is an opportunity and they have sent a message in Victoria to the state government.

KIERAN GILBERT:

Are you hopeful, obviously hopeful, are you confident you can get the flow on votes through the Liberal Party as opposed to what we saw at the weekend in Werribee, where independents got a fair chunk of that vote.

ANGIE BELL:

Well look, Australians are hurting, Kieran. We’re in a household recession, standard of living has gone backwards by 9 per cent. Australians are paying more on their mortgages, $50,000 more on the average mortgage. How much longer can they keep going with this government? They’ll have an opportunity at the federal election to vote for a strong leader in Peter Dutton, who can get Australia back on track.

KIERAN GILBERT:

Angie Bell, thank you for your time. We’ll talk to you soon.

ANGIE BELL:

Thanks Kieran.

ENDS.