2UE with Tim Webster
E&OE
TIM WEBSTER:
Well on Sky News this morning we watched them go and on what looked like a pretty chilly morning in Moree, this is the 1000km Pollie Pedal ride and they’re going from Moree to Penrith in Western Sydney. It’s a wonderful thing and this year they’re raising money for Carers Australia, amongst other things, and to raise awareness about carers. Now over the years millions have been raised by the Pollie Pedal and it’s just (inaudible) and Kevin Andrews our Minister for Social Services and Member for Menzies is on the line he’s taking part this year. G’day.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
G’day Tim how are you?
TIM WEBSTER:
Good how are the legs?
MINISTER ANDREWS:
A little bit sore, we had a few bumpy roads between Gravesend and beautiful Bingara where we are now.
TIM WEBSTER:
Okay so you’ve arrived in Bingara?
MINISTER ANDREWS:
We’ve arrived in Bingara so we’ve done 100 km which is about one tenth of what we’ve got to do for the week.
TIM WEBSTER:
Yeah mate it looked a bit chilly there this morning.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Look it wasn’t too bad actually, I suppose when you come from minus five some mornings in Canberra, to have four or five in Moree is actually, it’s all relative Tim.
TIM WEBSTER:
Yeah I keep forgetting mate you know that absolute week from hell when we were in Canberra, I think it was a record number of days below minus four.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Well all I know was rugged up a lot more in Canberra than I was in Moree this morning. But no it’s a great event, 17th year and we raise a lot of money for Carers Australia.
TIM WEBSTER:
Yeah I heard you saying this morning you’ve been in training doing a couple of hundred kilometres a week.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Yeah I’ve been doing a couple of hundred kilometres a week, I’d say after my 100 km today I probably should have been doing 400 km a week.
TIM WEBSTER:
You confident you’re going to make it to Penrith.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Ah I have to, the Prime Minister wouldn’t let me, I wouldn’t live it down with him if I didn’t make it.
TIM WEBSTER:
Oh no you couldn’t. Now obviously our Prime Minister is extremely busy and on his way to the Netherlands if he’s not there already and looking after the dreadful situation of MH17 so he can’t take part this year, but I think he’s been at every one hasn’t he, since 1998?
MINISTER ANDREWS:
He’s ridden every kilometre of every one of the 16, so he’s ridden 16,000 km of Pollie Pedal since it started. He was in Moree last night for the start or the launch of it, the dinner, and he expressed very genuinely his great regret that he couldn’t do it this year but his duties take him elsewhere.
TIM WEBSTER:
Yeah indeed. So who else have you got riding this year?
MINISTER ANDREWS:
There’s three of us riding all the way; Angus Taylor, the Member for Hume, which is the Goulburn area in NSW, David Gillespie, the Member for Lyne which is around Taree Forster, Luke Hartsuyker the Assistant Minister for Employment is riding for about three days, Mark Coulton, Member for Parkes is riding for I think about three or four days, I think we’re even going to get Barnaby Joyce on a bike for a little while.
TIM WEBSTER:
That should be fun.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
I’m looking forward to that.
TIM WEBSTER:
Oh mate there’ll be television cameras all over the place for that one.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Let’s hope so.
TIM WEBSTER:
Now the really important thing I mean carers, oh fair dinkum Kevin they’re the salt of the earth carers, tell us about their new Work and Care Initiative?
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Well this is a very important project. One of the things we know about carers is that people can spend a long time caring and can be out of the workforce, can lose skills, can lose confidence etc. So you now it’s always a balance, it’s a tension between different roles but try and ensure that people can work and also at the same time can provide that much necessary care is very important and this is another important project from Carers Australia.
TIM WEBSTER:
Yeah it is and the more you think about it, I think this says three, but I think it’s closer to four million dollars that has been raised by the pollie pedal since 1998 isn’t it?
MINISTER ANDREWS:
I think it’s in that order. I know in the last two years we’ve raised well over a million dollars, we’re hoping to get three quarters of a million this year, so all of that goes towards carers and you now it’s a great cause and in every little country town, here we are in Bingara right now which is what about 2000 people and we were in Gravesend which has about 130 people, there are carers in every part of Australia.
TIM WEBSTER:
Look on the bright side that’s the first hundred there’s only 900 to go.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
That’s right mate yes, talk to me next Sunday and I’ll tell you how I feel.
TIM WEBSTER:
Well good on you for doing it, and listeners if you want to get involved carers I mean you know goodness me what a life some of them lead and they deserve all the support they can get just go to www.carersaustralia.com.au and help support the pollies on the Pollie Pedal. Thanks for talking to us, have a good night.
MINISTER ANDREWS:
Thank you very much Tim.