BEN FORDHAM:
Let's go to one of those backbenchers who I'm guessing was part of that barbecue yesterday, David Bradbury, the Federal Member for Lindsay. G'day David.
DAVID BRADBURY:
Good afternoon Ben, how are you?
FORDHAM:
Good. How was the barbie?
BRADBURY:
Oh, it wasn't too bad actually, your typical barbie.
FORDHAM:
Okay. Although not everyone who was invited turned up. What's doing with that?
BRADBURY:
Well, anyone that's hosted a barbie in the past, I'm sure we've all witnessed and experienced people not always turning up, but look, there's nothing to be read into that.
FORDHAM:
Okay, it's been a tough time for Labor, particularly the latter half of last year. Has the PM inspired you a little bit David that 2012 is going to be better?
BRADBURY:
Look, I think she has and I think we all recognise that last year in particular there were some really difficult decisions that we had to lay the groundwork for and many of those decisions weren't particularly popular decisions but we very strongly believe that they were things that we needed to do for our nation.
And I have to say, there is no real disagreement across the Party about what we needed to do. Now, that's not to say that's always been accepted completely by the community and we've got some challenges in communicating the message about why the hard decisions we've taken are in the best interests of the country, not just for today but for the future.
But the fact that there is that common sense of purpose behind the policy agenda means that we knew it was going to be hard, but this year, after having done some of those hard yards, we get an opportunity to get out there and, a bit more aggressively, to sell and communicate the message of what we've done.
FORDHAM:
So is that the message from last night, to be a little bit more aggressive in getting the message out there?
BRADBURY:
Not just from last night, I think this has been a growing theme within the Party in terms of what we need to do. We've got some great achievements, things that we've done out there, whether it's the way we've managed the economy for working families, whether it's rolling out the NBN, which, by the end of this year, will start to hit my electorate – 18,000 premises in my electorate will be hooked up to the National Broadband Network.
FORDHAM:
Sure, we've just gone over with Bill Shorten a list of those achievements from Labor's point of view.
I'm intrigued, there's a list in the Daily Telegraph today – 47 supporters backing Gillard, 36 supporters backing Rudd, and then the ‘undecided' column. And guess who's in the ‘undecided' column – you, David Bradbury.
BRADBURY:
Yeah, it just shows what rubbish that column is.
FORDHAM:
Okay, so what camp are you in?
BRADBURY: Well, I'm in the Prime Minister's camp but can I just make the point, Ben, that the journalists involved did not even contact me and I've spoken to my colleagues and very few of my colleagues have been contacted. Now this is not journalism, this is activism. This is people out there trying to beat up an issue because a huge number of the people I've spoken to that appear on a list one way or another were not contacted –
FORDHAM:
Okay…
BRADBURY:
– so how are these people determining, if they didn't even pick up the phone and ask, ‘David Bradbury, where do you stand?' - on what basis are they forming a view that I'm undecided?
FORDHAM:
Maybe he was uncontactable… [laughter]
BRADBURY:
No, no that's not true.
FORDHAM:
Okay, just on the question of sexism, Bob Brown's come out today and said that the male commentators and also the Opposition are sexist towards Julia Gillard. Do you agree?
BRADBURY:
Well, look, Bob Brown will have his own views. I don't always agree with them. I think that the Prime Minister addressed this issue pretty well in her interview on television last night. The point that she made is that this is very different, it's different having a woman in the top job and that's something that will take a bit of getting used to. But having said that, I think that she has done a very good job in very difficult circumstances. I don't think it would matter whether it was a bloke or a woman in that job, minority government is hard, but we are getting on with the job.
FORDHAM:
Alright, well with this aggressive new approach, I hope to hear you on this show and on the airwaves many, many more times. Appreciate your time.
BRADBURY:
My pleasure, look forward to it.
FORDHAM:
David Bradbury, a Labor backbencher, Member for Lindsay there on the line.