Q&A: Kerryn Phelps reflects on Wentworth by-election

Kerryn Phelps has reiterated her dedication to the issues of climate change and treatment of refugees.

Monday night's episode of Q&A on the ABC focused on the Wentworth by-election.

Newly elected Independent MP Kerryn Phelps has reiterated her dedication to the issues of climate change and treatment of refugees, in the aftermath of the Liberal Party’s electoral battering in their former blue ribbon seat.

In an episode of ABC’s Q&A on Monday night that was dominated by discussion of her win in the Wentworth by-election on Saturday, Dr Phelps was joined by deputy leader of the Labor Party Anthony Albanese, NSW Liberal Party President Philip Ruddock, author and journalist Anne Summers and political commentator Peter van Onselen for a dissection of the Liberal Party’s performance at the polls.

“There was absolutely no question that climate change action was a major issue … it was something almost everybody was talking about.”

“What we need to do is accept the science … climate change is real,” Dr Phelps said.

On the impact of climate change policy on Liberal candidate Dave Sharma’s defeat, Anne Summers criticised the government for a “dodo-like approach” to the issue and saying that they “are doing people a great disservice to make this argument that only rich people care about climate change”.

“I think it’s really insulting to say that because somebody lives in the western suburbs that they might have trouble paying their electricity bill, that they don’t care about the environment.

“That’s a completely nonsensical way of putting it. The way the government has conflated the issue of climate change and electricity power bills is not only inaccurate … but it’s a dodo-like approach to refusing to deal with what is one of the greatest challenges of our time,” Ms Summers said.

Peter van Onselen said that the Liberal party have ‘buttressed’ climate change issues with power prices.

“They think that matters in their key marginals, particularly outer metropolitan and regional marginal seats which take in emission-producing industries which employ people. They conflate all of that.

“Where I disagree with them .. is that climate change denial is not something that most Australians hold the view to, certainly most scientists don’t.

“Those (in the party) that don’t support climate change just want no action or next to no action. And I just think that is an ideological agenda that’s not representative of the wider populous. I don’t think it’s even representative of the wider Liberal base,” Mr van Onselen said.

Anthony Albanese said that “one of the things about an electorate like Wentworth is that a lot of people aren’t voting out of hip pocket issues”.

“They’re prepared to vote on values and their values are that they care about their kids and their future kids. They care about the Great Barrier Reef and the natural environment. And climate change is an enormous challenge,” Mr Albanese said.

Responding to a question on the importance of refugee treatment as an issue to her electors, Dr Phelps said that news of children transferred off detention in Nauru on Monday for medical attention was in part a result of the by-election result.

“Eleven children who have been rescued from appalling circumstances … and I believe we can thank you, the voters of Wentworth, for that result because it’s been front and centre in the debate,

“We do need to bring an end to offshore detention. I think it’s cruel and unusual punishment.”

Dr Phelps also indicated support for a proposed resettlement deal with New Zealand as an “interim measure”, saying: “I think we also need to look at the options that are on the table.”

How will Kerryn Phelps work to support an immediate end to offshore detention? #QandA pic.twitter.com/4siw1S2Yc1

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) October 22, 2018

LIBERAL PARTY DEFEAT

Responding to a question on the preselection of Dave Sharma as the Liberal candidate in Wentworth given the focus of increasing female representation in the party, Philip Ruddock stressed the importance for the Liberals to “function as a team” and optimism about ‘clawing back’ the seat.

“I recognise that it is important to have people with a broad spectrum of views in the political party if we’re going to be able to govern,

“I am of the view the party should always select the best candidate … He came through a process which is as I want to see the process,

Mr Ruddock mentioned swings he had received at the beginning of his political career and how they were “significant”.

“By-elections are always very significant. And one ought not to assume that because you lose that you can’t claw it back,” Mr Ruddock said.

After the shock of losing Wentworth, will the Liberal Party address the right wing element that has hijacked the traditional values of the party? #QandA pic.twitter.com/8nRwoiWRTe

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) October 22, 2018

Dr Phelps said there was “no question” that when she was speaking with constituents there was “a lot of anger and frustration with the direction the Liberal Party has been taking”.

“They (the constituents) don’t like the lurch to the right … they wanted to see a candidate who was going to bring the electorate back to the sensible centre,

“They wanted more socially progressive policies and they weren’t hearing that from the federal Liberal Party,” Dr Phelps said.

Mr Albanese accused the Liberal Party of being “frightened of the present of modern day Australia … but terrified of the future”.

“They’re not able to foreshadow a path to that future. It’s all about looking backwards,” Mr Albanese said.

MALCOLM TURNBULL

On the impact of former Prime Minister distancing himself from the campaign in his former seat, Mr van Onselen said he “didn’t think Malcolm Turnbull could win’’.

“If he doesn’t campaign … he gets accused of therefore being somebody that cost them the seat.

“If he does campaign he probably gets accused of being a distraction. And he probably would become a distraction to some extent.

“He gets accused of being a bad campaigner, that’s why he had to go as prime minister. But suddenly they (the Liberal party) needed him in the seat of Wentworth.

“There’s a lot of things that led to them losing that seat. Maybe he could have saved it. Maybe if they hadn’t supported Pauline Hanson’s ‘it’s OK to be white motion’, maybe if the Jerusalem play hadn’t happened, maybe if a whole series of things had changed, selecting a woman, selecting someone from the area … all of these are factors..

“You can’t just drop it on Malcolm Turnbull,” Mr van Onselen said.

Ms Summers criticised Liberal Party politicians that had blamed Mr Turnbull’s silence on their loss, and said that “you kick a guy out of a job because you don’t like him and you say he’s not even a Liberal. And then you cry because he hasn’t come and helped you save a seat that you took away from him.

“This is kindergarten stuff. This is symptomatic of what is wrong with the Liberal Party,” Ms Summers said.

Could Malcolm Turnbull's support have saved Wentworth? @vanOnselenP responds #QandA pic.twitter.com/bdzQ4tC22k

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) October 22, 2018

EMAIL SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Responding to a question on an anonymous email sent out claiming she had pulled out of the by-election race because of an HIV diagnosis, Dr Phelps said she didn’t want the tactic to be a “feature of any future campaigns”.

“If there is a signal that is sent out that this is something that if you try it on, you’ll be caught out and you’ll be punished, then that’s what I’d like to achieve out of this,”

“The other thing I wanted to achieve (by reporting the email) was to take this and say it’s a long road that we still have to go to destigmatise HIV,

“For someone to think it’s a slur, for someone to think it’s an insult to say that somebody has been diagnosed with this infection, HIV, tells me that even though we’ve come so far, we still have a long way to go,

“People living with HIV are living happy productive and healthy lives now. Because of the advances that we’ve made in medical treatment and in social support. And Australia has been an incredible leader in this area.”

Dr Phelps also reaffirmed her intention to support the government in confidence and supply, responding to a suggestion she would aim to bring down the government with:

“I think three years is short enough and I believe governments should have the opportunity to serve that full term. It would not be my intention to trigger anything like a general election sooner than (May).”