KAREN ANDREWS: Well, good morning. There’s obviously some news that I would like to speak to my community about. A couple of weeks ago, when I had made the decision that I was not going to contest the next federal election, I spoke to Peter Dutton, and I gave him my view that I would not be standing and seeking re-election at the next federal election. I offered to step down from the ministry at that point, and he declined that offer. But when a reshuffle was happening today, the decision was made that I would step back to the back bench and continue my work from the back bench. I am a very proud resident of the Southern Gold Coast. I love representing this community. I will continue to represent this community, the remainder of this term of Parliament, but I won’t be seeking re-election. Given that I had made that decision, the right thing to do was to speak to Peter and let him know that that was my decision. It’s important that the Liberal National Party gets the right candidate quickly onto the ground here on the Gold Coast, and that the very important shadow portfolio of Home Affairs has someone into that role. So in the lead up to the next election, Peter can have the right team in place to take forward beyond the election. So, whilst this is the end of an era for me, I’m very proud of the work that I did here, locally. I’m very proud of the opportunities that were given to me, it was way beyond anything I ever would’ve considered. So I was honoured to be Australia’s Home Affairs Minister. I was honoured to be Australia’s Industry, Science and Technology Minister, but most of all, I have been honoured to be the member from McPherson, and I will continue to represent this beautiful electorate until the next election. Happy to take any questions.
QUESTION: Can I ask what was behind the decision not to see the election?
KAREN ANDREWS: Look, there’s no one single thing that brought me to the conclusion that I wouldn’t seek re-election at the next election. There’s probably a range of factors that contribute to that. I’m very comfortable with the decision that I made. I am standing back from the front bench, very comfortably. I’m very happy to do that. I think this was the right time for this to happen. I’m comfortable with my decision not to recontest, and I look forward to working with whoever the party chooses to be the next candidate for McPherson.
QUESTION: Can I ask what your position is on the Voice of Parliament?
KAREN ANDREWS: So, I don’t support the words that are currently being proposed by Mr. Albanese, I’m open, as my party is, to working with the government on a proper set of words, Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. But I think that the words that are proposal are not words that I can support, not words that I can advocate for, but I’ve always made it clear that in matters such as these, I want my community to be informed of the pros and the cons of what is being put forward. So over the next few months, I will work towards making sure that the people on the Southern Gold Coast have the opportunity to understand the question that is being put, as many implications as I can possibly put forward to them. But I want to do that in a very neutral way. This is a decision for each and every Australian, and I wanna make sure that people are informed and that they make a decision that they are comfortable with.
QUESTION: Will you be campaigning for the no campaign?
KAREN ANDREWS: No, I won’t be, I won’t certainly be out there wearing a shirt that says ‘vote no’. When people speak to me, I will go through what my concerns are, but I want to do that in a very neutral way so that people are in a position that they can make their own mind up.
QUESTION: So what’s your experiences, women in the Conservative party and in government? You obviously got to the heights of Home Affairs, but do you feel like the opportunities were there for conservatives?
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, I’ve spent my entire life working in male dominated environment, so I started my working life as an engineer, and that was absolutely male dominated. I then moved into industrial relations. My third career was politics, and there will be a fourth career for me as well. I think that where you have women in a minority, it is always going to be difficult. Just like when there are fields where men are in a minority, it is difficult for them as well too. But I’m very confident that the Liberal National Party and the Liberal Party across Australia will work to make sure that more women are pre-selected into our winnable seats, and that we will make sure that our messages, what we stand for, are communicated in a way that people will be prepared to support us.
QUESTION: Does your replacement need to be a woman?
KAREN ANDREWS: That will be a matter for the Party to determine, all I can say is that the pre-selection will be called on at a timing of the Liberal National Party.
So I will not have any direct input into that, but the sooner in my view, we get someone on the ground out there working the community, the better.
QUESTION: There’s been little talk about the state and the future of the Liberal party. What are your thoughts on that discussion that’s been going on at the moment and the future of the party?
KAREN ANDREWS: So, there’s a lot of work that the Liberal National Party in Queensland has to do, and the Liberal Party right across Australia, I believe wholly and solely in the principles of the Liberal Party. What we need to get better at is communicating that broadly to the community. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
QUESTION: What reaction have you had from the community so far since you’ve been here announcement this morning?
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, I’ve been quite overwhelmed at the messages that I’ve been receiving. I didn’t expect it, so it’s been very heart-warming. It’s probably the best way to describe it, and I thank the people here, they have trusted me now for, I was elected in 2010, so the best part of 13 years, and it’ll be close to 15 years when I conclude this term.
QUESTION: What’s been one of your partner’s moments being in this bank? What would you say you feel super proud to be able to bring to the community?
KAREN ANDREWS: The most important thing to me has always been helping individuals. And there are a number of people that have come to my office when they have not been able to get any support and any outcomes from anywhere. And just to be able to work with them so that they get an outcome has just been magical. I mean, I recall one young woman who had a life-threatening blood disease and just to be one of the people that worked with her to get her the medication that she needed so that she could go on and that she could live is one of the highlights of my time here.
QUESTION: What about your biggest regret? Do you have a biggest regret?
KAREN ANDREWS: No, I tend to not have any regrets in my life, if I look back, are there some things that I would do differently and let me pre-empt that, next question by saying that I think that the more a politician can be out in their local community, the better. And I’ve always diligently tried to do that. In hindsight, I would like to have been out there even more than I could have. But ultimately, politics is a seven day job. There’s only so much that you can do. But I would focus at the beginning on making sure that I was out there every single day in the community part as a federal politician, because quite frankly, there’s six months of the year where you are not in your electorate because parliament is sitting, or you have community engagement to do elsewhere in the state or the nation, or you have committee hearings to attend. So it’s six months out of the electorate. So every second that you are here counts.
QUESTION: Um, you alluded to a fourth career. What is that fourth career?
KAREN ANDREWS: Well, I don’t know what the future holds for me when the next election is called and my term concludes, I think I’ll take a little bit of time, I often have a holiday, spend a bit of time thinking. I have qualifications in engineering, have qualifications in industrial relations, in human resources. So a few opportunities for me to have a look at. But, I will do all that I can to support my community along the way and forever.
QUESTION: Do you have any advice for the next member for McPherson?
KAREN ANDREWS: The best advice is to make sure that you are out there working with your community as much as you possibly can. But clearly I support a local candidate and I would hope that whoever is selected to replace me is a thorough local. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you very much.
ENDS