Sky News, AM Agenda

KIERAN GILBERT: On the program now is seniorLiberal Trade Minister Steve Ciobo. You've heard the reaction and alsoChristopher Pyne saying he should quit his seat. Do you agree – on CoryBernardi – who's confirmed to the Prime Minister that he's quitting theLiberals?

STEVEN CIOBO: Well,look it is disappointing. I'm going to be honest with you Kieran, though. If Ilook back over, and many Liberals feel this way, if you look back over Cory'scareer, with one or two exceptions, he's never laid a glove on the Labor Party,every time he's been in the headlines. It's been about criticism of his ownparty. So it's not entirely unexpected, but look, we will go forward now with astrong clear message as we've consistently held. Cory will still be, I hope, apart of a Senate crossbench that will apply rigor, but also importantly applycommon sense. He knows as well as anybody in the Coalition knows, that we'vegot to work with the crossbench in order to get legislation through.

KIERAN GILBERT: Now it's difficult for MalcolmTurnbull to manage, but it's hard to see what the catalyst was for this givenMr Turnbull's position on climate change, and on the plebiscite and on 18C.There's been no dramatic movement or catalyst since the election that's causedthis.

STEVEN CIOBO: Well, not only since the election, but in factsince Tony Abbott himself was Prime Minister on, for example, 18C, on the RET –the Renewable Energy Target, on these types of things. So, I mean look, Coryhas taken this decision. It's not for me to be a commentator about why or whyhe hasn't. What I do know is that when it comes to the Liberal Party, when itcomes to National Party, they view very dimly those who decide to suddenly upand change teams. We are here to implement a policy agenda that's good forAustralia, that's good for promoting economic growth, for creating jobs forAustralians, and the best way we can do that is through strength of numbers andhaving the ability to get that legislation, our agenda through the Parliament.It is not made more easy by having a crossbench and others there. We will workconstructively with them. If you look at the last six months, since the FederalElection last year, we've been able to achieve an incredible amount through ourability to constructively engage the Senate Crossbench and to put thatlegislation through.

KIERAN GILBERT: Well, I can see why you and otherLiberals are frustrated today at the loss of someone who served the party formany years, but I've also picked up talking to your colleagues in the LiberalParty that – well, they have accused him of lying to them – last year when thiswas around the rumour mill that he was going to set up a party. That he'd saidto colleagues that this will be like the Tea Party in the US. It'll be afaction within the Coalition. He won't break completely, but that's not what'seventuated. Were you aware of that? Is that what you were told?

STEVEN CIOBO: Look I'm not going to get into sortof a dissection of who said what to whom and all those sorts of things. He'staken this decision. He's decided he's going to stand alone as his own party,and so be it to him. I mean we've seen plenty of small minor parties, singleissue parties, and others rise up and fall again-

KIERAN GILBERT: But do you think quit his seat andleave it for the Liberal Party? As Christopher Pyne has said, he said that thehonourable course is for him to resign his seat and recontest as anindependent.

STEVEN CIOBO: Hewas a Senator, I mean, he was, he is a Senator. He was a Liberal Senator. Hewas elected off the back of support for the Liberal Party. It wasn't because ofCory Bernardi, it was because he was a Liberal Senator. Now, if he then changesand says, "Well, I'm going to go and do my own thing and no longer be partof the Liberal Party". Well, I think that he does have a very significantresponsibility to the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands ofLiberal voters in South Australia who backed the Liberal Party for –

KIERAN GILBERT: So he should resign?

STEVEN CIOBO: Well,I mean, I think he's got to be able to stare the people of South Australia inthe face and justify his actions.

KIERAN GILBERT: This challenge now, to theCoalition, from the right, it's another right party because you've got, ofcourse, One Nation on some issues is from the right, from the left on otherissues, but in terms of Cory Bernardi, how much of a threat is that to thevoting base for the Liberals - the Coalition?

STEVEN CIOBO: Ithink, Kieran, the fact is that we have got people who are having a chop at usfrom the left and from the right. I mean, it just reinforces that the Coalitionis the only sensible centre, the middle ground. We're a centre-right party, webelieve in export markets, we believe in operating the free market and thereshould be checks and balances. That's core beliefs for the Liberal Party andthe National Party. There'll always be people on the extremes on either side ofus, we know that, but we're going to stay true to the course and the directionthat we set at the last Federal Election, which received a mandate from theAustralian people to implement.

KIERAN GILBERT: Cory Bernardi's a goodcommunicator. He'll have the resources, apparently, of Gina Rinehart as well.That could be a potent force.

STEVEN CIOBO: Whatit ultimately comes down to, Australians have a choice at the next FederalElection whether they want Bill Shorten as Prime Minister or Malcolm Turnbullas Prime Minister. We have got to remain focused on dealing with what it isthat most Australians want and what they care about. Now, the Prime Ministermade this very clear at his Press Club address. As a Government, we're focusedon the staples. Take, for example, energy prices, electricity prices, we knowthat a lot of Australians want to know about can they get a job, is the economygrowing, and am I able to pay my bills? That's what is at the core of theCoalition's focus. That's why we're focused on-

KIERAN GILBERT: And did Barnaby Joyce say thatyesterday to the Ministerial meeting, that stop talking about fringe issues, ashe described it, in relation to same sex marriage?

STEVEN CIOBO: Nowhat Barnaby Joyce said is that all of us, as a Government, need to stayfocused on what's important to the Australian people. This is exactly the typesof things that I'm speaking to you about now.

KIERAN GILBERT: Did he specifically say, "Stoptalking and raising this issue of same sex marriage?"

STEVEN CIOBO: Hespoke about the need to make sure that we speak on behalf of the Australianswho elect us to represent them in this Parliament, and the way that we do thatis by focusing on the issues that are important to them. As I said, that'sabout jobs, it's about economic growth, it's about energy prices – these arethings that we are focused on.

KIERAN GILBERT: And not same sex marriage. That wasthe report today in The Australian suggesting that-

STEVEN CIOBO: Everydaythere's different media reports about who said what to whom. I can only reassertto you as a Government and indeed as a Ministry, when we have discussions ourfocus is on the things that are important to mainstream Australia. Now at therisk of repeating myself, it's those things about job security; it's aboutenergy prices; it's about economic growth - that's what we are focused on.That's what dominates our discussions and our thinking when it comes to settingthe policy agenda for this nation.

KIERAN GILBERT: This is going to be a tricky onefor Malcolm Turnbull to manage though. He says, remains a plebiscite as thepolicy, but you've got a dozen or so moderates pushing for a free vote. This isthe Liberal Party, the party of the free vote.

STEVEN CIOBO: WellI think Australians understand we have a set of policies that we're pursuing asa Government. We have our policy priorities as a Government that we're tryingto implement through the Parliament. Now given the way that the Parliament is,from time to time the Parliament will dish up issues that we need to deal withas a Government. We understand that. We respect that. It doesn't mean thatthese are our number one priorities. It means that these are areas of focusthat the Parliament might put upon the Government. By the same token, we havean agenda that we're pursuing about those bread-and-butter issues for ordinaryAustralians.

KIERAN GILBERT: Finally, something that might wellresonate for any supporters of a Bernardi-led conservative force, the Newspolltoday has a majority of Coalition voters supporting a Trump-style immigrationban on Muslim nations. What do you make of that?

STEVEN CIOBO: Welllook, I've said previously that I wouldn't support a ban like that. I don'tthink that's the way forward. I respect that different people have differentpoints of view. It's not a point of view that I share. I don't believe in this'one-size-fits-all' approach and that we should just ban these seven countriesand then other countries. From my perspective, what we need to do and whatAustralians expect of their Government, is to know that we are applying a lotof rigor when it comes to saying who can and who cannot come into the country.I think I've got form in this area about areas where I think Government shouldbe strong on. The fact is that as a Government we have stopped the influx oftens of thousands of people that the Labor Party left us with, we've stoppedthat. Now, we can provide additional funding as well because of good budgetmanagement to our services – things like ASIO, and the AFP, and others. I thinkAustralians can have confidence that the Coalition is taking forward a verystrong approach when it comes to national security.

KIERAN GILBERT: Trade Minister, I appreciate yourtime. Thanks very much, Steve Ciobo.