JON FAINE: For as long as I can remember politicians have offered people jobs to get people out of jobs they wish they werent doing. Whats wrong with this one?
SENATOR PENNY WONG, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE: Come on. I mean, lets understand what has occurred here. Theyre the independent statutory authority that is charged with safeguarding the human rights of Australians. She has been subjected to a bitter personal partisan attack from the Prime Minister down, she was subjected yesterday I think on any fair assessment to bullying by Liberal bovver boys and who has given evidence that she was asked to resign and, this is her evidence, and another unspecified job with the Government was put on the table.
FAINE: This is going back to the Whitlam era when people were offered ambassadorships overseas in order to get someone into the Senate and I can think of examples from both sides of politics federal and state. Someone is in an inconvenient spot, you offer them a diplomatic posting or to an international court or whatever, get them out of the way, you do it with dignity by promoting them. This was, maybe it was just a clumsy way of doing the same thing.
WONG: If that is the standard, and we can have that discussion another time, if that is the standard, it is not acceptable. I certainly think any fair-minded observer watching the way this Government has hysterically responded to the Human Rights Commission report is, if I can say, indicative of a wider pattern from a Government that seeks to attack anyone and anything, any institution that dares to put a different view. I dont think anyone watching this would think this was a good thing for our democracy to have both the Commission and its President attacked in this way. Nor is it appropriate for the plan that appears to have been hatched by the Attorney-General to move her on, nor is that appropriate. Now obviously I dont want to comment too much on that because Mark Dreyfus has referred it to the AFP. I think all of us await the outcome of the AFPs assessment with interest. This is obviously something that many Australians have taken a great interest in.
FAINE: But another aspect of yesterdays hearing was the fairly clear gender divide that was not just visible but shouting out to us if you followed it on television or radio or even had a look at it in the reports this morning. What on earth was going on?
WONG: Well Ive been in politics since 2001, Ive been in a lot of Senate estimates hearings. They get pretty willing, at times I acknowledge I will engage in robust debate. I have never seen bullying behaviour of the sort I saw yesterday.
FAINE: Senator Barry OSullivan: I want to hear a mans voice. Senator Hanson-Young: You might talk to your wife like that but not to Senators. This is just becoming schoolyard stuff.
WONG: Well we do have a couple of serial offenders certainly in Senator Macdonald and Senator OSullivan and I think the Prime Minister really needs to consider whether this is the standard that he expects in modern Australia of his Senators regardless of partisan politics.
FAINE: You were told personally to settle down, which is about as patronising as it gets.
WONG: I might have been interrupting and maybe I deserved to be told to be quite but I have to say
FAINE: But its how youre told to be quite is it not Senator? I do my share of interrupting and cop my share of flak for doing it but that is part of the professional banter that we engage in.
WONG: Correct. You see they dont think it is a problem. Im always interested because whenever one raises this, Ive been accused of being obsessed with, that I name sexist behaviour when there isnt any there and its all in my mind, but I dont think anybody watching how they treated both Professor Triggs and the Senators on that committee yesterday would think thats appropriate behaviour.
FAINE: Now I am hearing rumours Senator Wong of moves to try and get you down to the lower house in South Australia.
WONG: I saw that on Twitter but no thank you. Im Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and
FAINE: But with aspirations surely if you
WONG: No absolutely not.
FAINE: Not in the slightest?
WONG: If you had asked me when I came into politics what would you like to do, I wanted to be a Cabinet Minister, Ive had that opportunity and I would have hoped that I could hold the job I am holding now or the Leader of the Government in the Senate which is obviously a better position to be in.
FAINE: Well leave it there, thank you indeed Senator Penny Wong.