Interview with Andrew Clennell, Sunday Agenda, Sky News

ANDREW CLENNELL, HOST:    As does Amanda Rishworth, the Employment Workplace Relations Minister and South Australia Labor MP for Kingston, who joins me after a few hours after I was talking to her last. Thanks for your time. Thanks for coming in.

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS:   No worries.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    I'll see you in Canberra shortly. Now, what's your reaction to the result?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, obviously it was a very strong win for Peter Malinauskas and the Labor team. They presented a really strong campaign but also built off their four years of stable government. Of course, we did see that rise of One Nation, but which has really decimated the Liberal Party, and I think there is a real challenge for the Liberal Party. No party can be complacent when it comes to the rise of One Nation and, of course, we've got to look at those grievances and respond to those with solutions. That's not something One Nation offers up. But it'll be really important going forward. But this is a very strong result and, indeed, a historic result for the Malinauskas Government.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Is Peter Malinauskas headed for Canberra after the speech you gave?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, I think what Peter Malinauskas wants to do is see through that economic progress that the state's made. If you think about where the state was four years ago, we were in the doldrums and Peter has started that momentum but he's had a eye long term on the state of South Australia and he'll keep working at that.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    But what did you think of the speech, quoting Henry Lawson, talking about the Vietnamese boat person that he saw in the polling booth? What did you make of the flavour of it?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, quite frankly, I think this is something that many people have been talking about. You can be patriotic and - we have strength from multicultural Australia. I mean, I think that's not a new concept. It's a really important concept. If you think about one small story, there was a CFS, a Country Fire Association, in the outskirts of Adelaide. It was rebuilt because of migrants that had come here and wanted to volunteer. And I think that's a really powerful message and it's one that isn't new, but one that he was able to distil.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    When you look at this result, what does it say to you about One Nation as a political force? Are they here to stay, in your view?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, I would say the Liberal Party in particular must respond. What we saw during the campaign was the inability of the Liberal Party to differentiate itself. In fact, we saw Senator Alex Antic having a beer with Cory Bernardi. That doesn't send a message to their voters that we stand for something, we're different and we're worth voting for. What it could say is we're One Nation light. So I think the challenge really is for the Liberal Party to work out how to take on One Nation and how to differentiate itself. I mean, One Nation and other of these third forces which come into South Australia have come and gone, but it would be negligent to just discount it.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Well, you spoke about grievances that you have to listen to, what do they relate to? Do they relate to housing, immigration? What do you think they relate to?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    I think what's really important is to give people a sense that Government is on their side. And we are working, obviously, both federally and state to make sure that we're communicating that. It is, of course, difficult global circumstances. There are certainly challenges being presented by the war in Iran. But we've got to make sure that we are responding. Of course, governments have limited budgets and all the rest, but it's important that we demonstrate that we're responding.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    We saw the unemployment rate tick up a little bit during the week and we've seen another interest rate hike. What's the prognosis for unemployment? Could it go above five per cent? What are you being advised?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:   Firstly, I would say that the numbers that came out on our employment are particularly pleasing. Very strong numbers at 4.3 per cent, and broadly in line with where the RBA has predicted unemployment to go. Obviously, when we look at participation, there were extra jobs added to the economy and participation was up. That is good news and puts us in a position of strength going forward. There are no doubt there's global challenges. The war in Iran presents significant challenges, particularly the longer it goes on.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Is it going to tick up, the employment rate?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:     Well, look, at this point I'm not going to make those predictions, but we are in a really strong position with more jobs being added to the economy. That's a good thing.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    So I mentioned at the top of the show we've seen this change in language from the PM on the war in Iran. It's fair to say the entire Government is hoping for an end to the conflict sooner rather than later, isn't it?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Our Prime Minister and our Foreign Minister has called for de-escalation. We did support, of course, the mission to stop Iran being a threat, whether it's nuclear power or in the international environment. But we have also called for de-escalation and it is really important that this war ends sooner rather than later.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    What happens if it doesn't?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, obviously I'm not going to make those predictions, but as this war drags on, it does present more challenges.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Do you think we're looking at petrol rationing or more instruction for people to work from home, as the International Energy Agency has suggested, or instructions to go slow on highways? Do you think we're looking at anything drastic?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, there are obviously recommendations to the world. We deal with our own specific circumstances. And as we've highlighted before. The data that came out yesterday showed that our holding stocks are higher than expected. We're obviously working around the clock to make sure supply goes into the market. The ships are still coming. And I think, at this point, the message really is buy what you need. Our fuel is secure and we will continue to work around the clock to do things like reduce temporarily the fuel standards so that our refineries can put more into the domestic market.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    So we have this situation with the Government where it appears Jim Chalmers is for tax reform and is determined to push it no matter what the economic conditions and the PM might not be so keen. Is that where you see things sitting?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Look, I would not characterise it that way, Andrew. I think what both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer has been clearly said is that we are in globally challenging times. We must respond to that. But just like this Government has always done, we have looked to both the short term and the long term for this country. To do both is not impossible. And so making sure that we're putting in place, for example, the new fuel coordinated and make sure that across Government and governments, we're working together to respond in the short term, but always looking to the long term as well. That's something our Government has been able to do and will continue to do. And the Prime Minister has said it many times, he runs a Cabinet-scale government where we do work together.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Do we need budget cuts?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Our Government has been looking at how it can bring the budget in to making savings. We have done that. Just in my MYEFO, we made billions of dollars of savings.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    You need a lot more, don't you, with $40 billion deficits or even $20 billion deficits?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Across our time, we have either found savings or reprioritised, I think, $114 billion. Our Government's been doing along the board. Of course, we'll continue to make responsible decisions, but to suggest it's a new thing, our Government has been doing that work.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Well- but as a piece of the pie of GDP, you've raised government spending. Do you acknowledge that?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, of course, there have been things that we have needed to respond to. And I take Whyalla as a great example of something that we have needed to respond to. Whyalla in South Australia is more than just the jobs it provides to that town. It is about, if we want to talk about having sovereign capability, that is about sovereign capability. So, of course, there's been a lot of natural disasters, a range of different things our Government's had to respond to. But in terms of responsible savings, we've also been doing that work.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    What did you make of this confrontation at the Lakemba Mosque the other day, the PM and Tony Burke were involved in?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, obviously people in Australia get to their say, that sometimes can be heckling. It's not the first time a politician has been heckled. So, look, I think we shouldn't make this more than it actually was.

ANDREW CLENNELL:    Amanda Rishworth, thanks so much for your time.

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Thank you.