Apparently Australia now has a legitimate federal government except when its policies conflict with Family First Senator Steve Fielding's desire to remain in the political limelight.
Here is the politically-challenged senator from first to last in his role as principal media tart on Channel 10 Meet The Press yesterday:
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING, FAMILY FIRST: What I've said is that the Australian public gave the Labor Party a whack over the head. I do not think the Australian public wanted to give them a second term. But equally, they did not give the Coalition, Tony Abbott, an endorsement to actually govern as well. So what I will be doing is looking at the legislation like I have in the last five years on its merits and if it is good, it will get the tick and go ahead. If it is bad, I will seek to change it and to make sure that it is good for Australia. If the government of the day will not listen to those changes, I will have to vote against it.
ALISON CARABINE: Senator Fielding, Rob Oakeshott last week said that neither major party has a mandate, that was before he gave his vote to Julia Gillard, you would've thought about this, do you believe the Gillard Government is legitimate? Does it have a mandate?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: Obviously it is legitimate. We have a wonderful democracy in Australia and it has delivered a very strange result but that is because the Australian public had nothing to vote for. A vote for Julia, she was saying it was going to stop us from Tony. A vote for Tony was going to stop us from a bad Labor government. In the end, Australians didn't have a real choice between the two of them and the result we ended up with was probably what the Australian public were thinking "I really don't want either of them".
ALISON CARABINE: One of the key Bills that you will have to consider in this term of Parliament is the resources rent tax. We know the Opposition will vote against it. One more vote and it is sunk, that is if the Bill comes in before July next year. What are your intentions?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: I do not like raising taxes and I think the Australian public do not like it either. I think the way that Kevin Rudd introduced it was a complete surprise to a lot of people and it was part of his non-consulted approach that in the end, lost him the leadership of the Labor Party. I am opposed generally to increasing taxes unless there is a very good reason to do so and secondly, it makes sense. The Henry had a tax reform package and they've picked up sort of one piece of it and run with that because the wanted to actually do what they like doing in Labor, spending money. We've got to get very careful here about whether we are going to keep on spending or saving. I am not really predisposed to the tax, but I'm happy to listen to the new arguments that they are putting forward, It did change at the very last moment and there has been no debate, no consultation within Parliament with that particular issue.
ALISON CARABINE: Have you discussed your voting intentions with Tony Abbott? Have you had any talks at all with the Liberal leadership about how you will vote in the Senate?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: Not on anything specific and it was a very general conversation going back a few weeks and that was some time ago. So there is nothing specific. My view on this mining tax is I think it is ill conceived to start with and I do not think they have across the board support from the industry at all. I know the big miners seem to be a little more happy…
ALISON CARABINE: It sounds like a "no".
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: Put it this way, I am hesitant to vote for tax increasing. I am very hesitant.
MARK KENNY: You say Senator Fielding that you're not sure that the people of Australia wanted to elect a Labor government. You say that you are going to listen to the arguments about the mining tax but you don't sound like you're too supportive of it. What about listening to the electors of Victoria, you are a Victorian senator. Labor did very well in Victoria as it did in my home State of South Australia. It is not across the board that people were wanting to chuck the government out. Is that not a factor that you will take into consideration?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: I think Victoria and South Australia have not had the impact of a bad Labor government. Queensland and New South Wales…
MARK KENNY: But they are State governments. What has that got to do with it?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: Hear me out here. Queensland and New South Wales had a very big swing against Labor because they know what a bad government ends up doing…
MARK KENNY: So you are admitting that….
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: Victoria and South Australia I think felt a little more, not as concerned I suppose with a bad government and I think most people thought that Labor had lost their way. In initial fact the Prime Minister told us that Labor had lost their way. The question is, did they find their way during the election campaign? I am not so sure they did. The Australian public didn't think so. So putting that to one side, I said I will look at legislation, bills that come before Parliament on their merit. I think that is what the Australian public like and that is what I will be doing.
MARK KENNY: It seems to me that you are admitting that it was State factors that played out in New South Wales and Queensland for example and yet you are using that as an argument against a policy that was on the table in the federal election and which Australians voted on.
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: Not at all. What I did say was that the people of New South Wales and Queensland have seen the results of what happens when you have a bad government. I do not think Victoria and South Australia have got that same sort of feeling about what happens when you have a bad government. I did not say they had different views on it, they just had different passion levels on what happens when you have a bad government.
ALISON CARABINE: Senator Fielding, your term will expire on 1 July next year. Do you think the Gillard Government will last that long? Do you believe that Julia Gillard can fulfil her promise of a stable and effective government?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: I think it is going to be very challenging for the Prime Minister Gillard. I think it is going to be very challenging. I know that normally a government has the numbers in the Lower House and it's the Senate they have to worry about. Now they have to worry about both houses of parliament. I think it is going to be tricky. But Julia Gillard is a very could [sic] negotiator. She is very consultative. She does listen. I think she has a very good chance of making it work.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Senator Fielding, just briefly, it looks like you've lost your Senate seat to the Democratic Labor Party. I guess if you had to lose it to anybody, they would seem to be fellow travellers on many issues, wouldn't it?
SENATOR STEVE FIELDING: I think there is a lot in common. The counting is still going. I have not given up yet. They didn't think I would get elected in 2004 so we have to wait for this following week for the rest of the count but there is a lot in common.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Thank you very much for being with us today, Senator Steve Fielding. Thanks also to our panel Mark Kenny and Alison Carabine. A transcript and a replay of this programme will be on our website. Until next week, goodbye.
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