Prime Minister Scott Morrison won’t answer one crucial question

Speaking to Leigh Sales on the ABC’s 7.30, the Prime Minister says he will accept the outcomes of polls on Saturday, but refused to answer one question.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to say if he will quit politics after the election, even if the Coalition is defeated or there is a hung parliament.

In an interview with Leigh Sales on ABC’s 7.30 on Monday he said: “No, that is not something I’m contemplating, because I’m not contemplating that being the scenario.”

He started by candidly discussing his own popularity heading into the election where he has described himself as a bulldozer.

“I’m just being honest, Leigh. I can be. And during the last two or three years, but frankly, at other times in the various jobs I’ve had, that’s been very necessary,” he said.

Mr Morrison described public concerns about his track record of ducking responsibility and blame shifting as “Labor’s criticisms”.

“What I get is people really just want to see me be more inclusive in terms of how I go forward and that’s the challenge going forward,” he said.

"People really just want to see me be more inclusive in terms of how I go forward, and that's the challenge going forward." – @ScottMorrisonMP#abc730pic.twitter.com/UWLb9qAL85

— abc730 (@abc730) May 16, 2022

Mr Morrison claimed inner-city electorates where independents were a threat voters tended to have the luxury of focusing on “other issues” instead of a strong economy.

“Out in parts of regional Australia, and the broader suburbs of the country. They’re places that cannot afford the sort of risk that comes with a Labor Party and a leader that just is a bit loose on the economy. They will pay the price for that,” he said.

He added, “I do know this – you can’t address climate change and invest in the technology you need to deal with climate change, unless you have a strong economy.”

Mr Morrison discussed his government’s economic plan and what he claimed to be Australia’s successful pandemic recovery.

“I don’t think anyone would contend the investments we made during the pandemic were unnecessary,” he said.

“That’s why that debt is what it is. It saved the country, Leigh. It saved jobs, it saved businesses.”

He also defended a controversial plan to allow first home buyers dip into their superannuation to buy a house.

Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP responds to @AlboMP's comments that the government reacts too little and too late when it comes to a crisis. #abc730pic.twitter.com/pTAeCOoJMu

— abc730 (@abc730) May 16, 2022

“I mean, our housing market, each year, I think some $687 billion. This measure affects up to 1 per cent of it. The suggestion this will have any sort of significant impact, I don’t think bears up to scrutiny,” he said.

“This is how you help people with cost of living. You let them use their own money. You don’t lock it away from them. Where someone else is in control of it. They should be in control of it. It’s theirs.”

Mr Morrison said the “single biggest challenge facing the economy today” was an undersupply of workers. He said his government was investing in “skills and education”.

“We’re investing in the skills of Australians. The jobs we’re creating are skilled jobs. These are jobs where we currently have 220,000 Australians in trade training right now,”

“That’s the highest level we’ve ever seen, since records began.”

Mr Morrison supported an increase to wages but also backed the decision being made by the Fair Work Commission.

“I support the Fair Work Commission making decisions on wages, taking into account all the factors that impact on people’s cost of living and whether they’ll be better off. I support wage increases,” he said.

Mr Morrison called opposition leader Anthony Albanese an ‘armchair critic’ for suggesting the government was too slow to act on bushfires, floods and the pandemic. Image: ABC

Mr Morrison said the end of coal fired power in Australia should be decided by “commercial viability”.

“There will be a change that will take place in Australia and around the world that will happen over time. That’s why we believe in investing in carbon capture use and storage technologies,” he said.

He added, “for all the renewables to work, the intermittent renewables, the ones that rely on solar and wind, they need firm power as it’s called, or reliable power, to support them to make the whole grid work so you don’t have variability problems.”

“We have a plan to get to net zero by 2050 based on the technologies that will not only solve the problem in Australia, but around the world,” he said.

In a tweet to publicise the interview, someone at the ABC forgot to complete a template with Mr Morrison's name and title. Image: ABC

Proving it’s not only the politicians that are susceptible to gaffes during an election campaign, the ABC has made an embarrassing mistake in the lead up to the interview.

In a tweet publicising the Prime Minister’s appearance, someone at the ABC forgot to complete a template with Mr Morrison’s name and title before publishing.

Where they were supposed to include Mr Morrison’s name, the image read “name of special guest” followed by “title and other details”.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will also be interviewed on 730 during the campaign’s final week.