Emily Moulton
Daily Telegraph
September 21 2015
Well, he got off to a good start, laughing off the first question by 7.30 host Leigh Sales about whether he would ever say on the program that the only poll that matters is the on one election day.
Chuckling, he said: “Well, I have only ever said that tongue-in-cheek. It’s like one of those things that many politicians say ‘we don’t all look at opinion polls’ ‘nobody looks at opinion polls’. But you’ve got to remember a single poll is a snapshot in time”.
Last week, when Mr Turnbull launched his leadership challenge against Tony Abbott, he referred to the fact the Coalition had lost the last 30 Newspolls in a row.
If we are to understand his answer, polls don’t matter anymore.
The interview quickly turned to policy direction and how Mr Turnbull planned to steer the country.
The new Prime Minister began by explaining how the Government was a Coalition government, a Liberal/National government that was “committed to ensuring that Australians were free to chose their own direction” adding that “freedom” was the key point.
Then he lost most of us.
While his predecessor Tony Abbott was renowned for using three-word slogans to get his message across, Mr Turnbull used far more. Way more.
So many more that his waffling became a source of fun on social media
Among the waffling, Mr Turnbull did manage to inform us that one of the first things his new Cabinet will tackle will be tax reform and that he would “inspire confidence”.
But when asked how he would do that if Australia’s economy either stays the same or worsens, he wasn’t so clear.
And when asked by Sales if reforms in other areas were “on the table”, the PM said that he wasn’t going to “rule things in or rule things out”.
“One of the things I am trying to do is to change the paradigm so it is a more rational one,” he said.
When Mr Turnbull tried to answer what he thought was the biggest global threat to Australia and our country’s defence policies, he wasn’t clear which terror organisation was Australia’s biggest threat.
What was clear was our PM’s view on a what he viewed was a more pressing threat, China.
Mr Turnbull told Sales that he thought in terms of our region “the rise of China”, was very concerning adding that he thought the country’s territorial claims were “counter-productive policies”.
He explained China’s actions had the potential to disrupt peace in the region.
But the real waffling didn’t begin until the Prime Minister was asked to answer what he had learnt from the last Liberal Party leadership coup, when he was ousted by Mr Abbott in 2009.
He rambled on about not being good at “analysing” himself but then went on about his success.
But the real clanger came when Sales asked the PM what he would say to people about understanding what it’s like to struggle given his background.
Mr Turnbull started by saying he didn’t grow up with a “silver spoon” but then launched into his time at the prestigious financial institution Goldman and Sachs, in New York, sparking this reaction on
As he rambled on about being committed to being “extremely consultative”, sales interrupted Mr Turnbull to ask him where he intended to live.
The question of where has been hot topic for the past week given he currently resides in a multi-million dollar waterfront mansion in Sydney’s east.
The Prime Minister revealed that he will continue to at his Point Piper mansion, which has been estimated to be worth $50 million, and use the official Prime Minister’s residence, Kirribili House for political functions and charity events.
“Lucy and I will continue to live and to sleep in our house in Sydney which is of course agreeably close to our grandson. Kirribili House has been used by Prime Ministers and we’ll use that for official entertaining, for charities and opportunities to support good causes.”
