MONEY
What did your parents teach you about money? To be careful with what you’ve got. But also to recognise that there are a lot of people who don’t have enough,and that this is a feature of society rather than a character trait of those people.
What’s the best part of your job? I’m not here to make up the numbers;I’m here to get things done. So being able to put into practice things that you believe in,things that will make a big difference to people’s lives,is a pretty good feeling.
What aspects of the job do you hate? There’s a lot of stuff that’s said across the Chamber that never gets picked up on the microphones,or doesn’t make it into Hansard,gutter sledging that doesn’t advance the national interest. Also,being away from the family. I’ve got two daughters,both born while I was in politics. In a sense,they’ve never known anything different,but it’s tough.
You’ve talked about getting to net zero emissions in 10 years while achieving full employment nationally. Isn’t that an unrealistic,expensive pipe dream? Well,I think anything that avoids the collapse of civil society and our economy through the climate crisis is money well spent. We’re still stuck in this idea of talking about the climate crisis as if it’s a room where you can dial the furnace up and down. People think,“Oh,it’ll get a bit hotter but then,maybe,in 20 years,we can cool it down a bit.” It’s not like that. It’s about whether you go over a cliff or not. We are facing the collapse of large parts of civil society,the decimation of agriculture and business as we know it. And yes,the money is there:Australian billionaires increased their wealth during the pandemic. We’ve just gotta have the guts to ask – or make – these billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share. We can’t afford not to do it.
“It’s a reminder that,as we decarbonise,we’ve got to look after workers and communities.”
Are MPs paid too much,too little,or just enough? Too much.
And you’re saying that as an MP yourself? Let’s say MPs can’t get a pay increase until the minimum wage goes up. You might find them starting to take a bit of an interest in poverty all of a sudden.