FORMER world boxing champion Barry Michael is a contender for a parliamentary seat as lead Senate candidate for the Clive Palmer United Party. He spoke to the Weekly last week in a candid interview at his Williamstown home.
What are your thoughts on the National Disability Insurance Scheme?
“[Clive] said, and he brought this up the other day, at the moment it cuts out at 65 doesn’t it? Well, he said that’s wrong because you know the majority of people with disabilities are over 65, you know, like with strokes etcetera, heart attacks or you know, accidents, and he said he’s going to totally change that so it’s going to cover you right the way through.
One of his major policies is to tip, I think it’s about, $80 billion in to health care Australia-wide and you’ll see something shortly about that. I think about $18 billion is going to be injected into the hospitals and the medical system in Victoria: that’s an announcement that’ll be coming out about me shortly and I know I’m going to be quizzed regarding funding. I’m not in a position to disclose our funding priorities at the moment.
What about the Gonski report?
We haven’t even discussed that at this stage. I know it’s a Labor push. But I mean, the Gonski report, I mean if he’s [Clive’s] going to inject that much into hospital system I would imagine … oh, look, at this stage with the Gonski report I don’t know our stance on it to be honest.
Asylum seekers on boats are going to be a big issue this election. What are your thoughts?
Up until the Labor party got in, the boats were very few and far between. It was Kevin Rudd that softened the position so that boat people could come here and be processed as refugees. What Clive’s idea is – and he said it’s the same in other countries, he mentioned America – rather than families saving up $20,000 to take a risk, risk your life and get on a boat, which they’re losing a massive amount of lives which is horrific, let them enter the country by airline and then present their case when they get here, and if they’re not legitimate refugees, we send them back.
You think that there are channels where asylum seekers can come by airline?
Well, and look, to be honest with you, it’s something that I get asked and I’ll be asked more often, if people can get on boats in Indonesia and our navy intercepts them, why can’t we turn them round? And that’s something I’m not clear on at this stage. People smugglers are the problem, it’s not the refugees. You can’t understand if people want to get out of Afghanistan and Iran and places like that where they’re having a horrible life and come to Australia because, as we know, it’s the greatest country in the world. Clive’s idea of letting them enter the country by an airline and then present their case when they get here is going to certainly, it’s going to squash the people smugglers and the massive income they’re making and give these people that are real refugees the opportunity to apply properly.
You say you will encourage people to catch aeroplanes, but what will you do with the people on boats that are intercepted?
Probably the same as what’s happening at the moment. As long as we can slow the boats down and house them until we can assess if they’re legitimate refugees.
Will Australian troops stay in Afghanistan?
That’s something I haven’t really discussed with Clive and I probably wouldn’t make an opinion on it, but I wouldn’t think so. That’s my personal opinion.
What are your thoughts on the carbon tax?
I think stopping the carbon tax is a good idea to be honest because the pollution in this country, it doesn’t even register on the scale of somewhere like China or India and we’ve got the highest carbon tax in the world. It seems to be damaging industries, forcing electricity prices up, power prices across the board. There’s people that can’t turn their heaters on at night and go to bed cold, you know, just can’t afford to pay their bills.
What is your view on marriage equality?
It’s something that we haven’t really discussed. I mean I’ve got my opinion and I’m probably not going to disclose it at this stage. I mean, look, I’ve got nothing against gay people and I’ve got a lot of gay friends, I’ll just say that much.
How are sports people qualified to be politicians?
I’m not sure of Doug [Hawkins]’ education but I was in education at university entrance and I wanted to do economics actually and I was offered psychology when I turned professional instead as a boxer and that became my career. But Doug and I think have lived life really to the full. I’ve met people from prime ministers, movie stars, to people in the gutter, seen drug addicts, lived in the commission flats. Both of us have seen a cross section.
Under the Clive Palmer United Party, how will Australians be better off?
Clive’s talking about lowering taxation, increasing the manufacturing base, trying to slow down the boat-people influx, stop the carbon tax. Even though things have slowed down economically and you’ve seen a lot of job losses Our economy is still probably one of the best in the world but it’s going backwards and I think with Clive Palmer at the helm it will go forward and I think he will inject confidence into the Australian people. What [Clive] wants to do, and this is a great idea I think, a great plan, is to set up big huge manufacturing bases in the non-mining states, mainly Victoria and NSW , and ship the ore and other products that we intend to produce and send overseas rather than send the raw product to China and Japan and India or whatever. Manufacturer it here and then on-sell it, the same as Japan’s doing and that would create thousands of jobs and create billions and billions of dollars of income for this country.
You didn’t know Clive before you applied [for the candidacy] online; is it a strange process how all this has come about?
I didn’t know he was a Williamstown boy to be honest which I think that’s sort of fate.
So, you think it’s fate, destiny?
Definitely, definitely fate, yeah. I mean, he was born in the Western General Hospital and lived in Williamstown until he moved to Queensland because he had asthma problems. He says, ‘I’m a Willy boy. I’m a western suburbs boy’. And he can appeal to the working man. And I think a guy that’s made himself a net worth of around $4 billion, which is not too shabby, from where he came from. It just shows you what can be done.
When people think of Clive Palmer, people think of Gina Rinehart …
“I think there’s a bit of a difference there. Wasn’t it Gina that was going to bring in all the cheap labour from overseas? Clive really looks after his workers.
I read that he was going to get rid of the national broadband. Is that correct?
Dunno our position on the national broadband. I mean it’s being rolled out as we speak. I know he said that it’s only going to increase speed marginally for the incredible cost, so there is some grey area there but I’m not really 100 per cent sure on that one.
In your opinion, how has Julia Gillard done as PM?
I just think it’s an unfortunate position for Julia Gillard what she inherited from Kevin Rudd. I think she’s copped a lot of flak. I think she’s shown an incredible lot of guts and determination to still be where she is. I would have thought that the Craig Thomson thing might have been enough to cause a double dissolution and probably should have and I think the Australian voter would have felt a lot better if that had happened back then. [Mr Thomson, who resigned from the Labor Party, is facing 173 charges relating to allegations he misused Health Services Union funds on hospitality and prostitutes]. And Craig Thomson’s still saying he’s innocent. And I think Kevin Rudd had his shot and I think he’s destabilised the whole party. I think the Labor Party are probably done and dusted to be honest.
Abbott – what’s he done right and wrong?
Tony Abbott hasn’t really done a lot, I don’t think. He’s been very quiet. It’s probably a smart move because they’re assassinating themselves.
SEE: ‘People person’ Hawkins touts Palmer, PM
