E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
Straight Shooters with Clinton Maynard, 2GB Sydney

TUESDAY, 4 MARCH 2025 
  
SUBJECT: Antisemitism, working from home, public school funding, the election

CLINTON MAYNARD, HOST: Our straight Shooter for a Tuesday Afternoon. From the Senate in Canberra representing NSW, Hollie Hughes.  Hello Hollie.

HOLLIE HUGHES, MP: Hi Clinton how are you going.

MAYNARD: In the lower house representing the seat of Macquarie, Susan Templeman for the Labor Party. Hello Susan.

SUSAN TEMPLEMAN, MP: G’day Clinton.

MAYNARD: Well, we might well have an election called on Sunday, but more on that a little later. First topic we're gonna discuss today is the indoctrination of our kids. There is a new video that's been released by the Israeli influencer Max Veifer. Now, he was the man at the centre of the Bankstown Hospital nurses video. I’ll play the audio from this video.

Clip from Max Veifer Video:

SPEAKER 1: Free Palestine. Bro only if Hitler killed you guys.

MAX VEIFER: Don't say these words. Google Max Veifer before you skip me. Max VEIFER. Google Max Veifer Australia. We fight antisemitism on here. You can’t say these things last people got caught.

MAYNARD: So it's Max Veifer on this video talking to a couple of young Australian boys. Hollie, do you think when it comes to children, do you think it's wrong that he's, some would maybe say, entrapped them?

HUGHES: I did find the most disturbing part of that, that, that soundtrack and I saw the video on the weekend, is the giggle that the young boys have after he talks about Hitler killing the Jews? And that was just disturbing that this is what young kids are being taught. I mean, I just. That, I mean, I wouldn't have my kids on that platform where you can just talk to anyone around the world. I think it’s, I kind of remember it's called, but it's a very unusual platform. But I think that the kids on what they said they must be being taught that at home, or at school. And I think it's absolutely abhorrent that kind of antisemitism is taught in the homes of Australian citizens and that we have young kids growing up thinking that that is acceptable.

MAYNARD: Susan, do you think the kids on that video and other kids who've been in this position do you think they know what they're talking about?

TEMPLEMAN: Well kids will parrot stuff won’t they? But I'm like Hollie, I think they've obviously got it from somewhere and whether it is degrading people because of their religion or their, you know, ethnic background or because they’re a woman or because they're gay, like all of that stuff does need to be called out when it happens. So you know, I know I've called out kids, teenagers who I've heard saying inappropriate things and you know, I think that's part of what we do and we really encouraged people to do that when it comes to sexism, for instance. So that's now part of the conversation to say, you know, if you're mates are doing that, stop them. You don't want kids hearing whatever these kids have heard. You know I do think, you know, like Hollie, I heard the giggle. You know, sometimes, kids, they don't have any idea what they're doing. So, you know, I think it's the parents who need to be held accountable there.

MAYNARD: Yeah. And look absolutely and the police are actually not investigating this incident. Michael and excellent says, look, I'm 50 years old. I was taught about what Hitler did to the Jews when I was in school – it’s called history. Now we've been talking in the programme today about what the coalition is planning to do with the public service when it comes to working from home. Now Katy Gallagher, and I want to ask you about this, Susan. Firstly, Katy Gallagher has suggested this policy of forcing public servants back into the office is discriminatory against women. I can't see the argument there. What are your views Susan?

TEMPLEMAN: I think you've had people calling in, pointing out that sometimes women are the major carer, but for me it's not about whether it's anti women, it's actually antiquated to think that you have to be sitting at a desk to be your most productive in an office surrounded by people. I ran a business for 25 years where the majority of my what would be called desk work, whether that was talking to clients, doing invoicing, writing proposals, that was all done from my home and I was the most productive person. And we're missing one key thing here it is -

MAYNARD: But did you have screaming children at the time Susan?

TEMPLEMAN: Well, I put them in childcare and that's what most people do. And in the public service, it's by agreement. So you don't just kind of say to your boss, this is what I'm doing. You know, you determine can be done if you're working at Australian Hearing and you're testing people's hearing, you're obviously not going to be able to do that anywhere other than in those wonderful Australian Hearing shops that are run by the government. But there could be other back-end stuff that you do need to -

MAYNARD: So Susan you don't believe that the rules would be stretched by any of the public servants.

TEMPLEMAN: I have no doubt that wherever there are rules, whether it's in the private sector or in the public sector, there are some people who won't respect the rules and there are processes in place in the public sector just like there are in businesses to address those issues.

MAYNARD: But in the end, why this is such an issue is okay that's happening in the private sector we as the tax payer are not covering the cost and Hollie, do you fear there are many public servants who abuse these rules?

HUGHES: Absolutely. And to Susan's point, this is by agreement, it's actually not at the moment. This is the issue is that it is reasonably carte blanche across the departments, the option of working from home and this is a remnant from the COVID days, and the coalition isn't saying that if there is by agreement by a particular staff member with their boss that they can negotiate that as part of their employment, that's all well and good. And if those current agreements are in place, no one saying that they need to be scrapped. But there is certainly and I mean, the private sector is stepping up here as well. There's a number of large organisations that have said OK, enough's enough, we're not having this work from home.

MAYNARD: But it can be it can be an advantage to an organisation as well, can't it?

HUGHES: Look for flexibility it actually can be, you know, a really good thing, but it does need to be on a case by case basis. Um, you know, I think we all know when we've all seen people out and about and in the middle of the day they're working from home and, you know, I think there has been a little bit of taking the mickey out of this. And we've seen in Australia productivity continue to decline and I think businesses are trying to arrest that by bringing people back into the office. It's incredibly important that offices function together. People know what's going on, that they're sort of that kind of communication that you can't get sitting inside in your own little office at home.

MAYNARD: But you can also save a hell of a lot of time as a employee by not having to commit potentially 2 hours a day to work that many people in Sydney with the size of our geographic spoil you have to do. Susan, would there be an argument that people who work from home shouldn't be paid as much as people who work in the office because they're saving on those transport costs.

TEMPLEMAN: Well you’re paid for the value of your work, not the amount of time that you commute. It's a choice you make to live where you live, and I chose to live in the Blue Mountains and it was my choice to have long travel time. But it's also my choice, when I had my own business to spend as little time travelling unless I had to. I think there's another point about the benefit it brings in communities like the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains, where we're talking about people travelling maybe 1 1/2 to two hours each way each day. The fact that they can be in their local community for more time benefits the whole local economy. They can do the grocery shopping locally. They may, after they finished work, be able to have a drink with someone and if their work is flexible, in other words, if it doesn't have to be completed in a nine to five pattern, but they can take a break when they maybe pick teenagers up from school, take the kids for a driving lesson, stop and have a coffee, and then at 9:00 at night, jump back on and do the -

MAYNARD Yep. Flexibility is going to be the key going forward in the modern workplace anyway, And that's just crucial for both the benefit of the business and the employee. The NSW government today announced they have finally come to a deal with the federal government on funding for public education. There will be an extra $4.8 billion. I know, Susan you've campaigned with your side of politics to make sure this happens.

TEMPLEMAN: Yeah, you have to be a certain age to remember Gonski, but I was PNC President at Winmalee Highschool when the Gonski review really gave a way for every child in every school, public, Catholic and independent, to be fairly funded. So this has been a really long journey for me since about 2011, 2012, and you know it was thwarted by Abbott and Turnbull and Morrison. We've got it back on track.

MAYNARD: But to be fair, and I've covered this story with the state government as well for years now, ever since they got into power, they've been frustrated by trying to negotiate with Canberra. Hollie, has this deal now been done literally this week because the PM's gonna call the Governor General and ask for an election this weekend?

HUGHES: Well you can almost hear the barnacles being scraped off the bottom of the boat as it’s moving this week. Absolutely. But you know, while NSW they've seemed to have released some details to what the funding is tied to, what the conditions are around the funding, the Senate actually put in, what we call an order for the production of documents, so we wanted to see the details of the South Australian, Victorian and Western Australian deals. And Jason Claire, the Minister declared what we call PII public interest immunity claim in defiance of the Senate and which and that has not been accepted by the Senate, the PII claim, and we still don't know the details of what is in these funding arrangements. We know that we've now been signed up for a huge extension of public funding and you know, this has all got to be accounted for where's it going? What's it for? And it, you know, parents want to know it's tied to educational outcomes, not some of the ridiculous woke ideology that's being rammed down our kid's throat.

MAYNARD: And we are being told today it's going to be tied to improve NAPLAN results in keeping more kids finishing year 12. Hey, just last one for you both, Susan. Prediction of what the date of the election will be?

TEMPLEMAN: It will be sometime between now and the 17th of May. That’s my prediction.

MAYNARD: Come on. That's what the Prime Minister says everyday when he’s asked! Hasn't he told you?

TEMPLEMAN: If he had, I wouldn't say anyway. But you know, we know it's now limited to a few dates and it is close. And if we hadn't signed a deal with NSW, you'd be screaming blue murder. Correct. We absolutely would. Hollie, when will the election be?

HUGHES: I hope he calls it this weekend and puts the Australian public out of the misery of this phone campaign and just - I think Australians have a right to know whether or not they're getting a budget on the 25th of March and you know, it's time for the Prime Minister to be open and honest. And I realise that's a new thing for him with the Australian public and let them know when it's gonna be.

MAYNARD:  It's probably only now the cyclone that could delay this. Susan, Hollie, thanks for joining us today.

TEMPLEMAN: Thanks Clinton.

HUGHES: Thank you.