Release details
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Related ministers and contacts
The Hon Peter Dutton MP
Minister for Defence
Media contact
Defence Media: media@defence.gov.au
Release content
8 February 2022
DAVID KOCH:
We're joined by Defence Minister Peter Dutton. Minister, first of all what are the troops are they going to do and why on earth has it taken so long, why haven't we done this before?
PETER DUTTON:
Morning Kochie. As you say, we're going to deploy up to 1,700 troops and we've said from the start that we will do whatever's required to provide support to what is a very difficult sector. At the moment some families want to get in to see loved ones, others want the centre locked down so that the virus can't be introduced into that aged care facility. So it's a complex web and already the Government's provided support through Aspen Medical which has deployed teams, and we've paid for about 80,000 shifts in an arrangement with the private hospitals.
So there's a lot that's been going on behind the scenes, but the decision's been made by the Prime Minister to introduce additional support and it's not just support on the ground…
DAVID KOCH:
Do you agree with that decision?
PETER DUTTON:
Oh very much, yes.
DAVID KOCH:
Right.
PETER DUTTON:
I think it's appropriate and I think Kochie, also we've got to put it into perspective. I mean it's, you know, all of us have lost grandmothers or aunts or loved ones. It can be a terrible situation and, in some instances, people want to be there by the side of their loved one. If there's a person in palliative care and they've got two weeks to go, they don't want the loved one to get the jab, the booster shot, for example, that person dies with COVID, not from COVID but, you know the next family wants their loved one to be in a facility where there aren't visitors. So as you go across the country it's a tough situation.
DAVID KOCH:
Yep. Parliament resumes today in the lead up to the Federal election. Can the Coalition get passed the texting scandal, the horrible polling figures?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Kochie, I just think as you go out around the community nobody's raising this stuff. They're worried about whether they can open their restaurant for dinner because they can't find staff, or they're worried that they've got a cold room full of perishable goods and a whole booking sheet for Saturday night.
They've been worried about getting closed down on a Friday, you know, those things are what I think worries people. People are now worried about what's going to happen with the interest rates in the future.
DAVID KOCH:
The polls show they are worried about the Government because the polls have gone south. Are you losing confidence as a party in Scott Morrison's leadership?
PETER DUTTON:
Not at all Kochie. I mean I've been around since the Howard days, I was Assistant Treasurer in the Howard days and I can remember at every election the Coalition's been behind and generally at this point in the cycle, that's the case, particularly if you're in government, because the polls are more an expression of people's frustration about a particular issue, and it might be aged care, it might be, just what we've been living through with lockdowns and the disruption to our family lives, kids delayed going back to school.
Once we get into an election, once it's called, it's a focus between a two-horse race and I honestly believe, particularly on the issue of the economy, the management of the economy and the management of national security, Scott Morrison I think outstrips Anthony Albanese any day of the week.
DAVID KOCH:
Okay. So let's put it on the record because there's media speculation that you're positioning to challenge Scott Morrison and leadership. What's your answer to that?
PETER DUTTON:
100 per cent no, Kochie.
DAVID KOCH:
Right.
PETER DUTTON:
I've been loyal to Scott Morrison from day one and I continue to be so because I've seen what he's done in taking us through what's been a difficult situation. There was no textbook as to what you should do in a one in 100-year event.
We haven't got everything right, but we've got most things right, and compared to most other countries, we are in a very good position and I think the Government's going to manage us out of this situation over the next couple of years where we are going to have headwinds economically, as you know.
DAVID KOCH:
All right. Peter Dutton, thanks for joining us.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks Kochie.
[ends]