KIERAN GILBERT: Joining me live now from Goulburn is the Energy Minister Angus Taylor. Minister, thanks so much for your time, thanks for backing up after a long night last night. And it looks like today that the Labor Party has held on in Eden-Monaro. Is that your sense?

ANGUS TAYLOR:  Look, I’m not going to call this one yet, Kieran, and I didn’t last night. There’s lots of numbers moving around here, so I’ll keep my powder dry on this one. I’ve been involved with Eden-Monaro since 1975 when I first stood on a polling booth there, and I’ve learned never to call it early because it’s an electorate where all sorts of things can happen. What is very clear, Kieran, is that there has been a very strong swing in primary votes against Labor, 3 per cent. A swing towards us. A very good result for Fiona Kotvojs and for the Prime Minister, and a very strong endorsement of our focus on the virus, on jobs, on making sure that Australians and Australia are in a strong position as we come out of this virus. On the rebuilding effort in Eden-Monaro, which has been hit with fire, with flood, with drought. Of course, the drought is still running in Eden-Monaro more than any other part of Australia. And of course the virus. It is clear that the voters of Eden-Monaro have shown very strong support for the Government, for the Prime Minister and for our wonderful local candidate.

KIERAN GILBERT:  It was an interesting contrast between the very strong support and swings across the board, really, inland to the Government. But the softer support on the coast, would you put that down to the fires? The summer of fires that we saw?

ANGUS TAYLOR: It’s a bit more nuanced than that, Kieran. Now that we’ve got all the booth results out, it’s clear that we did very well in Narooma. Labor’s strength was in the Bega area and down to the Victorian border - Merimbula and Eden. And of course that’s where Kristy McBain’s local mayoralty is, so you shouldn’t be surprised by that. I mean, we saw a 9 per cent swing to us in Cobargo, which was an extraordinary outcome. And very strong results inland when you go up to Queanbeyan, Cooma, Tumut, Yass - fantastic results for us - but a devastating result for Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party, a 3 per cent swing against them. Albanese practically moved to the electorate, 23 different visits. He threw the book at this and you could see that on the polling booths on the day, you could see it on the advertising on television. Absolutely threw the book at it. A devastating result for them. Serious questions I’m sure being asked in the Labor Party about how it could have got to this. But a great endorsement of the very strong focus we have and will continue to have regardless of this result.

KIERAN GILBERT: When you say it’s devastating for Anthony Albanese, the fact is it looks like Labor might have won, so if they’ve won, how does that equate to being devastating?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, Kieran, as you know, on average by-elections like this have a swing against the government of 3.8 per cent and the government hasn’t won one for a hundred years, and last time one was won it was against a politician who’d been thrown out of our Parliament for sedition. So there’s no question this is a very good result for us and it’s a dire result for Labor, regardless of the outcome. Look, we’re down to a few hundred votes and I’m not going to forecast the outcome here. But what I’m very confident in saying is that this is, under the circumstances, a very strong endorsement of where the Government is going and a sharp rebuke for Labor for not focusing on the things that really matter to Australians. You know, what’s also striking in the results is when you go into those booths where there’s a strong number of tradies, of young families, of blue collar workers in places, the tougher parts of Queanbeyan, our results were extremely good, and this is Labor’s base continuing to flee from them. We saw it at the last election, we saw it again yesterday, and this is the pattern that has really set in.

KIERAN GILBERT: When you look at the swing, though, we’ve heard previously, and there’s a lot of respect for Mike Kelly, the outgoing local member, and the view is that his personal vote was about 3 per cent. So any swing that we see against Labor, wouldn’t that simply be the Mike Kelly vote not there, essentially?

ANGUS TAYLOR: That’s been true for every one of these by-elections for the last hundred years, there’s been a sitting member leaving so that’s not new, that’s as you would expect. The point here is that we’ve had a swing towards us and Labor has had a sharp swing of 3 per cent against them in a by-election at a very, very tough time. I mean, let’s face it, we’re facing the toughest job conditions in this country since the 1930s. Now, in any normal circumstances you’d expect that to be very tough for the government. And we’ve seen governments all around the world struggling politically at the moment. You just have to look at the United States as an illustration of that. So this is, as I say, a very strong result. We all saw it on the booths yesterday. There was no anger, there was very strong support for the Government’s policies. I heard it again and again and again. And that is a strong endorsement, and it says we need to just keep focusing on those critical things, on dealing with the virus, getting Australians back into work, on keeping Australians safe and secure. Our Defence policies, of course, huge Defence policies announced, $270 billion in the last week, all about keeping Australians safe in a world which is less secure than it has been in the past in so many different ways. So, as I say, I think a really strong endorsement of where we’re going, but we now have to continue to keep that pathway strong.

KIERAN GILBERT: What do you say to the argument, though, the counter-argument to essentially what you’re saying in terms of the pandemic being a tough time for governments, that actually Australians are willing the Government on, they want the Government to do well. Admittedly the Prime Minister, his approval rating is soaring because of the effective management of the crisis. But is there also that sort of patriotic component in there as well for the incumbent?

ANGUS TAYLOR: I think the Australian people always want their governments to do well. I think that’s always true. But the point right now is they’re perceiving we are doing well, and our job now is to keep our heads down and work hard to ensure that Australians are in a strong position coming out of the virus. This is an electorate that is facing a rebuilding task like no other part of Australia. Flood, fire, drought, virus. And what’s very clear is Australians are saying: ‘We want you to keep doing what you’re doing, continue that rebuilding effort.’ There’s tough issues here to deal with, we’re working our way through them, we’ve got a strong unified Government and Cabinet, and that’s what Australians want to see at this time. And it’s a stark contrast, as I say, to so many other governments around the world that are really struggling in these circumstances. I think we need to just keep going in the direction we’ve been going.

KIERAN GILBERT: What do you say to Fiona Kotvojs if she does fall short? Because she’s run two good campaigns but, by the looks of it, has fallen just short against Mike Kelly by 1,700 votes and this time looks like it could come down to only a couple of hundred votes. But, again, just short.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, I’m not writing her off yet. I mean, as I say, I’ve learned since 1975, the first time I saw an outcome in Eden-Monaro where we won it, when the Whitlam Government left. It was tight, it’s been tight in almost every election since then. So I’m not going to call it yet, Kieran.

KIERAN GILBERT: Fair enough.

ANGUS TAYLOR: But I tell you, Fiona did a stunningly good job, she is a very, very strong candidate. She’s gone out there and sold the Government’s message. She’s been very, very well received right across the electorate. She’s worked extremely hard. It’s a great tribute to her that she did so well against all predictions at the last election. No-one thought she’d get within cooee of Mike Kelly, and she almost won the electorate, about 800 votes short. And she’s done it again last night, in such difficult circumstances. A very difficult time to campaign, as you know. What a great result for Fiona, and it’s a real tribute to her.

KIERAN GILBERT: Well, we will have the first female member for Eden-Monaro since Federation, so one way or the other that’s a good development. Let’s finish off, though, this morning before I let you go, and get your thoughts on the news confirmed to me this morning by the Finance Minister Mathias Cormann. He’s sent me his statement saying that he’s going to leave at the end of the year. He’s going to serve for another six months. His last Budget coming up in October and then he’s wrapping up his time in Parliament. What do you say to that news that we’ve been reporting this morning in terms of a veteran of the Coalition departing after 13 years?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Yeah, and he’s provided this incredible continuity for us in that Finance portfolio since 2013, since we got into Government. He played a critical role in putting us in a position where we could deal with the pandemic in the way that we have, by getting us back to a position where we were in structural surplus. This is the hard work of Mathias Cormann and everyone who’s worked with him in Cabinet and across the party, and I’m sure in the departments, knows that he has been relentless, he’s been effective, and he has been a great servant to Western Australia, the Liberal Party and Australia, and he’ll continue to be a great servant into the future. Look, he’s got six months of very hard work to do, it’s not over, I can assure you of that, and he knows that only too well. And I’m sure he will acquit himself well in the next six months as he has all the way through his political career.

KIERAN GILBERT: It will be a big challenge, though, do you concede? Big shoes to fill, not just as the Senate leader, because he’s corralled the crossbench quite effectively, but also that continuity you spoke of as Finance Minister? It’s a challenge for the Coalition heading into that next electoral cycle without his presence.

ANGUS TAYLOR: We’ve got a strong team, Kieran, and that’s what’s working so well at the moment. You’ll recall we talked about this last night, it’s just the strength of the team and I see that every day. We’re strong, we’re unified and we’re focused on Australia and Australians. And that’s showing, I think, and will continue to show. Mathias has still got a lot of work to do over the next six months. He knows that. And of course we wish him and Hayley well into the future, but it’s another six months before we’ll be saying our final farewells to Mathias from an extraordinary political career.

KIERAN GILBERT: Joining me live from Goulburn this morning, Energy Minister Angus Taylor. I appreciate your time. Thanks for backing up after our long evening last night.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Thanks Kieran.

ENDS