Interview with Laura Jayes AM Agenda Sky News
31st May 2022
LAURA JAYES
Well, the coalition leadership shakeup is complete and Peter Dutton is the new opposition leader elected unopposed. Both Liberals and Nationals elected female deputies as they face the challenge of rebuilding the coalition from opposition for the first time in almost a decade. Part of that rebuilding will include Liberal MP Jane Hume; she joins us now. You'll be part of the team that's looking at really what went wrong, Jane. Where does that all start? What is your project for the weeks and months ahead?
JANE HUME
Yeah, and it's going to be a big project indeed, Laura. So, Brian Loughnane and I have been charged by the federal executive with the responsibility of conducting a review into the election result. That means that we need to not just look at our own state and Victoria and New South Wales, but also right around the country where the experience of this election will be very different. It will be different not just from state to state, but also from cohort to cohort. We want to make sure that we speak to party members directly, but we also speak to candidates that did get up and candidates that didn't get up. You know, the experience of Trevor Evans, for instance, in Brisbane will be very different having lost his seat to a Green, then to Celia Hammond for instance in Curtin, who lost her seat to a Teal Independent. There will be those that won their seats and those that lost their seats. We need to make sure that we cover the whole gambit, but we also want to speak to the party members themselves. Those campaign workers and volunteers and what their experience was. Also, those that were in those decision-making positions. So, the ones that decided, for instance, that we were going to have this fantastic housing superannuation policy, but why it came out in the last week before the election. Was that too little too late? In something that, you know, really did unite most of the party behind it. So, there's all these sorts of permutations or combinations that need to be unpacked. If you ask 10 different people, why we lost this election, you'll probably get 10 different answers.
JAYES
Right, so you've already identified perhaps that housing policy that came out too late, are there other things that are obvious to you, and particularly Brian, as well, before you even undertake this review?
HUME
I think what we're picking up on very quickly, is themes. You don't have to look very far to see what those themes are. At the same time, it's what influences or which one of those themes were actually the drivers as opposed to just, you know, circumstantial. That's what we'll pick up by doing the review and making sure that we cast the net wide enough to make sure that we pick up all of those perspectives, and then narrow it down to those themes. So yes, we are seeing themes already.
JAYES
What about the women issue? Not just perhaps women voters, but also attracting more women to join political parties like the Liberal and National Party? What do you think needs to be done there? Is it something drastic? If it's not quotas, what is it?
HUME
Look, I've been talking about this, as have many of my colleagues for years within the Liberal Party, the need to attract that next generation of talent coming through. Some of the best female politicians that we have, have had life experience outside of politics. Then when they come in, they can bring that experience to the table. They really have made a genuine difference. Some of those women sadly, like Celia Hammond or Katie Allen have lost their seats this time around. That's a real shame that we are losing that depth of talent and experience outside of politics. So, what is it that we can do to attract the right women to politics and give them a pathway forward, that will be sustainable and fulfilling as well? That will genuinely be an attractive alternative to the life that they lead outside of politics. This is a really tough game, and this election was one of the toughest, possibly one of the most vicious, I think, that I've ever seen fought. When you look at some of the experiences, say for instance, Zoe McKenzie had done in Flinders having her car and core flutes defaced in the most vile ways, there is a certain kind of fortitude that is required in a lot of people, I would understand that if you are a successful professional woman, why you would just say, why would I subject myself to this? So...
JAYES
That's a good question Jane. Why did you?
HUME
That's a very good question. Because you know, you want to step up and make a contribution, you feel like you have something to offer, but there are days where you go, is this all worth it? So, we have to make sure that we, you know, create an environment where we say, look, there's some tough stuff that comes with this, but this is a very supportive and nurturing environment, and it's a real opportunity that money can't buy.
JAYES
Is it though, Jane? I mean, something that, like supportive and nurturing, you know, they're not two words that I would take from watching Question Time, for example, or knowing what goes on behind the scenes sometimes. It's not a supportive and nurturing relationship most of the time, is it?
HUME
Well, I think I've said that myself, this isn't croquet, this is cage fighting, which means that it does take a certain you know, an inner strength, but at the same time you make great friends in this job. You make important decisions that have real consequences for people's lives. You know, that's something that is irreplaceable, and something that's, you know, an enormous privilege and an honour. That's why you do it, but you take the good with the bed. That said, I do think that the parties themselves, can provide a much more nurturing, much more encouraging, much more collegiate environment to encourage those right candidates, men, and women to come and join our fold.
JAYES
Well, Peter Dutton is the new Liberal leader. He's not exactly seen as the nurturing type, at least publicly. He says it is because he has held these difficult portfolios like Defence, Immigration, and Home Affairs. Is there something we don't know about him? That is nurturing that the public has yet to see?
HUME
There's plenty. I think there's plenty that people don't know about Peter, and I'm looking forward to seeing people's understanding of Peter as our leader better unfold. My partner goes totally fangirl over Peter Dutton and always has done. He finds him the most interesting person in even the most rarefied of rooms. I ran into one of his constituents once that was a pilot at an airport, who said to me that he ran into Peter when he was wearing his civvies at a school fete or something like that. Six months later he was walking in the airport, and Peter was walking the other way, and they caught eyes. Peter walked over and said, "John, isn't it?" "Hi, nice to see you", even though he was wearing his pilot's uniform. Now, that's an extraordinary skill and ability to connect with individuals like that. I'm really looking forward to that side of Peter being on display. He has had very difficult portfolios in the past. He has a real opportunity now to unite the liberal party. It was a fantastic feeling in that party room yesterday introducing the new members of our team, people like Aaron Violi, Zoe McKenzie, Keith Wolahan, Jenny Ware and Henry Pike to the team. Seeing them, you know, wide-eyed with the excitement of the opportunities that this liberal party room is going to bring behind the united team of Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley.
JAYES
Okay, we'll speak soon, Jane. Good luck with that review. We'll check-in.
HUME
Thanks. Thanks very much, Laura.