E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Straight Shooters with Clinton Maynard, 2GB Sydney
TUESDAY, 18 JUNE 2025
SUBJECT: President Trump and AUKUS, Petrol Prices
CLINTON MAYNARD, HOST: Well, time for our political space shooters segment for a Tuesday afternoon. We're joined by Susan Templeman, the Labor MP for Macquarie. Hello, Susan.
SUSAN TEMPLEMAN, MP: Good afternoon.
MAYNARD: And the outgoing Liberal senator Hollie Hughes. Hello, Hollie.
HOLLIE HUGHES, SEN: Hi, Clinton.
MAYNARD: Well, all the dramas actually within the Liberal Party at a state level, so we might leave you out of that leave this afternoon. Nick Greiner has been appointed to try and sort out the mess that is your party. Let's talk about what's happening overseas. Anthony Albanese, unfortunately has had his meeting with Donald Trump cancelled. Susan, is the government disappointed about this?
TEMPLEMAN: Oh, I think there's absolutely disappointment but everyone understands that, you know, there's something pretty dire happening in the Middle East and that no doubt takes precedence. I thought what was interesting was that one of the issues we know the Prime Minister wanted to discuss with the President was AUKUS, and the UK Prime Minister got in first on that, and so there's been some very reassuring comments around that with the President not contradicting the Prime Minister of Britain, about the commitment to AUKUS. So I think even though there'll be disappointment in a delay now to a face-to-face meeting, there's still been some very positive signs and signals sent in this visit.
MAYNARD: Hollie, could the PM have done more? We understand why Donald Trump's leaving Canada, that's understandable, but could he have done more to secure a meeting earlier?
HUGHES: Oh absolutely. I mean the president’s been there for seven months. There should have been much earlier attempts to secure a face to face. It's a critical ally of ours. But I think what's interesting and what a lot of people are missing here is when Boris Johnson hosted the G7, he had the sort of secondary group of leaders in the same area in the same spot attend the dinner that Donald Trump is going to attend before he leaves. What's interesting is the way that Prime Minister Carney’s done it over in Canada, has kept the secondary leaders a couple of hours away and not attending the same dinner. So, it's two very separate groups of leaders that are in Canada tonight in very different places and you know, people read into that what they like. But it's interesting that Boris certainly had Scott Morrison and everyone there all together and part of the big family photo that the Canadian Prime Minister has decided not to do.
MAYNARD: During the election campaign, Susan, Albo said during, I think was the Channel 9 debate, that he didn't think that Donald actually had a phone, so it wasn't as simple as picking up the phone. In reality, even when you're at the level that Anthony Albanese is at, is it tricky to organise time with a world leader.
TEMPLEMAN: Diplomacy is not a blunt instrument. There are protocols, there's ways you do things. But I also think that having deep conversations in the middle of an election campaign also has a level of concern to me in terms of respect for the election process, so we are able to have much better discussions now, now that there's been an election and I think this is the appropriate time, a few after an election to have really, you know, nailed, nailed, nailed down that meeting nailed.
MAYNARD: That's the problem, we don't know when that meeting is going to be now, now that Mr Trump's left.
TEMPLEMAN: Well, no they've had three phone conversations. You know that's, honestly as a radio journo, you know how powerful voice is, it's not just about being able to eyeball somebody.
MAYNARD: But everyone just sends text messages these days. It's all messages.
TEMPLEMAN: Well, that's that younger generation, but you know.
MAYNARD: Well, Donald loves the social media. He loves his social media platforms. Jim Chalmers, today the Treasurer has indicated he does concede that the war in the Middle East is likely to push up oil prices, that petrol prices could go up. I think we've actually benefited from fairly low bowser prices of late. Would there be a possibility, Susan, if we are now in for a sustained conflict in the Middle East, that the Labor Party now could consider some sort of excise relief now that all the politics is out of the way, that the debate over the policy that the Coalition put to the put to the election, could there be some excise change?
TEMPLEMAN: Well at this stage, that's not something that we're looking at, but we are mindful that there could be volatility of petrol prices and that's what the Treasurer said today. What we do is we don't imagine what's going to happen. You know we use the data that we get. We take a considered view on what we see over a period of time and wherever we've seen that, wherever there's been a need for cost-of-living relief, we have acted on that in the best way that we can to support the people who most need it. So, I know all eyes will be watching that but the current fuel prices are expected to jump around a bit, and I've certainly seen a little bit of that in my area.
MAYNARD: Tell me how it works though in the party room, within a government. When you have a big majority, as Labor now does, and lots of backbenchers; when you have the party room meeting in Canberra, can a backbencher just put their hand up and make a suggestion on, hey, how about we cut policy? How about we cut excise, or do you have to put some sort of formal presentation together? If you had an idea like that?
TEMPLEMAN: Anyone can ask anything in our caucus meetings. We also have caucus committee meetings where we have much more detailed policy discussions, with less time pressures, and they happen prior to the caucus meeting. So there's room for lots of debate, but you can also just pick up the phone to the relevant minister or ministers and have a conversation. So you know there are plenty of ways for us as backbenchers to be able to put forward the concerns that we're seeing in our communities and that happens all the time.
MAYNARD: Hollie, could you maybe pick up the phone? And now that you're exiting and you're not playing party politics anymore, could you pick up the phone to Jim, Doctor Chalmers and say, hey, how about you cut the excise?
HUGHES: Well, I'm not quite sure I don't have his phone number for a start.
MAYNARD: Susan can give it to you. Susan you’ve got the phone number!
HUGHES: I'm sure Jim would love that.
MAYNARD: I reckon it starts with a 0.
HUGHES: But look on a serious note, with the fuel prices, what we have to remember at all times, it's not just what you're paying at the browser where it's gonna hurt. It's also every single grocery you buy, every delivery you get, everything is going to go up in cost if fuel goes up. Because those costs have to be passed on from those companies that are getting food from the farm gate to the processes to the supermarket, so you know the flow on effects are significant. It's not just what mums and dads pay at the bowser every day.
MAYNARD: Yeah, absolutely. On a lighter note, confirmed today that Al Pacino, star of the Godfather and many big movies, will become the first major celebrity to have an official audience with the newly elected Pope, Pope Leo the 14th. Susan. If you could, if you could meet any famous person, dead or alive, including a Pope, who would you want to meet?
TEMPLEMAN: Well, actually I've already met the Dalai Lama and if I could have a longer conversation with the Dalai Lama, who turns 90 next month, I would love to do that. I caught up with Tibetans today at the Tibetan kitchen in Katoomba, and so he was top of mind for me. But you know who else? Ludwig Beethoven, I would love to meet Beethoven.
MAYNARD: Well, he’s definitely passed.
TEMPLEMAN: Yeah, I was a violinist. I loved his violin concerto. I'd just love to talk to him before he lost his hearing. And, you know, really pick his brain.
MAYNARD: Hollie, if you could meet anyone who would it be?
HUGHES: Well, I'll stick with the musical scene then that Susan's just brought in, and I'll tell you, I'm a complete George Michael and Whitney Houston tragic. And if I could have the two of them, that would be the music of my youth coming back to life.
MAYNARD: Careless Whisper.
HUGHES: Look, you know, wake me up before you go-go, and there's a long list of Whitney Houston back from Greatest Love of All, right through to her later dance music that she put out - and one of those songs was with George Michael. So, you never know.
MAYNARD: Good on you Hollie, thank you Susan.
ENDS
